How to Make a Bowl Cozy: Two Ways!

heather handmade sewing

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Learn how to make a bowl cozy with batting and fabric scraps. Bowl cozies are quick and easy to make and they are great handmade gifts.

Bowl cozies are so fun to use. They keep your soup warm, they protect your hands from getting burned, and they catch soup drips from hitting the table.

My favorite reason to have them in the kitchen is that my kids love to use them when they make instant oatmeal. It helps them be self sufficient, it catches any spills, and they don’t get burned getting it out of the microwave.

how to make a bowl cozy

What is a Bowl cozy?

A bowl cozy is an insulated bowl holder that can be heated in the microwave. There are two layers of cotton batting, and it has corners for easy holding.

Why must a bowl cozy be made from cotton?

Cotton can withstand heat while polyester, nylon, rayon, or wool cannot. Cotton can be put in the microwave for a short amount of time while other fabrics cannot.

Make sure there is no small pieces of metal in the fabric which would cause a fire in the microwave.

how to make a bowl cozy

Do you love to sew? Try one of these fun sewing projects:

how to make a bowl cozy

How to Make a Bowl Cozy

Supplies

Do you just want the pattern and tutorial as a PDF? Get the pattern with four different sizes and tutorial for just $5. You won’t need to access the internet every time you want to make it. Or get the Pattern Bundle with ALL the PDF tutorials!

bowl cozy supplies

Bowl Cozy Pattern

Cut two pieces of fabric 10 inches by 10 inches. Cut batting or fusible fleece 10 inches by 10 inches. Cut fusible interfacing 10 inches by 10 inches.

You can also double the batting by cutting two and fusing them to both fabrics. One fabric will have the interfacing fused between the batting and the fabric.

Fuse the interfacing to the back of one piece of fabric and the fusible fleece to the back of the other piece of fabric.

cut out fabric and fuse interfacing and fusible fleece to back

Mark the diagonal lines from corner to corner on the front.

draw diagonal lines

Mark the center lines from center to center on the back.

draw centered lines on back

Sew a straight line through each diagonal line.

sew over diagonal lines

Fold the square right sides together along the centered lines and pin.

fold on centered lines and pin

Sew a dart along each line of stitching. Start sewing the dart 1 inch in from the fold and sew down 2 and 1/4 inches. If you need extra help you can learn the basics of how to sew darts. Do the same to the other lines.

sew four darts around centered lines

Trim the excess out of all the darts leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

trim darts

Press the darts open.

press darts open

Version 1:

Trim and round all the corners. I have a personal preference to sew bias binding on curved corners. I find it easier to sew, and it makes the bowl cozy look a little like a flower.

cut corners into curves

Place both pieces wrong sides together. Clip bias binding around the whole edge.

clip bias binding around edges

Finish edges by sewing the double fold bias binding around the edges.

sew bias binding around edge

Version 2:

Place both squares right sides together and pin all the edges.

pin bowl cozies right sides together

Sew all the way around the edges with a 3/8 inch seam allowance. Leave a 3 inch hole for turning. Backstitch when you start and when you stop and pivot at the corners.

sew around edge and leave hole

Trim the corners to reduce the bulk when you turn it right side out.

trim corners

Turn the bowl cozy right side out. Poke out the corners with a point turner.

turn right side out and poke out corners

Edgestitch the hole closed and all the way around. Press the edges flat. You finished!

press edges and sew edges

If you make something using this sewing project, I’d love to see! Please share it on social media with the hashtag #heatherhandmade and tag me!

how to make a bowl cozy
heather sewing

I believe small sewing moments can create great joy. Find your own “right” way to sew. -Heather

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Is there a way to keep the cozy from becoming misshapen during washing and drying? It separates and has to be reshaped (I have even ironed them back to the original shape). Would tacking them together in the middle help? Has anyone done that? Thanks!

Yes ma’am, I used Mountain Mist cotton batting. I just didn’t want to give them as gifts, or make some on commission, and have them come out of the dryer looking like a hot mess lol.

I need to make some of these! Perfect for hot or cold. Thanks for sharing!

From a discussion I just started having on this.

Is there a functional reason to use the binding?
Is it more for appearance?
I saw that you said you prefer it for the curved corners, easier to sew.
Does the binding offer any extra durability, such as during washing?

Thanks

Thank you

Hi Heather. What kind of fusible fleece and fusible interfacing are you using that is 100% cotton? I’m finding polyester which is flammable. Thank you!

made these for friends aand neighbors for Christmas and people love them. I’ve been asked to make more! I am experimenting with a dinner plate-size cozy now.

Can regular cotton batting be used or must it be the expensive wrap and zap?

I would love to see a six petal bowl cozy pattern. Is that possible?

Can you address a way to size the cozy to your bowl? Mine are not as deep but with a wider mouth.

Yes, please

Thanks for your help

You need to have a statement about using 100% COTTON THREAD for sewing and quilting.
It is also important to have quilting in the center and edges if you plan to laundry these when drips occur!

These look great and EASY. Will try it out as presents Thanks

Very nice tutorial! Thanks for sharing this with everyone. I do have one suggestion. Could you please use a darker typeface? It’s so hard to read these light text colors. A real strain. Especially for anyone with vision problems. Anyway, thanks again for an excellent tutorial for these handy bowl cozies.