Woo Hoo, we made it. Or more specifically I made it! Today I would like to show you/remind you how to make fabric bowls. I have used matching Christmas prints, but use velvet or silk paper or different novelty prints or some gorgeous batiks or really what ever you have in the cupboard.
You don’t need much to make these, and they are really fast. You need some Timtex or similar product like this, vliesofix or double sided web – two sheets, and two fabrics (two fat quarters are enough). Cut the fabrics, two sheets of vliesofix and the Timtex all to about 15 by 18 inches. In addition to that, you will need some card or template plastic to make two templates and your iron, sewing machine and thread.
Download and print the templates here. You can make these any size and shape, but make one first and then start to play with designs to individualise the resulting bowls. Trace the two shapes onto template plastic or firm card and cut out the exact template.
Take your vliesofix, fabric and Timtex to the ironing board. Iron the vliesofix sheets to each side of the Timtex. Remove the paper on one side and iron one of your fabrics right side out to the Timtex. Flip over and repeat with the second fabric. You now have one firm piece of fabric to work with. Trim to size so you can see where you are going.
Using the templates cut out one base and six sides.
Use a satin stitch to machine stitch around the outsides of all the shapes. You could machine quilt or do some embroidery or other embellishment if you like.
Lay the short end of a side piece to one of the sides of the base. Adjust your satin stitch so that you are using the widest of the zigzag widths and stitch over both pieces to join. Take care to keep the edges touching and the corners aligned.
As you can see, I have used the reverse side of the base to the sides, but you don’t have to. Stitch all of the sides to an edge of the base. You can reverse every second piece if you like or be consistent like I have.
Now comes the trickiest part. You are going to stitch each of the sides together in the same way as the sides to the base. I find it easiest to start from the outside and work in. Align two side edges that are next to each other. Hold the sides so that they are touching but not overlapping. Stitch with the wide satin stitch from the outside in.
Repeat until all six sides are joined. Trim off any loose ends of thread. and now you have a bowl to use
And it is reversable.
Like many of the projects we have done in the last two weeks, I am confident if you make one bowl, you will make many more.
