Who doesn’t love a bowl cozy? You may have seen these around, or they may be new to you. Either way, you’ll love this embroidered version of a bowl cozy. This bowl cozy project includes a free downloadable pattern to make this project easy, along with a Free Design of the Month from Brother to decorate the cozy and give it style! My version features a pretty, single-color wreath design with a monogram letter in the middle. Easy and fun to make, these cozies are perfect for serving hot bowls of soup or chilled dessert dishes. Make them in any color you choose to suit your taste and décor. And, oh yes, these would be ideal for gift giving so make time to whip some up for family and friends!

Finished size of bowl cozy fits a standard 6-inch diameter bowl. Flat portion of the inside measures approximately 5-inches in diameter. May fit other bowl sizes depending on the shape and size of the bowl.

Supplies for Bowl Cozy:

• Brother(Opens in a new tab) embroidery machine with 4-inch hoop capability.
• SA5810(Opens in a new tab) Brother medium-weight tear-away stabilizer for embroidering.
• Optional but helpful - Brother Overcasting foot “G.”
• Embroidery thread and size 11 embroidery needle for embroidering.
• Basic notions, including Fabric marker or chalk for marking design placement and dart lines. Tip: Always test selected marker on your fabric. Make sure marks are totally removed with water or washing. Note that most marks should be removed before pressing.
• Printable pdf pattern included with instructions.
  • Pattern A
  • Pattern B
• Brother Free Design of the month:Floral Wreath(Opens in a new tab)
• Materials for each bowl cozy:
  • Fabric piece #1 for inside and fabric piece #2 for outside of bowl, cut to fit printed pattern as shown in instructions.
  • Matching piece of cotton batting for inner layer. Note: For additional heat resistance, you could choose to use insulated batting for the inner layer. Also, please see the options in Important Notes below.

Important Notes:

This bowl cozy was created to be used essentially as a bowl potholder. It functions well for holding a hot or cold dish while maintaining comfort for your hands. This bowl cozy is not designated for use in the microwave. However, there is a widely available natural cotton batting product designed specifically for microwave usage. Combined with all cotton fabric and nothing but quality cotton thread for all sewing and embroidery, you could make these suitable for use in the microwave. When microwaving, be sure to strictly follow instructions detailed on the specialized batting package. For embroidering with this alternative project, I would suggest testing the design on a remnant with your chosen thread before starting. Cotton threads vary in performance and you’ll want to make sure you’re happy with the results. In this case, I also recommend using an additional small piece of cotton to replace tear-away stabilizer.

Figure 1




Please read through all instructions before beginning this project. Basic steps are as follows:

• Print and prepare pattern and cut fabric pieces.
• Layer bowl piece #1 with batting and embroider wreath combined with a built-in monogram letter in center.
• Sew and trim side darts of inner and outer bowl pieces.
• Layer embroidered piece with outer bowl piece #2 and sew, leaving opening for turning.
• Turn, press, and stitch along edges to complete bowl cozy and close opening.

All Steps to Create Bowl Cozy:

1. Download design and transfer to your machine. Print pattern piece A and B. Trim pattern pieces along black lines and tape together as noted on pattern. Tip: Trim away excess paper beyond red line on Pattern Side A, and then overlap with Pattern Side B for an easy way to connect the two. You now have a full pattern piece for cutting your fabrics and batting to size. See Figure #2.

Figure 2




Cut pieces using printed pattern. Mark the center of inside bowl piece for embroidery design placement. See Figure #3.

Figure 3



2. Prepare to embroider center of bowl piece #1. Layer batting against the wrong side of fabric. See Figure #4.

Figure 4




Hoop layers having center markings aligned with center of hoop. See Figure #5.

Figure 5




Create a combination design by adding a monogram letter to the center of the wreath design. Adjust position of letter within the wreath as necessary. Tip: While a letter may be perfectly centered, it can look a little “off” depending on the shape, size, and style of the letter itself. I used a basic block style letter, size large, and moved it slightly until it was pleasing to the eye. Tip: you could consider stitching a name or greeting inside the wreath if it will fit. See example of wreath with monogram in Figure #6.

Figure 6




Attach hoop to machine and slip a piece of tear-away stabilizer under the hoop to help support the stitches. See Figure #7.

Figure 7



3. Embroider design. See Figure #8.

Figure 8



4. Remove from hoop and remove bulk of stabilizer. Place pattern on layered piece and transfer blue triangular markings for darts. Repeat for piece #2. Tips for marking darts: Trim away triangular dart lines on the pattern piece to create an easy opening to mark lines. I like to transfer lines to both right and wrong sides. See Figure #9.

Figure 9




Sewing the darts: We’re not sewing darts in a garment, so it’s okay to backstitch at both the wide opening and the point. With the needle in the leftmost position, you can follow the inside opening of presser foot “J” along the line for accurate stitching. See the enhanced photo in Figure #10, with the red arrow pointing to the opening in the foot and the purple line indicating the dart stitching line.

Figure 10




Cut darts open, trim batting close to stitching line, and press open. See example in Figure #11.

Figure 11



5. Prepare to finish bowl. I used foot “G” and a zig-zag stitch set for width 5.0, length 3.5 to overcast the edges of the inner bowl fabric, securing fabric and batting layers together to make sewing the narrow seam easier. This foot makes it easy to follow along the raw edge, with overcasting skimming raw edge of fabric layers. See Figure #12a and Figure #12b.

Figure 12a




Figure 12b




Layer and pin piece #1 and piece #2 together, with right sides facing and darts matching. Mark off an opening measuring 2 ½-inches along one straight side for turning right side out. See Figure #13 with two orange-colored pins marking opening.

Figure 13




Sew a ¼-inch seam around the edge, taking care to leave open between pin marking. Carefully turn bowl cozy right side out, pulling a little at a time until the whole piece is turned. Press over the small area of an ironing board, pressing open edges to the inside. Topstitch to close opening, stitching close to edge all around the bowl. Sew several more equally spaced lines of stitching to help shape bowl cozy, stopping rows when you’re near the end of the dart stitching. See Figure #14.

Figure 14




Press bowl cozy to help shape it, folding and creasing it slightly along the dart lines. See bottom side of finished cozy below in Figure #15.

Figure 15




You are finished! Enjoy!