I posted these just now in Pictures and a few ppl asked for a tute. They're not that hard to make - here's some written instructions and a couple of photos which should be enough to make them. :-D

Instructions for fabric bowls

MATERIALS

2 x FQs in coordinating fabrics
A square of wadding the size of your bowl (I used poly as it quilts up stiffer) (12 ½” for eg)
4 x beads or buttons to embellish (optional)
Piecing and quilting thread to match fabric

METHOD
1. Make two 9 patches, reversing the fabric placement in each, to the desired size. I made some @ 12 ½” unfinished so cut the patches at 4 ½” square.
2. Sandwich the wadding square between the two 9 patches, lining up carefully and pin around the edges in the seam allowance.
3. Quilt as desired but fairly closely – you want the piece to be quite firm. I did a close meander.
4. Trim the piece square if necessary and bind the edges in your usual way.
5. Pinch a pleat from the edge of the centre square to the outside centre edge on each of the four sides to make the bowl the desired depth. My pleat was an inch wide at the outside but experiment with pinning until you get the desired effect. (see photo) Sew this pleat in place on the machine so that the pleat falls on the outside of the bowl, backstitch at each end to secure.
6. Fold out the points at each corner and hand stitch in place, embellishing with a bead or button if desired.
7. Fill with sweeties or nuts or make larger ones as bread baskets!

Thanks for the tute. One question. Did you put interfacing to make it stiffer?

Nope but I guess you could. I used a good quality poly wadding (Quilter's Dream, select weight), which is thinnish but when closely quilted goes quite firm. :-D

Ok, thanks. :)

i make my bowls much stiffer...i use timtex in them...it is the same interfacing thats used in the brim of baseball caps, washable and holds its shape. there are other stiff interfacings to try too...or batting...it all works :)

Thanks for posting that. Those are really cute & would make great gifts. Great stash user too!

I think that the close meander I did in the quilting makes them stiff enough without using timtex or interfacing but maybe that's an idea instead of such close quilting. How does the timtex react to the curve of the bottom of the bowl though? I purposely quilted this area a little more lightly to make it more flexible then quilted the actual base of the bowl heaviest of all. I think this gives a really nice shape. I've only used timtex to make postcards but it's very stiff, I found.

Thanks. A good way to practice FMQ too. LOL. I am going to try to make one before Christmas.

Thanks for the awesome tutorial!

How good are these so clever , have a guess what I am making tomorrow. I teach a craft class at our church
and I am always looking for things like this , Thankyou so much. Cathy

So what exactly do you use the fabric bowls for??

Well they're not so great for soup! :lol: At Christmas here in England, folk have nuts in their shells around for guests or chocolate sweeties in wrappers so they'd be good for those. Larger ones can be used for bread on the table (they can be washed) or fruit. I even had one friend who saw them say she'd display pine cones in them sprayed gold just as a Christmas decoration. I'm sure there are lots more ideas out there! :-D

Thank you for the great tute :D:D:D

They are cute filled with Christmas ornaments and pinecones too.

I used them in the bathroom too. for soaps etc.

I have taught classes on bowls and boxes and we use fast 2 fuse between the 2 fabrics. They are stiff and can be turned inside out for a new look. Great to give gifts in them.

Anything that you use a cane bowl for...people have bought my fabric bowls to use as bread baskets and fruit bowls. One lady bought one to store her daughter's hair clips and ribbons in. I know one person bought one of my big ones as a cat bed (her choice) as they can all be washed in the washing machine. An example can be seen in my avatar. I know that some of them have been used as hats and another man used his purchase as a lamp shade. One man also used one for gathering eggs...I don't really mind as I have a lot of interest from people who want to use them for decor and to put pot pourri in - I hope they keep interested in finding many ways to use them.

Some wonderful ideas there - and I love Rosy's soap in the bathroom idea too - I could use one for my little bottles of lotions and potions that keep me looking young and beautiful. (In my mind's eye anyway!) :mrgreen: Regarding the hats - I took one into our village hall to donate as a raffle prize and one of the villagers put it on his head - and actually it was rather fetching! 8-)

Great ideas. Thanks for sharing.

I am sorry but what is a fabric bowl? If I don't ask I won't learn.

Elsie

It's a bowl made from fabric. :-D

Pretty pictures - and I must say, this is one of the nicest fabric bowl patterns I've seen. This style of fabric bowl is new to me, and I really like yours! (People use these for hats...really?!?)

You did a wonderful job on the tut...even I can understand it :)

Thanks for sharing,
Debbie in Austin

HI,

I guess I didn't ask my question correctly. What is the purpose or use of a fabric bowl. It is very pretty. I suppose made of christmas material you can put Christmas ornaments or pretty decorative fruit that I have seen in gold and silver color.

Thank you, Elsie

HI,
I guess I ask my question incorrectly. What is the purpose of a bowl made of material. If made from christmas material you can fill it with Christmas bulbs or Gold & silver fruit.

It would make a pretty center piece am I correct?.


Thank you, Elsie

Lovely.

Hi Elsie - if you read above in this topic there were spme great ideas posted for using these. :-D

Thanks for the info. I'l pay more attention.

Thanks, they are so cute!

Thank you for sharing the instructions - I have a group of girls that I quilt with once a week and I'm going to make each of them one of these for Christmas. I may use fabric that is 'sewing themed' and then we can use them to store our sewing necessities in next to our machines. They are the cutest I've seen in a while!

Great idea, Thanks