August 13, 2025 • Updated February 25, 2026

How to Sew a Bowl Cozy

Our friends at Peppermint magazine are back to show you how to sew this quick bowl cozy ensuring both ease and style the next time you zap your next meal. When you’re in a hurry, microwaving food can be a great timesaver, but running to the table with a microwaved bowl in your hands makes for a risky sprint! However, after completing this DIY microwavable bowl cozy tutorial, you’ll soon be turning those mad dashes across the kitchen with a piping hot bowl into smug steps of satisfaction, complete with cool hands.

A close up of a person wearing a blue-and-white gingham dress holds a bowl of rice that itself is held in a fabric bowl cozy. The fabric on the top side of the cozy features bright flowers in inks, reds, yellows and white. The fabric on the bottom side fe

Protect your hands from hot bowls and dishes with this sweet bowl cozy project. The cozy can go into the microwave with your bowl so there’s no need for a pot holder or towel to remove your hot dish. Beautiful for the home and a great gift, this satisfyingly quick-sew project will have you turning out bowl cozies by the bundle. It’s a great scrapbuster project for those clever quilters too! **Important note about fabric and thread choices: ** Synthetic fabrics like polyester or nylon, plus fabrics with metallic detail, are not suitable for this project due to the fire/melting risk when used in the microwave. Fabric: If you’re using a fabric for this project that’s different than our Petal Signature Cotton®, use an all-cotton fabric. Thread: Use cotton thread. Do not use polyester, synthetic or metallic thread.

A person wearing a blue-and-white gingham dress puts a bowl of rice that itself is held in a fabric bowl cozy in the microwave. The fabric on the top side of the cozy features bright flowers in inks, reds, yellows and white. The fabric on the bottom side

Skill Level: Confident Beginner

Bowl Cozy Materials

2 fat quarters of 100% cotton fabric—We’re using Petal Signature Cotton in Protea Abstract 4 Bottle Green and Graphic Jelly Shapes (Not synthetic fabric, see text above regarding the fire/melting risk.)
Printed PDF pattern
100% cotton wadding/batting (We’re using Wrap-N-ZapTM)
100% cotton thread (Not polyester thread, see text above regarding the fire/melting risk.)
Dressmaking scissors or rotary cutter with cutting mat
Iron
Sewing machine (A universal needle will work, but a denim or heavy-duty needle is a good option for the topstitching.)
Turning tool or a DIY version, like a chopstick or knitting needle

SHop Craft & DIY Project Fabric

Steps to Make a Bowl Cozy

Step 1. Download and print the pattern

Download and print the free bowl cozy pattern. Feel free to increase or decrease the printing scale as required for your chosen bowl. The diameter of the template as is is just shy of 15″. If you want to play around with the scale of the printed pattern, it will increase and decrease the size of its diameter accordingly.

Step 2. Cut out the pattern

Cut out the pattern from the piece of paper.

Step 3. Prepare your fabric and batting

Fabric: Pre-shrink by putting it through a basic cycle in the washing machine, then dry and iron.Batting: Prepare as per the product instructions.

Step 4. Cut out your fabric pieces

Take the pattern and lay it on your fabric. Be sure to follow the pattern markings and cut your fabric on the fold. Cut two pieces. If you would like to use two different fabrics to make your cozy reversible as we have done, cut one of each fabric.

The bowl cozy paper pattern is pinned and placed on the fold of a piece of fabric and ready for cutting out. The fabric design features bright flowers in pinks, reds, yellows and white.

Cutting out the bowl cozy paper pattern that has been pinned and placed on the fabric fold. It is being cut out along the selvage. The fabric design features bright flowers in pinks, reds, yellows and white.

Cutting out the bowl cozy paper pattern that has been pinned and placed on the fabric fold. It is being cut out along the wide V-shaped notch along the one of the pattern’s long sides. The fabric design features bright flowers in pinks, reds, yellows and

Step 5. Crease an ‘X’ pattern on the fabric

Using an iron, press two diagonal lines in the fabric, one running top left to bottom right and the other running top right to bottom left. This will create an ‘X’ pattern through the center of the fabric.

Two cut-out fabric pieces lie next to each other and design side up on a white surface. Each piece has two diagonal creases pressed into it, one going top left to bottom right and one going top right to bottom left, to make an “X” shape. The fabric on the

Step 6. Cut out the batting

Cut two squares of batting which are slightly larger than the fabric squares.

Step 7. Place and pin the batting

Place one piece of fabric on top of a square of batting and pin.

A close up of two cut-out fabric pieces lie next to each other and design side up on a white surface. Each piece has two diagonal creases pressed into it, one going top left to bottom right and one going top right to bottom left, to make an “X” shape. Eac

Step 8. Sew the fabric to the batting

Starting to sew one of the creased “X” lines of the fabric and batting together. The line being sewn is running diagonally from the top right to the bottom left. The fabric features black geometric lines on a white background.

Almost finished sewing one of the creased “X” lines of the fabric and batting together. The line being sewn is running diagonally from the top right to the bottom left. The fabric features black geometric lines on a white background.

After sewing both creased “X” lines of the fabric and batting together, the two sides of the bowl cozy lay on a white surface. The fabric to the left features black geometric lines on a white background. The fabric to the right features bright flowers in

A close up after sewing both creased “X” lines of the fabric and batting together, the two sides of the bowl cozy. The X-crossed lines have been sewn with white cotton thread. The fabric to the left features black geometric lines on a white background. Th

Step 9. Trim the batting

Following the shape of the fabric, trim the excess batting.

Trimming the excess batting from the bowl cozy pattern with scissors. The fabric features bright flowers in pinks, reds, yellows and white.

Two cut-out bowl cozy pattern pieces with the excess batting trimmed away. The fabric to the left features bright flowers in pinks, reds, yellows and white. The fabric to the right features black geometric lines on a white background.

Step 10. Line up the edges of the darts

Line up the raw edges of the darts by folding the fabric right sides together to prepare them for sewing.

Step 11. Sew the darts

Sew each dart, backstitching at the beginning and end. Be sure to capture both the fabric and batting together so there are no raw edges on the right side. This can be tricky due to the thickness of the batting.

Each side of the bowl cozy has had fabric and batting sewn together complete with darts, resulting in a concave shape. The fabric to the left features bright flowers in pinks, reds, yellows and white. The fabric to the right features black geometric lines

A close up of one of the darts on the side of the bowl cozy. The fabric to the left features bright flowers in pinks, reds, yellows and white. The fabric to the right features black geometric lines on a white background.

Step 12. Pin both sides of the cozy together with the fabric facing inward

Once you have sewn all the darts for both sides of the cozy, take the two sides and pin them right sides together.

Getting ready to pin both layers of the bowl cozy together with right sides facing. The batting is facing outward.

Clipping both layers of the bowl cozy together with right sides facing. The batting is facing outward.

Step 13. Sew along all edges, except for a 3” opening

Using your sewing machine, sew along all edges leaving a 3” opening in the middle of one of the straight edges—don’t have your opening on a corner!

The bowl cozy’s edges have been sewn together, except for a 3” opening, which is visible.

Step 14. Tidy up the fabric

Clip the corners and trim the seam allowances.

Clipping one corner of the batting with scissors.

Step 15. Birth the bowl cozy through the 3” opening

Turn the project right side out and sharpen your corners by pushing gently with a turning tool. If you don’t have a turning tool, you can use a DIY option like a chopstick or a knitting needle. (And, yes, when you push your project through a small hole, it’s called birthing!)

The bowl cozy has been turned inside out using a turning tool so that the fabric designs are visible on both sides. The fabric has been pulled through the 3” opening, which is visible. The fabric on the top side features bright flowers in pinks, reds, yel

Step 16. Topstitch all the way around the edge of the cozy

Topstitch the entire way round the edge of the bowl cozy, sealing the 3” opening as you do. While you should be able to complete this project with a standard needle in your sewing machine, a denim or heavy-duty needle is also a good option—particularly for the topstitching. When topstitching your bowl cozy, pivot at the corners rather than stitching four independent straight lines as this will achieve a neater look. And ta da! Your bowl cozy is now complete, you clever thing! Release your inner MasterChef and celebrate with a bowl of something hot and delicious.

The finished bowl cozy as seen from above on a white surface. It has a concave shape to fit a bowl of soup and four pointed edges. The fabric on the top side features bright flowers in inks, reds, yellows and white. The fabric on the bottom side features

The finished bowl cozy as seen from the right side. It has a concave shape to fit a bowl of soup and four pointed edges. The fabric on the top side features bright flowers in inks, reds, yellows and white. The fabric on the bottom side features black geom

As shown from above and to the left, a person wearing a blue-and-white gingham dress holds a bowl of rice that itself is held in a fabric bowl cozy. The fabric on the top side of the cozy features bright flowers in inks, reds, yellows and white. A spoon i