Tulip Nesting Bowls Tutorial ~ DIY Tutorial Ideas!

Need a quick, fun gift you can whip up for the holidays? These nesting bowls are for you! They sew up SO QUICK and can be made in a variety of sizes for anything you need to put in them. They’re great for holding jewelry, cookies, thread, keys…. the list is endless!

Here is what you’ll need:

-1/3 yard of two fabrics
***non directional works best, unless you don’t mind half the bowl being upside down
-1/3 yard Fusible Fleece
-Coordinating Thread
-Rotary Cutter or Fabric Shears
-Thread Snips
-Glass Head Pins
-Clear Acrylic Ruler
-Point Turner
-Marking Tool (Frixion pens work great for this project)

Let’s start cutting!

You’ll need one piece of each fabric and fusible for each bowl.

Large Bowl:

Fabric A: 12″x12″
Fabric B: 12″x12″
Fusible Fleece: 12″x12″

Small Bowl:

Fabric A: 9″x9″
Fabric B: 9″x9″
Fusible Fleece: 9″x9″

Now lets fuse! Place the glue side (bumpy side) of the fusible to the WRONG side of one fabric. (makes no difference which fabric you choose) Press with a hot iron and lots of steam for about a minute or until fully fused. Repeat this step with your second bowl.

If your fusible stretched while fusing, trim away excess from the edges.

Start with your fused pieces right side facing up. Place it’s unfused pair right side facing down. (you should have right sides of the fabric together) Pin all 4 sides.
**Tip: keep the head of your pins sticking off the edge to make them easy to pull out while sewing

Before we start sewing we need to mark a small opening to turn these cuties right side out. We will be sewing all 4 sides EXCEPT this small bit. A 3 inch opening is perfect for this project. Mark this in the center of one side. Then, using the edge of your foot as the guide, stitch around your squares, pivoting in the corners. Repeat for the second bowl.

Trim away the bulk from each corner

Then using the opening you left, turn each set right side out. Use your point turner to poke out all the corners. You want those corners crisp and pointy!

Using a hot iron and steam; press each piece nice and flat. Turn under the seam allowance from the opening so it is pointing to the inside and press.

Let’s topstitch! Move your needle over to the right as far as your machine will go. You will still be using the edge of the foot as your guide. Starting just before the opening (to ensure it gets closed), stitch all 4 sides, pivoting in the corners. Add a small backstitch when you overlap the first few stitches.

Now to turn your flat squares into bowls! Starting with your larger bowl, fold the bowl in half so the INSIDE fabric is facing OUT. Measure in, along the fold, 2 inches from the edge. Then using the 45 degree angle on your ruler mark a diagonal line from the 2″ mark to the edge of the bowl.
***Make sure to use a marking tool that can be removed. We are using a Frixion Pen so the marks will iron away. A water or air soluble pen would work well too.

Repeat this step on the other edge. Then unfold the bowl and fold in half in the opposite direction. Mark the same diagonal lines 2″ in from these edges. When unfolded you should have 4 diagonal lines pointing into the center of the square.

***You will repeat these steps for the smaller bowl but measuring in only 1.5 inches in from the edges.

Fold your bowl in half again and stitch along the lines that disappear into the fold. Keeping your needle in center position, stitch along the lines, making sure to backstitch on each end.

Once the two lines are stitched, unfold the bowl and refold in the opposite direction. At this step, the bowl looks a little weird, but trust me its going to be awesome!