Health & Fitness
Upcycled Fabric Bowls
Upcycling involves diverting things from landfill and making them into something useful or artistic. I make bowls from fabric that would otherwise be thrown away.
I love making useful things out of my artwork. When I started printing my own photos and designs onto fabric it opened up a universe of options to use the material -- for scarves, sachets, pillows, and so much more! One of my favorite things to make with my fabric is bowls and vases.
If you're clever enough to come up with your own patterns I'm envious, but I need some direction, and this C&T Publishing book was perfect: Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Vases by Linda Johansen. I also love her book Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Bowls.
When I scored a stash of amazingly beautiful fabric in decorator sample books at the Oakland Museum White Elephant sale I realized that the larger pieces would upcycle perfectly into bowls. If you're in the Bay Area SCRAP-SF usually has a great supply of sample books at very reasonable prices. I've made three of the bowls so far from fabric I got out of one book. The fabric's richly embossed and overstitched with divine floral patterns. I used a template for a 9 inch bowl with six leaves, the same one I've used to make bowls out of my own self-printed fabric.
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I included a photo of the bottom of the red bowl. These are all reversible, you just push on the base and the bowls turn inside out. The gold one is my favorite right now, the colors are so rich. The white one with red, blue, and green over-stitched flowers is beautifully delicate.
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The easiest way to make fabric bowls is to construct a sandwich with 2 pieces of fabric, good sides facing out, and slip between them a piece of thick stabilizer that's fusible on both sides. Bond the sandwich by ironing to activate the adhesive. Place the template or pattern from Linda's book on top, then mark around and cut. Depending on your template or pattern you may also have to mark the base.
Sew up the bowl and you're set! I double satin-stitched around each of the leaves and the base. Bowls are great gifts, perfect to hold keys and coins, dry food, beauty and bathroom items, at your bed side or on your vanity, etc.
Interested in upcycling?
This is my blog post about upcycling books into art.
In this one I talk about using upcycled fabric in an art hanging.
I show an envelope made from old paper in this post.
You can read the original post on my blog. Or click here to see my website.