Simple Soup Bowl Cosy from Old Jeans (Free Pattern + Tutorial)

This website may earn commissions from purchases made through links in this post.

Make a stylish soup bowl cosy from old jeans! This simple upcycle project keeps your hands protected—perfect for gifting or everyday use.

soup in a bowl with an upcycled soup bowl cosy from old jeans and a second cosy in the background with a spoon on a timber background

Nothing warms you up on a cold winter’s day like a steaming bowl of soup.

And if curling up on the couch is your way to enjoy a bowl of soup, then a bowl cosy is the perfect way to hold your bowl while keeping your hands from getting burned.

This soup bowl cosy tutorial upcycles old jeans into super-cute and functional bowl cosies.

Not only are they practical, but they also make a great, frugal gift.

Finished Size

The soup bowl cosy pattern supplied (below) fits smaller bowls of approximately 16cm in diameter.

If you have larger bowls, you can easily DIY a larger pattern.

To make a larger pattern, stick a couple of sheets of paper together and draw a 25cm square.

Rule horizontal and vertical lines for guides, as well as diagonal lines (quilting lines), then draw in the darts at 5cm tall and a 5cm base along the edge.

You can keep the pattern square or use a bowl to round the corners off.

To make sure each rounded corner is the same, trace the bowl for the rounded edge on one corner, then fold the paper to cut all four corners at once.

measuring the bowl cosy pattern

I do have some shallow but wider bowls that I picked up from the op shop, and these cosies fit those too.

soup bowl in cosy
I love these bowls – not too deep, they fit well in the dishwasher, and they were $1 for six at our local op-shop.

Upcycled Soup Bowl Cosy – Materials Needed

  • old denim jeans
  • quilt batting* (optional)

*If you don’t have quilt batting, you can use a couple of extra layers of denim or some old towel, etc.

⚠️ This cosy is NOT microwavable unless you use 100% cotton denim, batting, and thread. Any synthetic components can melt and possibly catch fire in the microwave. Many modern jeans include elastane and other synthetic fibres and are therefore NOT microwavable.

Tools You Will Need

Essential tools are scissors, a sewing machine OR a needle, and thread.

If you don’t have a printer, this pattern is super easy to draft with a ruler and pen.

If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can hand-stitch these cosies. It will take a little longer, but it’s still a small project that can be done in a few hours (links in the tool list are to Amazon).

Making the Soup Bowl Cosy

soup bowl cosy finished

Here are the instructions for making the soup bowl cosy.

Download the Template

Download the template and cut around the edge as well as the triangles (darts).

To ensure your printer is printing to the correct scale, make sure it’s printing at 100% or with no scaling, as shown below.

print scaling

If printing from Chrome, the scale might be ‘default’.

Print on A4-sized paper.

You can check that it has printed to the correct size by measuring the square box at the bottom of the page. It should measure 2cm. And the bowl cosy should measure 20cm square.

This pattern is pretty close to the margins. If your printer won’t print it without shrinking the pattern, you can print custom scale at 104%, which will make it almost 20cm and close enough.

Step 1 – Measuring and Cutting Fabric

measuring and cutting the soup cosy
Just cut around the outside – don’t cut out the triangles!

Measurements

From the jeans, cut 2x squares 20cm
From the batting (optional), cut 1 square 20cm

I found it easier to measure a 20cm square and then trace the pattern on it.

Measure a 20cm square, trace the pattern on one square only, then layer and pin the fabric to cut both squares at once.

*Don’t cut out the triangles, they are dart lines we’ll be sewing later.

Step 2 – Measuring and cutting the Batting

tracing template on quilt batting
Just draw in the triangles and cut around the corners – don’t cut out the triangles!

The batting is the inner insulation. If you don’t have any, you can use extra layers of denim or a piece of old towel or blanket.

Don’t forget, this is not microwavable if there is even a hint of synthetics in it!!

Step 3 – Quilting the Batting to the Denim

attaching the quilt batting to the denim

Clip or pin the batting to the piece of denim that doesn’t have the pattern on it.

Using a straight stitch, sew along the diagonal lines to quilt the two pieces together.

sewing on the quilt batting

Step 4 – Sewing the Darts

step-by-step sewing the cosy darts

To sew the darts, fold the fabric in half, matching up the dart lines, diagonal lines and rounded corners. Pin or clip in place.

Sew along the line of the triangle/dart as indicated in the picture above.

Trim the dart.

Repeat for each dart on the quilted piece.

Repeat for each dart on the second, non-quilted denim piece so that both sides of the bowl have the darts sewn.

Turn one side only right side up.

two sides of the bowl sewn with darts

Step 5 – Joining the Pieces Together

joining the bowl pieces

Place one side of the bowl inside the other, right sides of the fabric facing.

Clip or pin around the edge, lining up the darts and corners.

Sew around the edge, leaving a 1cm seam. Don’t sew around the entire edge – leave a gap of about 10cm for turning the bowl right side out.

Step 6 – Finishing the Bowl Cosy

soup bowl cosy finished

Turn the bowl out the right way, using a pen or a chopstick to gently press the seams all the way out.

Fold over the open seam and clip/pin.

Top stitch around the entire top of the bowl, closing the seam as you do so.

And there you have it! A recycled denim bowl cosy – just in time for the winter months. Great as a gift.

Care Instructions

To clean the cosy, simply wash it in the washing machine with a full load.

Line dry to avoid shrinkage.

Yield: 1

Soup Bowl Cosy From Old Jeans

soup in a bowl with an upcycled soup bowl cosy from old jeans and a second cosy in the background with a spoon on a timber background

Make a stylish soup bowl cosy from old jeans! This simple upcycle project keeps your hands protected—perfect for gifting or everyday use.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Active Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost $0 - $5

Materials

  • Old jeans
  • cotton quilting batting (optional)

Tools

  • template
  • ruler or tape measure
  • pen or fabric marker
  • scissors
  • sewing machine or sewing needle
  • thread
  • pins/clips

Instructions

  1. Cut two pieces of denim into a 20cm square.
  2. Cut a 20cm square of batting, or use a third piece of denim instead to add thickness.
  3. Draw diagonal lines from corner to corner on the batting.
  4. Using the template, mark rounded corners and dart shapes onto the denim piece that has the diagonal lines, as well as onto the batting.
  5. Cut around the corners to make them curved. DO NOT cut the triangles.
  6. Place the batting on the wrong side of one denim square, aligning the edges. Sew along the diagonal lines to quilt them together.
  7. Fold the fabric right sides together along the dart centre, aligning the dart lines. Pin and sew along the line to create a triangle. Trim, leaving a small seam allowance.
  8. Repeat for the remaining darts, then sew all four darts on the other piece of denim.
  9. Turn the quilted piece right side out with the denim facing outward. Leave the second piece wrong side out, then place it over the first so the right sides are facing. Pin around the top edge.
  10. Sew around the top of the bowl, leaving about a 10cm gap where you don't sew for turning.
  11. Turn the bowl right side out. Tuck in the raw edges at the gap and clip. Topstitch around the entire edge to finish and close the opening.

Notes

⚠️ Note: This bowl cozy is not safe for microwave use unless all materials — fabric, batting, and thread — are 100% cotton. Do not use polyester or synthetic blends, as they may melt or catch fire.

Did you make this project?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Facebook

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *