Sewing Pattern
Woven Rope Bowls
Accessories
Made from fabric-wrapped piping cord, then zig zag stitched together with your sewing machine, these gorgeous bowls are perfect for all those little bits and bobs that are handy-to-use and easy-to-lose. Amanda Walker takes us through the process step-by-step, but once you’ve mastered it the possibilities truly are endless. Better yet, every single bowl will turn out completely unique, so grab your supplies and let’s get making!
Cut 2.5cm wide bias strips from printed fabric. Bind the end of the cord with the first bias strip, then wrap the bias binding around the cord. Secure the first part with 3cm of hand-stitching, then leave the binding hanging past this point. Make the beginning of the coil and secure the first couple of rounds with hand-stitches.
Set the machine to its widest zig zag width. Place the coil under the foot of the machine with the loose cord and binding, sitting to the right of the foot and the coil to the left. Drop the foot onto the coil so that it is held in place while another section of cord is tightly wrapped with binding. Pin the binding in place to prevent it from unravelling.
Start to zig zag so the cord wraps around onto itself. Ensure the zig zag stitch is connecting both sides of the cord. Use the middle finger of your right hand to push the unstitched cord tightly towards the coil. The beginning of the coil is quite fiddly so you will need to keep lifting the foot to position the coil. This will get easier as the coil gets larger and the process will become more continuous.
After doing four or five rounds around the centre of the coil, pick it up with your left hand from the bed of the machine and continue to stitch. Wrap new sections of binding to the cord along the way. Continue to sew and wrap around for another ten times; you will be working with the bowl in the cup of your hand.
At this point, fold the end of the binding in and continue to sew without the binding to create a plain border for the top of the bowl. Take the bowl out from the machine when the binding stops. Bind the cord with thread, then cut the cord just in front of this to stop it from unravelling. Cut a scrap of binding and cover the end of the cord neatly, hand-stitching it in position. Return the bowl to the machine to zig zag stitch the last section into place.