Make a football Bowl Cozy perfect for the Big Game

Are you a Kansas City fan? Or rooting for Philly? Or just watching the game for the commercials? Here is a quick, easy project you can complete before guests arrive Sunday for the big game!

This bowl cozy is a perfect way to show your team spirit or to use up some of those scraps from that never-ending scrap bin.

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Materials Needed:

• 8 3" squares of background fabric (or 2 3"x 10" strips) *

• 4 3" squares of colored fabric for the football (or 2 3" x 5" strips) *

• 2 3.5" squares each of the background and colored fabric (4 total 3.5" squares) *

• 1 10" square of backing fabric *

• 2 9" squares of 100% cotton batting*

• Thread (I used 50wt Aurifil thread)

• Scissors/Rotary Cutter

• Marking pen

• Dull pointed tool to flatten edges and corners (I like to use the rounded end of my Hera marker)

• 3/8" White Chenille-It (If you want to add for laces)

*Important Note: if you want to put your cozy in the microwave, be sure your materials are all 100% cotton. You may opt to use Pellon Wrap n Zap to be sure your batting is safe to use in the microwave.

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How to make a patchwork football bowl cozy:

1. Using (2) 3.5" background squares and (2) 3.5" colored squares, make 4 Half Square Triangles (HSTs) using the 2-at-a-time method.

Two-at-a-time HSTs (note these instructions are for making 2 HSTs, repeat to make 4 HSTs total):

• Mark the back of (1) 3.5" square diagonally from corner to corner.

• Place (1) background 3.5" square and (1) color 3.5" square right sides together and sew 1/4" away from the marked line on either side.

• Cut on the drawn line and press seams open.

• Trim to 3" square, making sure to align the seam with the 45 degree diagonal line on your ruler.

2. Assemble the 3" HSTs and the remaining 3" squares as shown below and piece, right sides together, by sewing a 1/4" seam, column by column, as shown in the photo below.

3. Sew columns together using a 1/4" seam. Press middle seam open, and the two outer seams away from the center.

4. Trim block to 10" square.

5. For added interest, add (1) 5" strip of 3/8" Chenille-It blooming bias down the center of the "football" on the pieced block. Then add (3) 1.5" strips across the center strip to form the laces. To add the Chenille-It blooming bias, simply use a straight stitch down the center to secure it to your block.

6. Place both the 10" pieced block and backing square right sides down and place a 9" batting square, centered, on top of each.

7. Mark both diagonal lines to make an X from corner to corner on the batting squares. Sew on the lines for each piece.

8. Fold the square in half and mark 1" up from the fold and 2" in from the outside edge of each side. Draw a line between the two marks.

Repeat for all 4 sides of both the 10" pieced block and backing square.

9. Sew on the drawn lines and trim 1/4" away from the sewn lines.

10. With right sides together, nest the seams of the 10" pieced block and 10" backing square, pinning all four seams along the sides.

11. Stitch all the way around the squares using a 1/4" seam, leaving a 3" gap for turning.

12. Clip the corners to reduce bulk, and turn right sides out. Use a dull pointed tip to reach and flatten the corners and outer edges.

13. Stitch 1/8" away from the edges around the entire square to close the 3" gap and finish your bowl cozy.

14. Once your bowl cozy is completely constructed, you can finish the Chenille-It laces by either washing and drying the cozy in your washer and dryer. Or by using water and a brush to fray the Chenille-It threads and then using a blow dryer to dry.

And you're done! Put the pot on the stove and get that chili warmed up for game day.

Share your patchwork football cozy on Instagram and tag me @jessicasteeledesign so I can see who you're rooting for! For me it will be KC! :)