A first attempt

Gift production season is upon us - especially upon those of us who are cash-strapped.  I'd noticed these coiled fabric bowls a couple years back, on the "i could do that" theory.

I bought one to have a closer look, and later flipped through instructional books on the technique in a local quilt shop.  Have to say, i don't really think there's enough to it to warrant an entire book - i mean, once you have the basic idea, it's pretty much theme-and-variations - but i followed (more or less) the tutorial here.  In a nutshell, you're wrapping strips of fabric around clothesline, then coiling and stitching the wrapped clothesline.

So, i finally made one today... (this one's for my mom, and it's safe to post it here before she gets it - i'll eat my hat if she sees it - the only way she sees anything on the blog is if i pull it up when i'm at her house and then push her into a chair in front of it).

Things i learned on the first iteration: select tightly-woven fabrics, buy more needles than you think you need, and bite the bullet and cut the strips on the bias.  It'll take more fabric (unless you're doing multiple bowls, then the difference in yardage won't be so much), but it will wrap much more neatly and fray much less.

Getting the coil started is by far the biggest pain in the rump; the first angled coil is slightly fussy, but that's the worst of it.  I still need to refine my technique for finishing the last coil at the top - i'm not entirely pleased with that part.