Fold-up Fabric Snack Bowl Tutorial

Snack bowl in use

All folded up

We're very lucky and Willow's kindergarten class has "creek walk" once a week. They walk a little over half a mile each way and spend the entire afternoon playing on the banks of the creek with sticks and rocks and sand.

A few weeks ago the snack schedule changed and popcorn day started falling on creek day. I was sad to see the coffee filters that got used and thrown away each week but kids are too small to control a handful of popcorn on a cloth napkin. I approached the teacher about making some sort of popcorn bags and she offered a bunch of extra cloth napkins that had been made for her classroom for the project. With the hard work already done, I was able to convert twenty napkins into twenty cloth snack bowls in just a couple hours.

I think they're kind of adorable and might make some for our family for summer outings when I just bring big communal bags of nuts, dried fruit, carrots, etc.

10"x10" Napkin

The napkins I was given started out 10" x 10".


Fold them in half and mark two points at each side - one 3" toward center on the fold and one 1 1/2" down the edge from the fold side.


Starting at the edge on the fold, stitch to the 1 1/2" mark then stitch a diagonal line down to the 3" mark on the fold to make a triangle.

1st darts sewn (fold is toward the top)

V shape spread flat

After both sides have been
stitched, pull the corners that were both on top together and the ones on the bottom together.
This folds the napkin in half the other way but it will make a gentle V due to the first darts.


Mark and stitch triangles at the center of the other sides just like you did the first.


There are now darts sewn in the center of each side of the original napkin. You're done!


When it's unfolded, there's a sturdy little bowl for dry snacks but it folds up almost as flat as the original napkin.