the big kid hooded towel. . . . (a DIY tutorial)

last week, as i was reminiscing bath time memories with amelia, i gave a little hint that i would be sharing a new tutorial with you all.  this is a very fast craft that can be pulled together at the last minute for your own kiddos or a baby shower gift.

pretty much what you see in the picture above is all you’ll need — it’s so simple!  grab a full size towel, a hand towel {not a washcloth}, some scissors & your sewing machine.  now, let’s make some hooded towels <3

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lay your hand towel out, long side facing you.  measure from one side of the long side and cut down the middle.  i cut a fourteen inch piece, so that there is “room to grow” in the hood.  if you have a smaller child, or you are giving this as a baby gift, you could cut a ten inch piece to dry off smaller baby heads.  lay the unused portion aside {or save it to make a second hooded towel!}.

fold the hand towel, right sides together, so that the edge you just cut is facing the left  {just so we make sure we are both folding the same way *wink*}.  serge or zig-zag stitch the cut edge closed.

to make the hood “rounded” — measure off six inches from one long side to one short side {see the first picture above}.  mark it, sew it {again, using a serger or tight zig-zag stitch}, cut off the excess & turn the hand towel right side out.  so easy!  set your hand-towel-turned-hood aside.

take your full size towel and fold it in half, width-wise.  use a pin to mark the middle of the fold like this.  open the towel back up full size.

using a ruler, make two marks — each one four inches out from the middle pin.

using these four inch marks as a guide, grab one mark and pull it towards the middle pin.  straighten the top so that you now have three mini layers and pin in place.  do the same for the other side.  {this will make alot more sense when you are physically doing the step, rather than reading it…. i promise!}

the picture on the left shows both sides pinned together to create a pleat.  serge or zig-zag stitch this closed.  it may be easier to make a straight stitch across all these layers to hold it together, then go back over and zig-zag stitch for extra strength.  do what works best for you!

we are almost done!!!

now pin the hood & the towel body together.  the side with the visible pleat & stitching faces up, as well as the inside of the hood.  i like to pinch the seams together to make a “lip” that goes on the inside of the towel so that it’s not seen from the outside.  pin this all together.

sew your two pieces together.  for this step, i definitely recommend a straight stitch followed by serging or a tight zig-zag stitch directly on top.  there are alot of layers going on here & you want to make sure to grab them all.  trim your threads and hang your towels!!

for half the cost of one store bought hooded towel, you just made two!! next time you see the big, fluffy towels on sale at target, be sure to snag an armful — i bet you know tons of moms-to-be & this would make a great handmade shower gift.  you could add little fabric or felt ears on top of the hood or a pretty applique on the back of the main body of the towel.

have fun crafting!