How to Fold Kitchen Towels in the Shape of Animals

Ready to create an unexpected surprise with a regular household towel? You don't have to be an expert in origami to fold a towel into a fun animal shape. You can use both kitchen towels and bath towels to attempt this artistic craft. You definitely want to use an all-cotton towel with some thickness (like the average bath towel) to make your folded shapes hold their form. You can experiment with a variety of sizes, depending on the animal you choose to make. Cats, monkeys, swans and elephants are easiest. Here are a few to choose from.

Things You'll Need

• Towels
• Washcloths

Instructions

Folding a Cat

1. Take a large rectangle towel and lay out flat. Start rolling down from top left corner, across towel, tightly. This is the tail.

2. Take another towel of the same size, and fold it in half lengthwise. Tuck the edges of the towel underneath to make a puffy, round body. Stick the tail halfway underneath the body.

3. For the head, take a smaller square towel (washcloth sized) and fold in half diagonally to make a triangle. Take top point of triangle and fold down so tip is 1 inch over body of cloth. Take pointed side edges of cloth and fold them both up in the opposite direction of top point. Turn cloth over and you'll see two pointed ears sticking up and a triangle nose sticking down. Put this on the cat's body and decorate!

Folding a Swan

1. Lay out a large rectangular towel. Fold top corners of the towel down until their sides match up in the center. Take the outside edges of the towel and roll both toward the center until they meet.

2. Take the rolled towel and bend it into a "Z" shape. Lift the "Z" shaped towel up, setting the fatter bottom of the "Z" on the ground, and use the top part of the "Z" as the head.

3. Add sunglasses or feathers to make your swan unique!

Folding an Elephant

1. Lay out a towel. Roll the sides in from the outer side edges into the center. You'll have two tight rolls. Pick them up from the center and hold the center up while you bend the rolls down until they touch each other and the ground. These are the legs.

2. Take a washcloth and roll the bottom up toward the center. Roll the two top corners in toward each other. When it meets together it'll look like the letter "T." These are ears and trunk.

3. Bend and twist to fine-tune the trunk's shape. Place the head directly on top the legs and enjoy your elephant!

Folding a Monkey

1. Take a large towel laid out flat. Roll sides in to meet at the center. Fold the two tight rolls down and together until they form a "U." Pick the center out of each roll and pull out, extending the center of the towels like a telescope.

2. Grab two roll ends in one hand and two ends in the other hand and pull the ends opposite of one another. It should look like a monkey with arms in the air and feet dangling.

3. Take a washcloth and fold it twice diagonally. Peel back the top layer and puff out the inside to make the face. Stick the face securely between the two monkey arms.

Tips & Warnings

• Decorate by adding button or coin eyes and noses, ties, bandanas, cigars, bananas, hats and sunglasses to enhance the look of your animals.