How to Make a Hooded Bath Towel From Towels

Create a warm, cuddly hooded bath towel for that special child.

Warm baths are a chance for children to relax, wash off the day and get ready for bed. Wrapping your little one in a hooded towel, which will keep his head warm and his hair from dripping, helps keep him snuggly until he can be slipped into pajamas. Hooded bath towels can be made in a few minutes with towels you have at home–or ones purchased especially for the children in your life. Express your creativity and love through these warm and useful bath time additions.

Things You'll Need

• Hand towel
• Bath towel
• Measuring tape
• Sewing machine

Instructions

Making the Hood

1. Wash and dry both towels before starting. Decide which side of the towels will be the inside. This is the side against the child when wrapped in the hooded towel. The side with designs or a pattern is the outside.

2. Measure the narrowest width of the hand towel, divide it in half and cut the towel here. For example, for a 24-inch-long towel that is 16 inches wide, cut the towel at the eight-inch mark; this will make the hood piece 16 by 8 inches.

3. Add decorative stitches, appliques, or embroidery designs to the outside of the towel. Remember that the finished edge opposite the cut edge is the front of the hood, and the center of that edge divides the hood into right and left when sewn together.

4. Fold the towel in half, end to end, with the outsides together to form a square. Sew the unfinished edge with a quarter-inch seam allowance using a cast-over or zigzag stitch to prevent raveling.

Attaching the Hood to the Bath Towel

1. Turn the seam in the hood to the inside. Open the square to form a triangle with the seam in the center back.

2. Lay the bath towel on a flat surface with the inside facing up. Mark the center of the long side of the towel where the hood will be attached.

3. Place the triangular hood along the marked edge of the bath towel with the seam side of the hood on the table. Align the seam in the hood with the center point of the towel and pin the two pieces together, overlapping the finished edges by a quarter inch so you have a flat seam.

4. Top stitch the seam with a quarter-inch zigzag stitch to create a smooth, overlapping seam.

5. Embellish the outside of the bath towel with designs similar to those on the hood.

Tips & Warnings

• Printed towels are easier to work with when trying to distinguish between the inside and outside while sewing.

• Use matching printed hand and bath towels.

• Adjust the sizes of the towels to the size of the child.

Resources

• "Bath Time Cross Stitch Hooded Towels..."; Janlynn; Leaflet #900-15; 1988