Directions to Make Hooded Bath Towels

Child wrapped in a hooded towel.

Make your own hooded bath towels. Buying hooded towels can be extremely costly. Save some money by sewing your own custom hooded towels. You will have a better variety of colors, characters, and textures to choose from. Handmade hooded towels make wonderful Christmas and Birthday gifts. Hooded towels are great for the pool, camping, going to the beach, and bathing.

Things You'll Need

• Polyester sewing thread
• Universal-tip sewing needles
• Measuring Tape
• Straight pins or chalk
• 56 by 32 inch bath towel
• 16 by 30 inch hand towel

Instructions

1. Wash and dry your towel and hand towel. This will pre-shrink the towels and help to eliminate puckering.

2. Change the needle on your sewing machine to a 90/14 universal-tip sewing needle.

3. Thread the sewing machine with coordinating cotton/polyester sewing thread, wind your bobbin with the same thread.

4. Adjust the upper and lower thread tension on your sewing machine according to the manufacturer's recommendations for sewing terry cloth.

5. Lay a 16 inch by 30 inch hand towel flat on a table, pattern side down. Adjust the hand towel so that the long side is horizontal. Fold it in half. Each half should measure 16 inches by 15 inches. Using scissors cut the hand towel along the folded edge. You should have two towels that measure 15 inches by 16 inches, discard one.

6. Set sewing machine to a zig zag stitch. Stitch along the cut edge of the hand towel. This will help stop it from fraying.

7. Lay the hand towel cut edge up on a table, pattern facing you. Fold it horizontally. You should see the back of the pattern. The towel will measure 8 inches horizontal by 15 inches vertical . Pin the cut sides together, pattern facing pattern. Sew the cut side closed, using a 5/8 inch seam allowance. You will have a piece that has a pointed triangle at the top and measures 16 inches along the bottom.

8. Lay a 32 inch by 56 inch towel on a sewing table, pattern side up. Adjust the towel so that the long side is horizontal, and the short side is vertical.

9. Place the hood on the top edge of the towel. Lay the hood pattern side down. Towel pattern is up. Adjust the hood so it's on the edge of the towel. Pin the bottom of the hood to the center of the top edge of the towel. There should be 20 inches on either side of the hood. Sew the hood and towel together using a zig zag stitch and 5/8-inch seam allowance.

Tips & Warnings

• The pattern side of a plain towel is the side with longer loops.

References

• Singer Company: Choosing Sewing Needles
• Simplicity: What is Seam Allowance