I received tons of towels and wash cloths as gifts for my first child. What in the world was I going to do with them all? I quickly learned how handy it is to have an abundance, but my favorite one was a hooded towel a friend had made me.
It’s lasted 7 years now and is coveted between all my children. This isn’t just any hooded towel, oh no. This thing is full sized and super absorbent. Unlike all the other baby ones that are just that, baby sized, this towel will fit my children well into their teens. I wanted to make more for my growing family so I finally asked her how she made it.
I was thinking she would have to write down directions or come over and show me, but this thing is so easy. There is just a little Origami type fold, a straight stitch with the sewing machine and you’re done. It only took me 15 minutes and I haven’t touched my sewing machine for years.
How to Make a DIY Hooded Towel in less than 15 Minutes
To make your towel you’ll need:
- 1 full sized towel
- 1 matching hand towel
- scissors
- sewing pins
- sewing machine with a heavy needle size 16+
- thread that matches the colors of your towel
First, cut your hand towel in half. Fold it in half again with the back of the towel on the inside. With the open side closest to you, fold the top corners to the bottom making sure the edges line up.
Now you’ll have a triangle with a flat top. Turn the towel over and lift the front layer and you can see you now have a hood to attach to your towel.
Pin the bottom layers together so your hood stays together on it’s own making it easier to pin to your big towel.
Fold your full sized towel in half to find the center and mark one side with a pin. Open it up and match up the center of the pinned side of your hood with the center of your towel. The outside of your towel should be touching the outside of your hood.
You’ll pin the seam together so that it is on the inside of your towel and no stitching can be seen when the hood is being worn. I used bright purple thread so you could see where I sewed, but I like the decorative look too.
With a honeycomb stitch, I sewed straight across. You can choose any strong stitch like a zigzag, or over edge stitch. You can also sew extra stitching along the edge of the hood where the most fabric is to secure it even more.
That’s it! Now you have an awesome towel that is perfect for any summer water activity and makes a great gift. We brought ours to the local splash pad and had a blast.
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Thanks for reading!
We LOVE hooded towels all year long however in the summer we use them all the time!!! Love the idea of making my own!
I’m confused about cutting hand towel in half — is it length-wise or width-wise?
width-wise, so you will have a smaller rectangle.
Lighter weight towels are easier to work with, found it difficult to sew through many layers with heavy weight towels, but just love this idea!!!!!
Thanks Kathi! You are right, lighter weight towels are easier. I usually have to change the weight of my needle to sew these.
I received a towel similar to this over 25 years ago when my daughter was born. The gift had come from Nordstrom and was a highly coveted and fought over prize. So, I figured out how to make one myself. I use a washcloth instead of hand-towel. No cutting necessary, (but there is an extra seam. The washcloth must be folded over about 3 inches and sewn. If I’m feeling really ambitious, I will sew some ribbon or eyelet over the seam for decoration. Next, the center- bottom of the washcloth is matched with the center, long-side of the towel and another seam sewn. Voila….it forms it’s own hood!
Much to my surprise they have often been a baby shower favorite gift. (And, I just thought it was cheap, easy, and unique…)
Lynette…just read your comment about using a washcloth for the hood rather than a hand towel. What size child did the hood portion fit? I would like to use this tutorial for towels to fit two grandsons aged 7 and 2 1/2. I’m wondering if the hood made with the washcloth would be large enough for their heads? Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks!
I think you could use a washcloth. I just found it easier to do the hand towel because I could make 2 hooded towels with just the 1 hand towel.
What brand or source of towels do you find the softest and most durable? I have two swimmers and the big towels we bought seem to be fading. Thanks!
Hmm, maybe a microfiber light colored towel? I would try Bed, Bath and Beyond.
Could you give me the actual finished dimensions (L x W) of the hood. I’m trying to figure out what age/size this would fit. And what size hand towel did you use as they can vary. Thanks J
A standard hand towel is used for the hood and that size is 15 x 25 to 18 x 30 inches. Hope this helps!
Love this hoodie towel.