the ten minute towel

I love hooded towels for kids. They are easy to use and oh so adorable. My tiny man is no longer tiny though. He needs a "man" towel as my husband put it. But I am so not ready for Seth to be done with his hooded style towels. Thus a compromise must be struck before bathing can continue! (Just kidding.)

I have seen various ideas to make your own hooded towels for kids. It was time to make my own. Here is my first photo tutorial so you can make one too!

1. While I was at Target I picked up two regular size bath towels and two hand towels. (Note - I made two towels - you only need one of each for one towel.) I went for towels from the same line we already use in our bathroom so the theme sticks - bright!


2. Fold each towel in half the long side and mark the half point with a pin.


3. Using your pins as a guide place the hand towel with right sides to the bath towel along the long edge and pin together.

4. Make your stitches as close to the edge as possible to prevent a scratchy seem on your hood. Always do a back stitch at the beginning and end to strengthen your towel.

5. Lay the towel out flat and you have this odd shape to work with as you finish the hood.


6. Focus on the hand towel now. Fold the towels to the center once again with the seam you just created sticking out at you. You want to me sure that all your seems stick on the inside of your completed hooded towel! Pin the edge of the towel and sew. (It's hard to see my pins in this photo but you would pin the far right side.) Again make sure to sew right at the edge always doing a back stitch at the beginning and end.


7. There you have it. The ten minute towel is complete and my son once again has an oh so cute hooded towel.


8. Now you can see that there is plenty of room in the hood so if you wish you could cut down your hand towel or some who have gone before me have used a wash cloth. It also depends on the size of child and towel you are working with. I love this overly generous towel as it provides great warmth and comfort and it will last another growth spurt or two.


These are a great gift idea for a little friend while the weather is still cold. Or better yet come summer make some hooded beach towels for those days at the pool! I think there may be some gifts in my future and even better than a ten minute project: the two towels cost me $8 total!