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Hooded Towels for Kids (Free Pattern)

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posted: 04/05/13

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy
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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy
These Hooded Towels work great for kids of all ages. A free pattern that makes a great hooded towel that will fit your kids from the baby stage all the way up through the older kid stage!
Please be respectful of the time, energy, and supplies I put into making this tutorial. This tutorial is intended for personal use only and is not for commercial sale or manufacture, even on a home based scale.
Please use this for yourself or to give as gifts, but not for profit. Thank you!
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com
When I was pregnant with Gavin, my aunt gave me one of my all time favorite baby gifts. A hand made hooded towel. It was AWESOME. Soft, cozy, and warm, it fit Gavin perfectly as a newborn, and it still fits him five and a half years later!
I recently tried a different hooded towel pattern, and it didn’t even come close to fitting my five year olds head. So I pulled out my measuring tape and the old favorite towel.
After measuring those awesome towels (she made one for Quinn too), I duplicated the pattern (which will probably send me to seamstress hell where my bobbins will jam and my tension will be off for all eternity), and I’m sharing it with you!
Welcome to your new go-to baby gift.
When I told my sister-in-law I was making these, she gasped and asked that I make some for her kids too, since the hood towels from Aunt Debbie are the only ones they ever use.
Seriously, this is the best pattern ever.

Start with:
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com
I got my towels at Target. They were both soft and inexpensive. The supplies for this project cost me less than $10. Not bad for an item that will work for your kid for five plus years.
Then cut your hand towel down to 19 inches wide.
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com
Now cut your accent fabric to 20 inches by 6.5 inches (a quarter yard will give you enough for two towels. And of course you could always use something like ribbon instead.
Now fold unfinished edges of the fabric under so that it measures 4.5 inches across, and pin it to the hand towel making sure to line it up perfectly to the edge. Using an iron and pinning a little, then ironing a little, then pinning some more helps make it more accurate.
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com
The side that is currently facing up is going to be the inside of the hood, and the edge of the accent fabric that is towards the middle of the towel will be the front of the hood, as you are going to fold the towel on to itself. Keep that in mind when placing the fabric and considering orientation.
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com
You are going to want to fold over the towel, so the fabric strip faces up, and then sew the towel together. This will make it easier when attaching the hood to the large bath towel. Yeah, totally didn’t do that with Gavin’s towel and learned the hard way that this a step not to skip
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com
Now it’s time to sew it to the large bath towel. Fold the large towel in half to find the middle.
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com
Place the hood there and pin it, making sure that you don’t pin the whole thing together. Like so you can’t open it up to sew it.
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com
Now working with the outside of the towel and hood up, feed it through your sewing machine doing a zig zag stitch along the outer seam of the large bath towel. It’s the perfect width for it.
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com
And now you have a sweet little towel that will fit your baby for years to come.
Thanks Aunt Debbie for this gift! We think of you every time we use them!
A FREE Hooded Towel pattern that fits babies to big kids!  via www.wineandglue.com

Hi! I'm Lisa Longley, and I am committed to giving you simple dinner ideas and recipes that are easy to make; recipes that will fill your home with joy. I am the owner and author of SimpleJoy.com and I'm so glad that you are here.

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  1. Tara @ Suburble says

    Great tutorial, Lisa! I actually think that I could do this (I’m a teensy bit on the sewing-challenged side)!

    • Lisa Longley says

      You absolutely could Tara!! If it makes you feel any better, my seam ripper and I are on a first name basis :)

  2. Sarah JM says

    Cute! My boys never had these, but now spoiled nieces and nephews might!

  3. TheTastyFork says

    What a cute and personalized gift! The last picture of both of your kiddos is so cute! I have NO idea how those little faces could ever give you problems??? :)

    • Lisa Longley says

      That’s it Meghan. You are on babysitting duty. I’ll see you in an hour. :)

  4. Bibi @ Bibi's Culinary Journey says

    Lisa, these are so adorable! My boys when they were little they lived in their hooded towels of course I am not crafty like you so I had to buy them. This is a perfect gift for any little one.

    • Lisa Longley says

      Seriously, you could make some!! This is a great beginner sewing project, because worst case scenario you just rip out a couple stitches and start over. Trust me, I did it! :)

  5. FrugalFoodieMama says

    Awwwww… I love this! And I REALLY wish I could sew worth a lick. *sigh*

    • Lisa Longley says

      If I can do it, so can you ;)

  6. Cathy Trochelman says

    You have to teach me how to sew!!! I love these!! And they would make a perfect gift for Ben Ben, fyi, because he only uses big towels…… :)

  7. Rachel Willis says

    I have been wanting to make some of these for a while now, I’ll be sure to use your tutorial! Love the addition of accent fabric, too.

    • Lisa Longley says

      Thanks Rachel! Seriously, these are the only kinds of towels I have used with my kids since they were itty bitty newborns. :)

  8. Roxie says

    I like the added touch of the fabric on the hoods, would be great to make in superhero fabric for the kids.

    • Lisa Longley says

      Yes! Like a red towel with a giant Superman S on the back??

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