Sew A Baby Towel With A Hood

I LOVE this towel or maybe I just want to squeeze the baby in it! I first shared this towel back in in 2013 when my son Tanner was 14 months old. He is now 5 1/2 and entering Kindergarten this fall. Time flies. With number 2 now almost 16 months old, I’ve been wanting to make a towel for him. And as usual, time got away from me…

Materials needed:

1. Cotton terry towel
2. Cotton fabric for the binding
3. Rotary cutter, cutting mat, creative grids ruler
4. Disappearing fabric ink pen
5. Sewing materials and sewing machine
6. Iron and ironing board

A couple comments on the fabric..

• Cotton Fabric – Don’t you just love this fabric?? I’ve been hoarding it since Arlo was born.. This cat towel is perfection! It is called “Printshop” by the uber-talented Alexia Abegg...
• Cotton terry towel – I strongly suggest buying “premium” cotton terry towel. I’ve used the cheaper versions of terry towel and it doesn’t feel and/or look as nice. It also doesn’t hold up as well.

This project is perfect for the confident/beginner sewer. There are quite a few steps in this tutorial. If you need additional images or help along the way, see my prior baby towel post with more in depth details.

The PDF hood pattern is available in my online store.

Let’s get started:

Part A: Cut your fabric and prepare the binding:

1. Lay the terry towel flat on a large cutting area. Measure and mark a 30″ x 30″ square. Cut the terry towel to this size.
2. Pin the hood pattern piece down on the terry and also the cotton fabric. Cut one of each.
3. Place wrong sides together and pin the 2 pieces together. Baste together along the outside edge. This is an important step and will help keep the fabric secure and not have it shift.
4. Round each outside corner of the 30″ x 30″ towel. Not sure how? Find a cup or bowl and place on the corner. Mark with the disappearing fabric pen and you have a rounded corner.
5. Cut your binding strips. [3″ width]. Not sure on how to cut binding? I created an easy tutorial here on how to cut binding..
6. Sew your binding into strips. Trim the seam allowance to be 1/4″.  Iron the seam. Open seam and iron again. Here is a tutorial on sewing binding together.
7. For the binding, you will need a strip 140″ in length.

Part B:  Sew the hood piece and attach the binding:

1. Fold the binding in half and press. Press the entire length of the strip in half.
2. From the binding that you made, cut a strip 19″ long.  This will finish the bottom hood edge. Pin to bottom edge of hood piece. Place in your sewing machine and sew.
3. With the binding laying flat, press the seam.  Open and iron the seam again.
4. Roll the binding to the back side and cover the raw edge.  Pin in place if it helps. Iron to set the seam.
5. Place in your sewing machine and edgestich along the folded edge. The raw seams will now be enclosed by the binding.
6. Place the hood at corner of towel and pin in place.  Note that there will be extra room in the middle for the baby’s head. Baste the pieces together.
7. Finish the entire outside edge of the towel with the binding. Start at a straight edge and pin the binding along the raw edge.
8. Sew the entire length of the binding around the towel. Repeat steps 3, 4 and 5 above for the outside of the towel.
9. Insert the binding into the beginning binding and pin.

You can see how much fun the towel can also be.. Imagine chasing around a naked baby pre and post bath time! Can you say poop on the floor?

That’s it! So what do you think? Will you make this towel?

Fabric Source – “Print Shop” by Alexia Abegg.