My kids started swim lessons last week, so I hurried and whipped up some towel ponchos for them.
I actually got the idea from some character hooded towel ponchos I saw in Bed, Bath, & Beyond and thought I could easily recreate it, but with a simpler look and comfier feel.
I gave it a shot and it worked out quite nicely.
It comes together super fast too.
All you need are two bath or beach towels and some matching thread.
I used some $4 bath towels from Walmart. I thought about using beach towels but all the basic beach towels felt so thin and well…cheap. For less money I was able to get thicker, better quality towels by going to the bath towel aisle. But…do what you like of course. 🙂
Take a hooded sweater and trace the hood. I used a size 5/6 hoodie.
Using your pattern, cut out two hood pieces on the fold.
You can try tracing first, but it’s pretty much fruitless as you can’t really see the line that well. Just hold the pattern in place and do your best.
Also…make sure that the finished, biased edge of the towel is at the bottom.
Then with your two pieces, lay them on top of each other.
Pin and sew, leaving the bottom open.
Trim the curves down with pinking shears.
Turn right side out
and fold it in on itself to form the hood.
Return to your hood pattern and find the center. The width of the hood is how big a slit/hole you want to cut into the second towel.
Fold your second towel in half vertically (hamburger). Then fold again horizontally (hot dog) to find the center. Keeping the towel folded vertically, line the center of the towel up with the center of the hood pattern. Mark the sides and center with a pin.
Then cut a narrow slit between the two side pins. Scoop the front part down just slightly.
Now to attach the hood to the towel.
First, fold the hood so the seam matches up. This is the center of your hood. Match the center of the hood up with the back of the center of the towel. Pin evenly around the slit.
As you can see, you want the raw edge of the second towel to be sewn just below the biased edge of the hood.
Once you sew all the way around. Fold the biased edge of the hood down over the raw edge of the towel. Then sew again to encase the fraying edge into the hood.
*This can get thick, so sew slow and with a lengthened stitch. I used a four.
Take the part of the slit that wasn’t sewn into the hood. Double fold it and sew it down.
This is what it should end up looking like inside out.
and then right side out.
And it’s all ready for the pool!
It gets hot here in the summer but not that hot. With lessons being in the morning, my kids come out of the pool after swim lessons FREEZING cold.
They curl up into little mounds of shivering towels, baking in the sun until they get dry and warm again.
The hoods are perfect for this.
As you can see the poncho is quite big on Reid’s 3 year old body, but I like that he can grow into it.
In fact, I’ve tried it on and it will even fit me (kind of tight in the hood, but it still fits). So it should last the kids a while. The large neckline ensures that as well, and makes it very easy on and easy off.
If you don’t like having a thick hood, you could always do one layer of towel and then sew everything with french seams.
I love that the hood makes wearing their towel much easier. No wrapping it around their waist, or having it slip off constantly as we walk to the car.
This just might be one of the best things I’ve made for my kids.
Sigh…I love the pool. Yay for summer!
Don’t forget to stop over and check out a cute blue vintage pillowcase at Kojodesigns.
And if you would make an extra stop to This heArt of Mine. I’m guest posting this little number I made for Natalie, for Amy’s Sum Sum Summertime Series.
Many thanks!
that's a great project, cute and practical, thanks for sharing!
Perfect! I need something for Aria to take to school on play fountain days. This will do nicely.
I saw something similar on Shark Tank! 🙂 I love that show! 🙂 I'm so glad I know how to make my own now. Now I just need to learn to sew. 🙂
I love that it's long enough to cover you kiddo so if you want to take their wet swimsuit off and put on dry clothes, they can do so with a little privacy.
Happy Summer!
Great job on the poncho towels! I also love Natalie's top. Cute.
i love this!!!! thanks so much!!! I made my son a hooded towel for the bath and was going to make the same thing again for the pool, but I am definitely making this instead!! and probably in orange 🙂
This looks so easy!!! I love it. Thanks.
I pinned it too 🙂
that looks so comfy! I can't wait for kid swim lessons, sounds like fun.
these are adorable Delia and so cozy. I want one for myself! 🙂 pinning this great tutorial so I can come back to it and hopefully make some for my kiddos! 🙂
I made some of these for my BIG girls last year and they love them! Who would have thought?
Thanks for the tutorial. This is the first thing I have ever made with my sewing machine. It looked really simple and I was able to make it in one evening (despite having a 2 month old intend on feeding for most of that) using a couple of towels from the cupboard. I’ve just tried it on him so I could send a photo of it to my mum (who had given me the machine for Christmas)and he went to sleep in it while laying on the sofa. Might have to make him a fleece one 🙂
You can buy these for cheap at weelowcoverups.blogspot.com
They are the same 🙂
Why would you post this? This is about learning to make your own.
Hi! I just wanted to tell you, I think this is the best tutorial out there. Great directions and pictures. Great end product. Thanks so much for sharing your talent. I made one for my ailing mom and it really helps keep her warm when we shower her.
Oh, and I used the leftover towel bit to make a flax seed microwave warmer for Mom too. Yeah!
This warms my heart! I am so glad this tutorial helped you make something that your mother needs. Wish I could hug you!
Thank You for the awesome tutorial! Plan on making several for the spray park. Would be a great cover up when the children are changing back into their clothes to go home. I don’t like little nudity’s in public. To many strange people in the world. Thanks!!
What a great idea to use it for a changing cover!
Thank so much for sharing Delia!
My adult brother wanted a towel with a hood to wear after he goes surfing. I’ve followed your pattern to make one adult size! I hope he like it!
Is this project possible without a sewing machine. Could I do the sewing by hand or would it just be way to difficult. I really want to give it a go I just don’t want to set myself up for failure.
Great question! Because towels are thick and fuzzy, I highly recommend a sewing machine. I am sure hand sewing could work, but it would be a lot harder to do. There isn’t a ton of sewing involved though, so if you can borrow a machine for just a day or something, that would be easiest. I know that community extension centers or sometimes even public libraries carry sewing machines that can be checked out. It’s worth calling around to see. Good luck!