hooded towel tutorial

ok, so i've never done a tutorial before, but i hope i do a good job and it's easy to follow. please let me know if there's anything i need to change/improve/clarify.

you know those flimsy, non-absorbent hooded towels you find in the baby section of stores like target and walmart? or the ones at babies r us? why pay $20 for something that won't really do anything when you can make a nice one for less than half the cost in any color combo you like? i say: DON'T! here's a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your own hooded towel at home:

1) you will need a sewing machine, a serger if you've got one (though the serger isn't necessary, it IS nice), 1 bath towel, 1 hand towel, 1 to 1 1/2 inch wide ribbon (optional; if you get by the yard ribbon, get 18-24 inches), and a pair of scissors.

2) fold the hand towel in half and cut along the fold.

3) cut a length of ribbon about 2-3 inches longer than the WIDTH of the half-hand towel.

4) fold the ends of the ribbon under and pin them in place (these will be removed after the next step, so it doesn't need to look pretty).

5) flip over and pin the ribbon in place, making sure to pin through the ribbon ends on the bottom side. remove pins from bottom side.

6) sew both edges of the ribbon to the towel, making sure to keep the ribbon ends tucked under.

7) fold the towel in half so the ribbon is on the inside and the raw edge is doubled over itself.

8) serge (or use a zigzag stitch on a regular sewing machine) the raw edges together. i like to round the corner so it'll fit my kids' heads better, though this isn't necessary (if you're using a regular sewing machine for this step, trim the excess towel after you put in the seam, then use frayblock along the edges to keep it from fraying when you wash the towel). then, turn the hood right-side-out.

9) find the middle of a long edge on your bath towel and mark it w/ a pin or fabric pencil.

10) line up your serged/sewn seam on the hood w/ the marking on the bath towel and pin in place.

11) pin down the rest of the hood edge to the towel edge. when it's pinned correctly, you will NOT be able to lay it completely flat.

12) sew the pinned edges together. you will likely have to lift the sewing machine foot over the edges of the hood since it's quite a jump in fabric height.

13) clip your strings - you're done!