Sometimes I think my kids are actually fish. They LOVE the water. We go to the pool pretty much every day in the summer, and when we’re at home they often take three or four baths a day. All this time in the water means we need a quick and easy way to dry off!
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Most hooded towels just don’t fit the bill.
My kids also don’t like to stay still for long, the second they’re out of the tub, they want to be off and running and playing again. And a tiny hood on the corner of a big rectangular towel just doesn’t do much to keep it on or get them dry.
I thought bathrobes might be more effective, but they’re too cumbersome.
Have you ever tried to deal with sleeves and buttons and ties on a wriggling wet toddler? It doesn’t work well.
I wanted something that could go on quickly and stay on well.
This simple hooded coverup is fantastic for after the bath or for a day at the beach.
Throw it on. Run and play. Perfect.
Plus it’s a dinosaur? Awesome!
AND it’s one size fits all for quite a few years! I have one for my 1-year-old and one for my 6-year-old, both made exactly the same way with the same standard-sized bath towel. You can even make one with one of those oversized bath sheets for a beach coverup for yourself!
Ready to make your own? It’s easy!
What you need
- A full-size bath towel
- A hand towel in the same color
- A washcloth in a contrasting color (optional — this is for the dinosaur spikes on the hood)
- Bias tape (optional — I didn’t use any, but it does save you some work if you do)
- The FREE printable pattern (optional — this tutorial will actually show you how to do it without a pattern, but using the pattern will make it so much easier!)
How to make your coverup
- Fold the bath towel in half one way, then again the other direction.
- Cut the folded corner to create the hole for the head to go through. Be careful, it’s easy to cut it too big, it’s better to start small then cut it a little bigger if needed. You can always cut off a little more, but there’s no way to make it smaller again. You can either measure a 3 inch radius and cut it that way …
… or measure 5 1/2 inches of the circumference. Or better still, just download the FREE printable pattern and you don’t have to worry about cutting too much or too little!
- Fold the hand towel in half “hamburger style” to cut out the hood. If you measure it yourself, you’ll want it to be about 8 1/2 inches at the bottom then gently curve to the top. OR you can use that handy dandy FREE template to get the perfect size and shape! Just line up the small part of the curve with the folded edge, follow the pattern, then continue cutting all the way down to the bottom edge of the towel.
- Fold the washcloth in quarters and cut off the corners …
… to make the spikes for the hood.
- Unfold the hood and pin the spikes along the curved edge, then fold the hood back over so the spikes are inside.
- Using a zigzag or overlock stitch …
… sew the edge of the hood, then turn it right side out.
Okay, this next part is kind of a lot of work, but it gives the towel a really nice finished edge without needing any additional materials. If you prefer, you can absolutely just use bias tape instead and skip this step!
- See that nice finished edge there? The long one on the unused part of the hand towel? Snip it at one end and at the middle of the towel, this will give you the perfect length to finish the neckline …
… Use your seam ripper to carefully open up that edge …
… then cut it off. Now you have your own perfectly coordinated piece of material for finishing the neckline, and less waste! (But seriously, you can just get bias tape, I won’t judge, I just didn’t happen to have any and didn’t want to wait until I could go to the store.)
- Using a zigzag stitch again or an overlock stitch going the other direction…
… sew your bias tape (or your nifty homemade version) along the edge of the neckline. It should be centered, covering most of the front of the neckline, when the towel is folded in half “hamburger style.”
- Pin the hood to the back of the neckline. The nice thing is that hood already has a beautiful finished edge, so you don’t need to sew right sides together or worry about hemming or anything like that. Just make sure the edge of the hood is on the outside of the neckline.
- Again, using a zigzag stitch, or back to the overlock …
… attach the hood to the neckline.
And that’s it!
A perfect simple snuggly solution for your kiddos!
