Hooded Towel Tutorial

I know there are a lot of hooded towel tutorials out there, but I have never seen my version. Our new coming baby needed some hooded towels so I thought I would see if I could make a tutorial while I was at it. I'm a little nervous about this because I'm not sure if I can explain everything very well, but I'm going to try. If there is something I didn't explain clearly, please let me know and I will try to explain it better. Click on any picture to enlarge it if you need to see it better. Okay, here we go. . .

Materials: (makes 2 hooded bath towels)
2 bath towels
1 hand towel
matching thread
any trim you want to use on the hood (optional)
sewing machine ☺
scissors
pins

First take your hand towel and fold it in half width-wise so that the two narrow ends are together. Take your scissors, and cut it up the middle on the fold. You should now have two rectangles. This will become the hoods of your two towels. Now is the time to add any trim you wish. I used some jungle animal ribbon.

Next fold the two rectangles in half width-wise again and mark the middle. With the wrong side up, fold the bound edge (not the cut edge) up to the middle mark.

Fold it again over itself for 3 inches back toward the side edges making a right angle. Pin this fold in place and repeat the process on the other side.

After you have everything pinned in place, take it to the sewing machine and zig zag stitch over the bound side edges that have been folded over. I zig zag several times to make it secure. The terry cloth fabric hides most of the stitches so it won't ruin the look of the towel at all to stitch several times. Repeat on the other side.

Your hood should now be finished. ☺

Okay, now onto the body of the towel. Lay your towel right side up with a long edge at the top. (the traditional top and bottom of the towel that usually has a decorative edge will now be on the left and right sides and the long side edges will be the new top and bottom-clear as mud???) Mark the middle with a pin.

On both sides of the middle, we are going to make a 3 inch pleat. Fold the towel toward the middle stopping when the folded edge is 3 inches from the middle,

then fold it back over itself to make a 3 inch pleat. Repeat on the other side of your middle mark.
You can baste these pleats together. In fact that is probably the smart thing to do, but I must confess that I didn't do it.

This is what the front of the towel should look like after you have the pleat pinned in place.

Matching up the center of the raw edge of your completed hood with the center of the pleat in the towel, pin the hood in place with right sides together. Zig Zag using about a 1/4 inch seam allowance with your sewing machine several times. The area with the pleat is fairly thick so go slow. I tend to zig zag at least twice to make sure it is secure.

Now to finish the raw edge on the hood, you can turn the bound edge of the large bath towel up over the raw edge of the hood (over the zig zag stitches you just sewed) and using a straight stitch, stitch it in place. Now you should have no raw edges showing and your towel should be complete.

Repeat all steps if you have decided to make two towels and you will have the perfect gift for any upcoming baby shower. These towels are big enough to be used all through toddler-hood and beyond and warm and cozy enough to keep an infant from getting chilly after a bath.

Again, please let me know if I didn't explain something clearly okey-dokey?

NOTE: Use this tutorial however you want, but would you be so kind as to give me credit??? Thanks!