Thursday, November 11, 2010

Hair Towel Tutorial


With Christmas fast approaching, this is a quick, easy and practical gift.

Required materials and tools:
Terry towel fabric or  bath towels
100% cotton fabric for binding
elastic 1/4 inch wide
thread
sewing machine
steam iron
serger (optional) as zig-zag stitch will also do the trick
plain brown paper to make a pattern

On the paper draw a large hump that is wider at one end and narrower at the other.  At the highest point your hump is 12 inches deep.  What you are drawing is a hood, the wider end is the back and the narrower end is the front.  Cut two humps from the terry towel fabric or bath towels.
  
 
The straight bottom of the hood should measure 26 to 30 inches depending on how long the lady's hair is. I usually make them 26.5 inches.
 
To make seam binding, cut 4 inch wide strips from the 100% cotton fabric long enough to finish the straight sides of the hump.  Two strips for one hair towel.  Fold strips in half wrong sides together, then iron. Open folded strip, fold both sides towards centre fold, fold centre back in half and press again.
 
 Pin binding to straight sides of terry towel fabric and sew into place.
 
 
 
 
 
Cut 5 to 7 inches of elastic, fold elastic in half, then pin the elastic 7 to 8 inches from the straight edge on the right side terry towel at the wide end (back) of the hump.  Use longer elastic when making a longer towel.  Now with right sides together sew the hump shut, leaving the binded end open.
Use a serger or a zig-zag stitch to finish the raw edges on the hump side. 
 
Turn right side out and it is finished.
Extra finishing touches!
 
 
 
 
 
Special thanks to Shannon for modeling.  Please feel free to use the tutorial.  Also please leave a comment so I know you were here

5 comments:

  1. Sweet, I see new towels in my future! :D

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  2. So, do you tuck the twisted end of the towel into the elastic?
    I guess from your photo of cut elastic you are making a few of these?
    Looks like a fun project.

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  3. Yes, tuck twisted end into the elastic. These are so handy for folks with long hair and easy to make. The same pattern can be used to make a head scarf for other uses out of cotton or rayon. Any fabric that doesn't stretch will work well.

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  4. Hi Tammy,
    One of my friends gave me a hair towel for my birthday, and I've been so happy with it, I decided to manufacture a couple of them yesterday for Christmas presents. When finished, I figured I had to enclose a manual for using the towels, so my boyfriend made a google search and came up with your page. Thank you!
    Best Christmas wishes from the Faroe Islands,
    Kristina

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  5. This is awesome. I want to make one of these for my daughter who can't figure out how to keep a towel on her head (not a problem for me). Thank you for the tutorial!

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