A hooded towel poncho has been on my to-do list for a while now... living by the lake we spend our summers by the water and always need a warm, dry towel for shivering  kids.  As much as I love to cuddle my chilled little girl in my lap, all wrapped in a towel, the fact is that she is getting big and I am getting wet!
 When I found beach towels on sale this week, I snagged a couple.
After combing through various patterns and tutorials, not finding quite what I wanted, I struck out on my own.
Here is what I came up with....

Hooded Beach Poncho
Size 4/5T and up.
(you will have to adjust your material amounts for younger children)

Materials:

• a 30 x 60 (approx.) beach towel
• a second matching beach towel or a hand or bath towel
• scissors, thread, ruler

Instructions:
1) Fold your main (body piece) towel in half to create a front and back for your poncho (each approx. 30" long).
Measure your child's head circumference and add 2".
Divide this number by 2 to arrive at the length of head opening for your child.
I used a 10" long opening for my almost 6 year old and this was ample.
You can adjust this size later.
Make a small notch at the center of the fold.

2)  I chose to cut my towel in half along the width at the fold made in #1.  This allowed me to adjust the length slightly for a smaller child (by trimming off some of the length) and it created a more comfortable shoulder seam to keep the poncho from twisting during play/ wear.
Cut the towel in half width wise at the shoulder fold made in #1.
Sew up this seam, leaving an opening for the child's head (as calculated at #1).
Be sure to reinforce the edges of the opening with a few extra stitches.
try this piece on your child~ if the neck opening is much too large, sew it closed by the needed amount.
Set this body piece aside.

3) I used a matching beach towel to make the hood of our poncho, and will describe the cut below. You could also use a hand towel as is (no cutting).
Fold your second towel (beach or bath) in half width wise.
Cut a piece 10" wide, on the FOLD and through both layers to create a piece 10" x 30" when opened out.
The fold will create the top of the hood, the finished edge will be the sides of the hood along the face..

(Use the finished edge of your towel for this piece. Otherwise once you have made you cut, finish one edge by pressing under 1/4" and then another 1/4" and topstitching it securely.)
Sew up the raw cut edges of your hood piece (right sides together) to create the back of the hood.

4) Pin the open short ends of the hood piece into the body of the poncho matching the center seam with the notch you made in step one, and easing around the curves (right sides together).
When you finish pinning, you will have an front opening of a few inches
which will be finished in the next step.
Sew the hood and body together, stopping and pivoting as needed around the shoulder curves in particular.
You may want to return and reinforce where the shoulder seams meet the hood.

5) Finish the front neck opening.
before doing this, if possible, try the poncho on its wearer.
Your previous check on neck opening size should have reduced the opening sufficiently for easy on and off, but it may be a little small once the hood is attached.
If it does not slip on and off easily, cut a small (1/2 - 1") notch in the center of the neck front and finish this notch as part of the neck edge as described next.
Turn the raw edge under 1/4" and then again 1/4",
easing it to blend smoothly with the hood seam.
Topstitch in place.
I used a zigzag to catch up some of the eventual fraying that may occur.


Since my daughter chose a leopard print, I decided to add a tail.
 I simply cut a length of the remaining beach towel (3" wide), folded the right sides together, sewed it up and turned it right side out.
I added a tail fringe by using a scrap of towel edging, slicing into it, rolling the piece and inserting into the tail tube. Hand stitch in place.

Attach the tail to the body of the poncho fairly high up to avoid tripping, snagging and tearing from being stepped upon!
 My attachment wasn't pretty, but boy, is it strong!
And knowing that my kid loves to collect rocks and shells and other bits, I also added generous pockets to the front by cutting out rectangles (4 x 5") from the finished edge of the towel (so the top of the pockets would not fray) and topstitching these in place on the front.
Simply roll the raw edge under, pin and sew, reinforcing the top corners heavily.

The only thing I forgot.... ears!

This is a very generous poncho for a small almost 6 year old and will likely fit her into her teens.
But it is cozy, fun and one of a kind... and she loves it!
And it TWIRLS!♥♥
{{The legal bits}}
You are welcome to make as many ponchos as your heart desires and give them or sell them.
Poncho your whole town!
Credit to the original author is always a nice thing ♥
The written instructions (text and photos) are protected and are the intellectual property of the author.
You cannot reprint, sell, reproduce this pattern without express permission.
©Lori Campbell/ Beneath the Rowan Tree, 2011.