How to Sew a Kid’s Unicorn Hooded Towel – Free Pattern
Learn to make a DIY Unicorn Hooded Towel with this easy step-by-step tutorial. Guaranteed to be a big hit for little unicorn fans, while adding an extra touch of Magic to bath times!
I LOVE hooded towels, and they are a must have for anyone with little kiddos. Not only are they super practical, they are also super cute and fun for kids to wear. On top of that, I will admit that as a parent, I love seeing my toddler wear his hooded towel after baths because he just looks so adorable!
Recently a dear friend had a baby girl, and I was ecstatic to finally be able to make something girly. For some reason most of my close friends and family have boys, so needless to say I was thrilled to finally make something pink and purple.
This DIY Unicorn Hooded Towel isn’t hard to make at all, but it does require several steps as the Unicorn has quite a few details (eyes, ears, nose, horn, and mane). However, don’t let that discourage you as the end result will be completely worthwhile! I’ve broken down the steps in the Table of Contents so you can jump to the step that you need. If you consider yourself a beginner, work on 1 or 2 details a day, and take it in stride. Remember the saying “slow and steady wins the game”. Before you know it, you will be done!
Also, if you are unfamiliar with how to sew a basic hooded towel, be sure to check out my Basic Hooded Towel Post as you will need it to make the hood part.
Another note is that this post has A LOT of photos. However, the photos are there to help guide you through every single step necessary to make the perfect Unicorn Hooded Towel, so don’t be frightened by how many photos there are!
Again, just work on the each section one at a time and you will be well on your way to finishing.
What do I need to Make a Unicorn Hooded Towel?
MATERIALS
- Basic Hooded Towel Pattern (available in my free resource library) – get the password by subscribing.
- Unicorn Hooded Towel Pattern (available in my free resource library) – get the password by subscribing.
- Store Bought Bath towel – I like Threshold Bath Towels from Target. as they are nice and thick. I used a Pink bath towel that measures 30″ x 54″ (76.2 cm x 137.16 cm)
- 1 Bath Towel: for infant/toddler size
- 2 Bath Towels: for Kid’s size
- Fleece
- 1/4 Yard (0.23m) White Fleece – for nose and inside of ears
- Other Various Colors of Fleece – for Unicorn Mane. I used 6 colors to create the mane. 1/4 Yard or 0.23m for each color.
- Black and Brown Craft Felt – for eyes and nostril
- 1/8 Yard (11.5 cm) Gold fabric – for Unicorn Horn.
- Polyester fiberfill – (you’ll only need a small amount) for stuffing Unicorn Horn
- White and Black Embroidery Floss – for adding whites of eyes and eyelashes if desired
- Medium Weight Fusible Interfacing or Quilt Batting
- Embroidery Stabilizer
TOOLS:
- HOME SEWING MACHINE
- SERGER (optional)
- FABRIC SCISSORS – these Ginghers are my favorite.
- ROTARY CUTTER (optional, but very useful for cutting fabric strips for the mane)
- CLEAR RULER – I like the DRITZ See-Through Sewing Ruler
- SEWING PINS or SEWING CLIPS
- FABRIC CHALK
- HAND SEWING NEEDLES
- MATCHING THREAD
Grab it here: Unicorn Hooded Towel Pattern (available in my free resource library)
How to Sew Unicorn Ears
Cut out ear pattern pieces, one on bath towel (pink) and one on white fleece. Serge edges of bath towel piece.
Sew ears at 1/2″ (1.27 cm) seam allowance, right sides together and clip curves (especially the pointing end of ears). Use a blunt scissor to push out tip of ears.
Fold top portion of ear down to bottom 1/3 and pin in place.
How to Sew Unicorn Nose
Cut out Nose, Nostril, and Eyes. Glue nostril onto nose and place a piece of embroidery stabilizer on the back. For more information about how to fabric applique see this post
Note: At this point I recommend ironing fusible interfacing to both sides of the NOSE PIECE for extra stiffness before sewing them together. I ended up adding batting to the NOSE after it was sewn onto the hood because I noticed the NOSE PIECE was a bit flimsy.
LEFT: Zig-zag stitch nostrils with brown thread (I used stitch width = 1, stitch length = 3). Note: Pin is there to hold embroidery stabilizer in place.
RIGHT: Finished nostrils appliqued in place.
Sew Unicorn NOSE PIECE together at 1/2″ (1.27cm) seam allowance. Clip curves.
LEFT: On the side without the nostrils, make a horizontal slit (about 3-4″ long).
RIGHT: Turn NOSE PIECE to right side through this opening.
Finished view of Unicorn NOSE PIECE.
Sewing Unicorn Eyes
The following tutorial shows you how to sew the whites of the Unicorn eyes, and is completely optional.
Use embroidery floss (all 6 strands), and stitch a few times (I usually do 3-4 overlaps) on the eyes to make the whites of eyes.
Glue eyes to HOOD FRONT PIECE and zig-zag stitch down. Note, only sew the eyes to HOOD FRONT PIECE, not to the HOOD LINING as this will make it easier.
Sewing Unicorn Nose to Hood
Pin NOSE PIECE to hood. Note: you will only be sewing NOSE PIECE to front of hood, not to the LINING.
Applique (with zig-zag stitch) NOSE PIECE down to front of hood, ending at HOOD LINING
Optional: At this point, use embroidery floss to sew eyelashes to the Unicorn eyes if desired.
Front and back view of NOSE PIECE sewn to hood.
Sew the ears onto the hood, then sew the hood portion onto the bath towel portion, following the directions from How to Make a Kid’s Hooded Towel.
How to Sew Unicorn Horn
Cut out Unicorn HORN PIECE on gold fabric and make notches on both ends of all the dotted line.
LEFT: Use fabric chalks to draw line from notch to notch on wrong side of fabric, following dotted lines on HORN PATTERN (this doesn’t have to be exact, just gives you a guide as to where to sew)
RIGHT: Sew along line with yellow/gold thread.
LEFT: Fold horn in half, right side together, matching at straight edge. Match the sewn lines as close as you can. Trim away seam allowance to 1/4″ (6mm) and turn to right side.
RIGHT: Finished view
LEFT: Gently stuff polyester fiberfill into Unicorn Horn, leaving about 1/2″ (12mm) short of the top.
RIGHT: Sew a gathering stitch (basting stitch) around the entire opening of the horn, about 1/4″ (6mm) from top edge. Make sure not to knot and cut the thread just yet.
View of gathering stitch all around opening
Gently pull on the end of the gathering stitch to close the opening of UNICORN HORN.
View of finished unicorn horn. Don’t cut off the thread as we will use it later to sew the horn onto the hood.
Sewing Unicorn Mane
Make sure to have the hood portion sewn to the towel part prior to sewing the Unicorn Mane on.
For the mane, I used 6 different fleece colors in the pink and purple shade, but you can use the same color for the mane, or whatever color combinations you like!
Cut rectangular pieces of fleece 5″ x 7.5″ (12.7 cm x 19.05 cm) for each color you are using. If you are only using one color for the mane, cut a rectangle piece that measures 5″ x 45″ (12.7 cm x 114.3 cm)
Cut the rectangle into strips that are .75″ (1.9cm) wide, which should give you about 10 strips for each color. You will need about 7-10 strips for each of the 6 colors. If you are using one color, you will need 40-60 strips to make the mane.
Arrange about 5-7 strips per color overlapping together and stitch the strips together down the center. You can add extra strips if you feel that the mane isn’t full enough. I found that sewing the strips in batches (instead of all at once) is easier.
Finished mane piece
Pin mane down to center back of hooded towel (starting at top of the hood) and machine stitch in place.
Finished side view of mane
Sewing Unicorn Horn to Hood
LEFT: Take the needle with thread that was left on Unicorn Horn and poke it out to the side of the horn.
RIGHT: Pin the gold horn to top front of hood, at the center. Make sure seam of horn faces down towards front of hood.
Sew gold horn to hood using Invisible Ladder Stitch.
Finished view of horn sewn onto Unicorn Hooded towel.
DIY Unicorn Hooded Towel: Finishing Touches
At this point, I decided to add a piece of batting into the NOSE PIECE as I thought it felt a bit flimsy. Cut out the NOSE PIECE STABILIZER and slip it into the Unicorn Nose through the slit you had cut earlier.
Straighten the NOSE PIECE to make sure the batting lays nice and flat.
Sew back side of NOSE PIECE to hood using Invisible ladder stitch.
Finished view of toddler in DIY Unicorn Hooded Towel. Congratulations! You did it!!
Another thing I love doing for hooded towel gifts is to personalize it for a even more special touch! You can learn all about how to add Fabric Letter Applique here.
Don’t forget to pin the image below to save this project for later. Let me know in the comments below if there are other hooded towel tutorials you would like to see. Happy Sewing 🙂
How to Sew a Kid's Unicorn Hooded Towel
This hooded towel is guaranteed to be a big hit for little unicorn fans, while adding an extra touch of magic to bath times!
Materials
- BASIC HOODED TOWEL PATTERN
- UNICORN HOODED TOWEL PATTERN
- STORE BOUGHT BATH TOWEL (see note 1)
- WHITE FLEECE - 1/4 Yard
- VARYING COLORED FLEECE - 1/4 Yard each
- BLACK and BROWN CRAFT FELT
- GOLD FABRIC - 1/4 Yard
- POLYESTER FIBERFILL
- WHITE AND BLACK EMBROIDERY FLOSS - for sewing eyes and lashes
- MEDIUM WEIGHT FUSIBLE INTERFACING or
- QUILT BATTING
- EMBROIDERY STABILIZER
Tools
- SEWING MACHINE
- SERGER (optional)
- FABRIC SCISSORS
- ROTARY CUTTER (optional)
- SEWING PINS or
- SEWING CLIPS
- FABRIC CHALK
- HAND SEWING NEEDLES
- MATCHING THREAD
Instructions
HOW TO SEW UNICORN EARS
- Cut out ear pattern pieces, one on bath towel and one on white fleece.
- Serge edges of bath towel piece.
- Sew ears at 1/2" (1.27 cm) seam allowance, right sides together and clip curves (especially the pointing end of ears).
- Use a blunt scissor to push out tip of ears. Alternatively, use That Purple Thang.
- Fold top portion of ear down to bottom 1/3 and pin in place.
HOW TO SEW UNICORN NOSE
- Cut out Nose, Nostril, and Eyes.
- Iron fusible interfacing to both sides of the NOSE PIECE for extra stiffness
- Glue nostril onto nose and place a piece of embroidery stabilizer on the back.
- Applique the nostrils in place with zig-zag stitch (I used stitch width = 1, stitch length = 3). For more information about how to fabric applique see this post.
- Place Unicorn NOSE PIECE right sides together and sew at 1/2" (1.27cm) seam allowance. Clip curves.
- On the side without the nostrils, make a horizontal slit (about 3-4" long).
- Turn NOSE PIECE to right side through this opening.
SEWING UNICORN EYES
The following steps is for sewing the whites of the Unicorn eyes, and is completely optional.
- Use embroidery floss (all 6 strands), and stitch a few times (I usually do 3-4 overlaps) on the eyes to make the whites of eyes.
- Glue eyes to HOOD FRONT PIECE and applique with zig-zag stitch. Just sew the eyes to HOOD FRONT PIECE, not to the HOOD LINING as this will make it easier.
SEWING UNICORN NOSE TO HOOD
- Pin Unicorn NOSE PIECE to hood. You will only be sewing NOSE PIECE to front of hood, not to the LINING.
- Applique (with zig-zag stitch) NOSE PIECE down to front of hood, ending at HOOD LINING.
- Optional: At this point, use embroidery floss to sew eyelashes to the Unicorn eyes if desired.
- Sew the ears onto the hood, then sew the hood portion onto the bath towel portion, following the directions from How to Make a Kid's Hooded Towel.
HOW TO SEW UNICORN HORN
- Cut out Unicorn HORN PIECE on gold fabric and make notches on both ends of all the dotted lines.
- Draw line from notch to notch on wrong side of fabric, following dotted lines on HORN PATTERN. This doesn't have to be exact, just gives you a guide as to where to sew.
- Sew along line with yellow/gold thread.
- Fold horn in half, right side together, matching at straight edge. Match the sewn lines as close as you can.
- Trim away seam allowance to 1/4" (6mm) and turn to right side.
- Gently stuff polyester fiberfill into Unicorn Horn, leaving about 1/2" (12mm) short of the top.
- Sew a gathering stitch (basting stitch) around the entire opening of the horn, about 1/4" (6mm) from top edge. Don't knot and cut the thread just yet.
- Gently pull on the end of the gathering stitch until the opening of UNICORN HORN is completely closed. Don't cut off the thread as we will use it later to sew the horn onto the hood.
SEWING UNICORN MANE
Make sure to have the hood portion sewn to the towel prior to sewing the Unicorn Mane on.
- Cut rectangular pieces of fleece 5" x 7.5" (12.7 cm x 19.05 cm) for each color you are using. I used 6 different colored fleece for the mane (see note 2).
- Cut the rectangle into strips that are .75" (1.9cm) wide, which should give you about 10 strips for each color (see note 3).
- Arrange about 5-7 strips per color overlapping together and stitch the strips together down the center (see note 4).
- Pin mane down to center back of hooded towel (starting at top of the hood) and machine stitch in place.
SEWING HORN TO HOOD
- Take the needle with thread that was left on Unicorn Horn (from gathering stitch) and poke it out to the side of the horn.
- Pin Horn to fop front of hood, at the center. Make sure the seam of Horn is facing down towards front of hood.
- Sew gold horn to hood using Invisible Ladder Stitch.
FINISHING TOUCHES
At this point, you can add a piece of batting into the NOSE PIECE if it feels a bit flimsy.
- Cut out the NOSE PIECE STABILIZER on batting and slip it into the Unicorn Nose through the slit you had cut earlier.
- Straighten the NOSE PIECE to make sure the batting lays nice and flat.
- Sew back side of NOSE PIECE to hood using Invisible ladder stitch.
- Finished!
Notes
- I like Threshold Bath Towels from Target. as they are nice and thick. I used a Pink bath towel that measures 30″ x 54″ (76.2 cm x 137.16 cm)
- If you are only using one color for the mane, cut a rectangle piece that measures 5" x 45" (12.7 cm x 114.3 cm).
- You will need about 7-10 strips for each of the 6 colors. If you are using one color, you will need 40-60 strips to make the mane.
- You can add extra strips if you feel that the mane isn't full enough. I found that sewing the strips in batches (instead of all at once) is easier.
Hi! Thanks for the tutorial, the towel is adorable and I can’t wait to try it. Is the towel still machine washable once it’s finished? I’m wondering specifically how well the horn will stand up to a normal wash routine. Thanks!
Hi Mckenna!
Yes the towel is machine washable! However, I would definitely suggest putting the towel in a wash net to help protect the horn. Also, I did reinforce the horn to the towel by sewing 2-3x around the horn, and make sure you put enough fiberfill so the horn is stiff (this will help prevent the horn from becoming lumpy with washings). It also won’t hurt to use a gentle cycle, although I think with a wash net the regular cycle should be ok too. Hope that helps!