Grab an Old Towel and Turn It Into a Beach Poncho!!

I’m so excited to show you how to make this cool and convenient beach poncho.

My cousin told me every local surfer has a surf poncho towel. They looked like they would make a fun project, so I decided to give it a shot. Here’s how I did it.

I decided to go to the thrift store to buy towels because I knew I wanted to cut and combine different elements of different towels.

I wanted to focus on style and I didn’t have old towels I wanted to use.

I also found a cheap hoodie to use as a ready-made hood.

1. Cut out the hood and pocket

Cut the hood out of the sweatshirt with the seam intact, and do the same for the front pocket.

2. Make a neck hole

Then fold the towel horizontally and vertically to help you place your neck hole.

Cut a hole off that corner.

If you’re working with the same type of hoodie as me and you need to make a V-neck, place the hoodie cutout on the neck hole and then mark and cut the excess.

3. Pin and sew

To pin the hood to the neckline, start with the center back of the hood to the center back of your towel and start working your way all the way around until it finds the center front.

You’re basically just laying the hoodie onto the towel, like a patch.

Pin the pocket in place too. Then sew everything on with a straight stitch along the edges of the hoodie with a very thin seam allowance. Then sew the pocket at the bottom, top, and two lower sides.

4. How to make your own hood and pocket

I am also going to show you how to make your own hood with the second hoodie I made.

Take a hood from a hoodie and lay it on top of the folded edge of the towel. Use that as a guide to cut out the shape around the hoodie. Don’t start cutting at the edge.

Leave the first few inches uncut and start cutting where the curve starts.

Mark the front and back of your hood, remove the sweatshirt, and connect those two points. The front of the hood is always a bit longer than the back because of the neckline, so just remember to follow that line.

Next, cut a pocket on the fold. Use a pocketed hoodie for guidance with the shape.

Then I recommend sewing down all of your edges so they’re nice and clean. It’ll make things easier when you apply and attach it to your towel. Then you can just stitch along the existing seam line when you sew it on.

To sew closed the hood seam, turn it right sides facing in. Start the seam at the folded edge and continue along that line. Then sew the hood in place along the neckline with the right sides facing in.