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Children's Towelling Dinosaur Poncho | Easy Sewing Project with Video Tutorial
Easy |
Quick Links: What you'll need Project steps
This beginner-friendly sewing project is both playful and practical – perfect for beach days, swimming lessons or post-bath cuddles.
Sewn from soft cotton towelling, this poncho is absorbent and cosy, with a loose, slip-on shape that makes it easy for little ones to pull over their heads. I’ve used 54in (137cm) wide towelling fabric and made use of the selvedges to save on hemming. If your fabric is wider, you can either make a longer poncho or trim the selvedges and hem the edges.
Working with towelling
Towelling fabric can be bulky, a little stretchy and liable to fray. Here are some tips to help you get the best results:
- If you can, use a rotary cutter and mat when cutting towelling rather than scissors because the thickness and texture of the fabric as well as its slight stretch can make it more difficult to cut with scissors. If you do use scissors, make sure they’re sharp.
- Use fabric clips or pins with visible heads and count how many pins you have used – standard pins can get lost in the texture of the towelling and you don’t want to leave one behind in a child’s robe!
- Avoid cutting notches in towelling fabrics because they are hard to see and encourage fraying. Instead, make any marks with chalk or fabric clips.
Make it your own!
Omit the spines – and the back seam – to make a simple hooded poncho. Use the same fabric for the spines as for the main poncho so you only need to buy one piece of towelling fabric. Use fleece fabric instead of towelling so the poncho can be worn all day long! If you opt for a patterned fleece, make sure the pattern is non-directional as it will be upside down on the back of the poncho.By the end of this project, you’ll have:
- Made a lovely kids’ garment and had fun along the way.
- Found out how to use fabric selvedge/selvage to save time in your sewing.
- Learned how to sew with towelling.
You may also like:
- Child’s Summer Hat with Neck Protector
- Children’s Party Dress
- Quick Make: Quaint Cottage Pincushion
- Maddie the Rag Doll
Note: use a ¼in (5mm) seam allowance.
Finished size: 38in (96.5cm) across the shoulders and 27in (68.5cm) long when using 54in (137cm) wide fabric.
Want some more inspo?
Turn to our Facebook page or Pinterest.
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You will need:
Equipment
- Sewing machine with a multi-purpose foot
- Dressmaking scissors/shears
- Fabric clips and/or pins
- 10in (25.5cm) circle template (such as a plate) to help you cut the curve of the hood – or you can cut this by eye
- Fabric glue to help secure the eyes: I used Gutermann HT2
- Optional: rotary cutter and cutting mat to cut out your pieces
- Optional: pencil or knitting needle to help push out the points of the spines
Materials
- 56in (142cm) of 54in (137cm) wide towelling fabric: if your fabric is a different width, the poncho will be shorter or longer than the one I made
- 22 x 8in (56 x 20.5cm) of contrast towelling to cut the triangular spines
- About 78in (2m) of ¾in (2cm) wide bias binding to bind the seams – or you can overlock these instead if you prefer
- 4 x 3in (10 x 7.5cm) of felt for the large part of the eyes – I used pink for the version shown in the steps and grey for the one in the video
- 3 x 2in (7.5 x 5cm) of felt for the middle section of the eyes – I used grey for the version in the steps and black for the one in the video
- 2 x 1in (2.5 x 5cm) of white felt for the highlight in each eye
To cut:
- 39½ x 54in (100 x 137cm) rectangle of towelling fabric (without trimming off the selvedges)
- Two 10 x 12in (25.5 x 30.5cm) pieces of towelling for the hood – try to use the selvedge along one 12in (30.5cm) edge of each hood piece if you can so you don’t need to fold a hem around the face
- 16 triangles of contrast towelling from your pattern
- The eye pieces from felt – two of each size
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Project steps:
Step 1
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Step 2
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