Carnival Towel Rabbit

Every night cruise ship passengers around the world return to their cabins to find a towel animal sitting on their bed.  Stateroom Stewards fold these animals with ease, while passengers puzzle over how it’s done.

new Carnival towel animal folding book

Carnival has a new edition of their towel animal folding book, available for sale to passengers on their ships.  The book includes photos of numerous animals with line drawing pictures of the how to steps of folding each one.

Carnival Towel Book Rabbit Instructions

Many animals, including my own invention – the crab, use the same basic body, placed in ever changing positions for different animals or even variations of the same animal.  Our rabbit for instance started out lying down, but on the second folding for the video became a sitting rabbit instead.

For the main body this rabbit and many other animals use, start with a bath towel.  Roll each end into the center.  Astika said the secret is to start the roll with just a very small bit folded over.

roll both ends of towel to center

Fold the rolled towel in half crosswise with the rolls to the outside of the fold.

fold towel in half, rolls to outside

Pull the corners of the towel out of the center of each roll.

pull the tips out of each roll

Grab the pulled corners of both ends of one roll in one hand, and the pulled corners of both ends of the other roll in the other hand.  Pull them tight and stretch into animal body with four legs.

pull ends of rolls tightly into body with 4 legs

Position the body the way you want it for the animal, whether sitting or lying down.

Make the head.  For the rabbit head, use a hand towel.  Either hook the center of one long edge over a wall hook, or hold it to your chest with your chin, leaving both hands free.

rolling towel corners toward end held under chin

Roll both sides from edge to center at the same time until they touch in the center and it resembles a long triangle.

With the rolled part to the outside, fold in half and push the tip end between the two rolled sides.

fold in half, bringing tip between the two rolls

While holding tightly to the two rolled ends with one hand, curl the tip end around itself and tuck it in between the rolls.

roll tip end around itself

Pull head tight, position on body and decorate as desired using colored paper to make eyes and nose.

finished towel rabbit

This is the second in a series of individual towel animal folding blogs, which started with the easy towel seal.  You can also check How to Fold Cruise Ship Towel Animals for more towel animal folding instructions. Up now: Towel Frog,  towel gorilla, hanging towel monkey, pig,  snakes, elephant, my very own towel crab, the really easy to make towel cake and more.

If you want to make sure you don’t miss any future animals including everyone’s favorite hanging towel monkey, you can easily find this blog again by liking My Cruise Stories facebook page, following this blog on networked blogs or twitter, or clicking the button to get an email subscription.

towel frog winning at poker

Towel Frogs at the Towel Hut on Carnival Liberty

Most of the time, cruise ship passengers find towel animals in their room when they return in the evening.  On the Carnival Liberty, we also found some frogs at the towel hut on the Lido deck.

The frog uses the standard body, same as the rabbit and many other towel animals.

Start with a bath towel.  Roll each side to the middle from the short ends.  Start the roll by folding just a small amount of towel over.

Once both rolled sides reach the middle, fold towel in half with the rolled part on the outside.  The rolls each end up folded in half when this gets done.

fold the rolled towel in half

Pull the tips of the corners out of each roll.  Take the tips of both corners of one roll in one hand and both corners of the other roll in the other hand.  Pull corners tight like you are playing tug-o-war with yourself until the towel resembles a body with four legs.

pull the corners of the rolled ends to make legs

For the frog, pull the legs tight enough to leave a good gap between the two rolls.  Set body aside until you make a head.

fold hand towel in half to start frog head

Use a hand towel to make the frog head.  Start by folding it in half crosswise and then folding it in half again.  Set it so the open edges of the towel are on top and toward you.

fold towel in half again

Take the top corner on one side and fold it to the center so that side makes a triangle.  Repeat with the other top corner.

fold corners into triangles

Fold the bottom corner up over the triangle so one side of the towel becomes a double layer of half sized triangles.  Repeat with the other bottom corner.

fold first triangle into double triangle

Fold both sides down at the center as you fold the towel in half with each double layered triangle as one of the halves.

fold down the middle with one double triangle on each side

Shape the loose ends into frog lips.

shape loose ends into frog lips

Place the head in the center of the body between the two sets of folded legs.

place the head in the center of the body

Fold the legs toward the center while sitting the frog up.

pulling frog up to sitting position

Position the arms and legs of sitting frog as desired and add colored bits of cloth or paper for eyes.  If desired further adorn your frog with a tongue or other embellishments.

the key to folding heads is a towel in the right proportions

Ta-da, a finished towel frog.

finished towel frog

I didn’t quite get all the photos I wanted on board, so obviously I had to make a few fill-ins at home.  I discovered why I had issues with the heads in my original towel folding blog, How to Fold Cruise Ship Towel Animals.  My hand towels aren’t the right shape to fold into triangles and have the folds line up with the edge of the towel when folded from the center.  This time I tried a smaller sized bath towel for the frog head and it worked quite well.  There’s an important lesson in that, it only works if you have the right size towels.

The frog is third in a series of individual towel animals which so far includes a seal and a rabbit.  There’s also my own invention, the crab, or how about a towel cake or snake?  Now there’s an elephant, a gorilla a hanging towel monkey and more.  If you want to be sure not to miss any upcoming animals, it is easy to make sure you can find this blog again.  You can like it on facebook, follow it on twitter or networked blogs, or sign up for an email subscription.

towel gorilla

Towel Pig on Carnival Liberty

SUPPLIES NEEDED TO MAKE A TOWEL PIG

One bath towel, one hand towel, one washcloth, two eyes (paper, felt, googly eyes, whatever works for you.)  Any other desired embellishments such as felt or paper nostrils.

HOW TO FOLD A TOWEL PIG

Making the towel pig body

roll each end to the center

Starting with the bath towel, make the standard towel animal body.  Lay the towel out flat, and from the short sides roll each end to the middle.  Start each roll with just a small amount of towel folded over.  Make the rolls tight reasonably tight, but not so tight you won’t be able to pull the ends out of them later.

Fold towel in half with the rolled part on the outside

Fold the rolled towel in half, with the rolled part on the outside.

pull the tips out of the ends of the rolls

Pull the tips out of the end of each roll.

take the tips from the two rolls from the same side of the towel in one hand, and the two from the other roll in the other hand

pull on the tips of all four rolls at the same time until the rolls stretch into legs and the towel becomes an animal body

Hold the tips you just pulled out of the ends of the rolls with the two tips from one roll in one hand and the two tips from the other roll in the other hand.  Pull all four at once until the rolls pull into legs and the towel becomes a body.

all four rolls stretched into legs to make a body

towel animal body turned over

Place the body into a sitting position.

place towel body into a sitting position

How to fold the towel pig’s tail

fold washcloth in half like a sloppy triangle

Use the washcloth to make the towel pig’s tail.  Start by folding the washcloth in half like a very sloppy triangle in which the end points totally missed each other.

roll the washcloth, starting from the long straight end

Roll from the straight end so the points end up on the outside of the roll.

tuck one end of tail under body and position as desired

Tuck one end of the tail under the body and position as desired.

How to fold the towel pig head

fold a hand towel in half to start the pig head

Now comes the hard part for this towel animal, making a towel pig head.  Use the hand towel for this step.   First fold the towel in half crosswise (not too hard yet…)

fold down the corners of the folded side to make a pointy end

Next fold down the corners of the folded end so that end has a pointy tip.

fold the pointed end under

Tuck a fair portion of the pointy tip down under the towel.

roll both sides to the center

Now it starts getting a bit harder.  Roll in both sides to the middle.

pig snout before sculpting

Pick the towel up and turn it to see the other side.  The pointy tip previously folded under will sort of resemble a pig snout at this point.  Sculpt it a bit rounder with your hands until it actually looks like a pig snout.

snout after sculpting

move each of the rolled ends off to the side a bit

Now the really hard part.  The back of the head has two rolls.  Bring the top of each one over a bit toward the side of the head it is on, as those bits will become ears.

fold the middle of the rolled part from between the ears down to the snout

Then fold both layers down to the snout at the middle.  Sculpt the snout and ears as desired and place the head on the body.

place the head onto the body

Decorate as desired.

finished towel pig

To add more stability to the head if you want the pig to be easily transportable a safety pin or tape could be added to the back, or a pipe cleaner wrapped around it under the fold.  Of course the tail isn’t attached either.

Click link for a list of blogs with instructions on how to fold a variety of other towel animals.

Next up in this series on how to fold towel animals is: Towel Elephant

towel elephant

Filed under: Towel Animals

Towel Turtle on Carnival Liberty

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Turtle

1. Bath Towel

2. Hand Towel

3. Washcloth

4. eyes (bits of paper or felt or googly eyes)

Video of Stateroom Steward Folding Towel Turtle

How to Make a Towel Turtle Body

The turtle takes the standard towel animal body, same as many other towel animals.

one side of towel rolled to middle

Lay the bath towel out flat.

both sides rolled to the middle

Roll both ends to the middle.

rolled towel folded in half, rolls to outside

Fold rolled towel in half, rolls to the outside.

pull the ends of the tips out of each roll

Pull the tip out of the end of each roll.

pull the rolls into legs

Take the two tips that are the ends of one roll in one hand and the tips that are the ends of the other roll in the other hand and pull all four at once until the rolls pull into legs.

finished towel animal body

How to Make a Towel Turtle Shell

Lay the hand towel out flat.

fold the hand towel in half crosswise

Fold in half the short way across the middle.

fold hand towel in half diagonally

Fold in half diagonally so it looks like a triangle.

How to Make a Towel Turtle Head

Lay the washcloth out flat.

fold down one end of the washcloth

Fold one end down a couple inches.

one side of washcloth folded over for turtle head

Fold both corners down from the middle of the folded end turning that end pointy.

both corners folded over for washcloth turtle head

Roll both sides to the middle at the same time.

if you don’t have camera in the other hand, you can roll both sides at once

Shape the pointy end into the head and make sure the rolls of the neck are tight.

Putting the Towel Turtle Together

set the head on top of the body

Set head on top of body.

drape the shell over the turtle with the straight edge to the front

Drape the shell over the head and body.

finished towel turtle

Tuck the ends of the shell in at the back and sides and decorate with eyes.  Bits of paper, cloth or felt work for eyes.  Googly eyes work well too.

for a different way to assemble the turtle, tuck the head between the leg rolls on the body

For a different way to assemble the turtle, turn the body over and nestle the head between the leg rolls, then flip it back over and put on the shell instead of putting the head on top of the body before adding the shell.

flip turtle over so neck is underneath

top it with a shell for a different finished towel turtle

Next in this towel animal folding series: Towel Dog

towel bulldog in Carnival Liberty launderette

For instructions on folding other towel animals, click here.

Bulldog in Carnival Liberty’s Lido Resturant

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Dog

1. Bath Towel

2. Hand Towel

3. Wash Cloth

4. Eyes

5. Tongue, collar, or any other decorations desired

Video – Carnival Liberty Stateroom Steward Folding Towel Dog

How To Fold a Towel Dog Body

The dog takes the standard towel animal body.

roll both ends of bath towel to middle

Lay the bath towel out flat and roll both sides to the middle from the short ends.  Fold the towel in half with the rolls to the outside.  Pull the tips out of the end of each roll.

pull the ends of all four rolls at once

Take the two tips from each end of the same roll in one hand and the two tips from either end of the other roll in the other hand and pull all four at once until the rolls pull out into legs and it makes a body.  (If you don’t have the hand strength to pull all four at once you can just start them that way and then pull each half individually to the finished position.)

pulling rolled towel into 4-legged towel animal body

For more detailed instructions on how to fold a standard towel animal body refer to My Cruise Stories pig or gorilla cruise ship towel animal folding blogs.

How to Make a Towel Dog Head

fold hand towel in half lengthwise

Lay the hand towel out flat and fold in half the long way.

put a finger on the center of the folded side and pick up corner of top layer only

Put one finger in the center of the folded side to hold the towel flat.

pull the top corner to the middle making a triangle out of one side of the towel

Take one corner of just the top layer of towel and bring it to the center so the end with your finger becomes the pointed end of that side of the towel which now looks like a triangle.

fold the top layer of the other side into a second triangle

towel looks like two side-by-side triangles

Repeat with the other side.  Now you have two side by side triangles.

fold the pointy tips under

Fold the tip of the pointed end under the towel.

fold the edges of both sides toward the center

Fold the edges of both sides toward the center, but not all the way to the middle on the top side of the towel.

roll both sides to the center at the same time

Roll both sides to the middle at the same time.

towel dog head ready for nose sculpting

Turn the head around. Shape the nose as desired.

One side tucked in

Take the top ear bits and tuck them in under the sides of the nose.  This both defines the top of the face and makes ears.  Place the head onto the body.

How to Fold a Washcloth Dog Tail

roll the washcloth diagonally from corner

For optional towel dog tail, lay a washcloth out flat.  Start from any corner and roll on the diagonal until whole washcloth is rolled.

washcloth rolled into dog tail

Place tail under dog body and position as desired.

make the tail the length you want by putting the rest of the rolled washcloth under the towel dog so only the part you want showing sticks out

Finishing the Towel Dog

finished towel dog decorated with eyes and tongue

Decorate towel dog as desired with eyes, nostrils, tongue, collar, etc.

Next up in this Towel Animal folding series:  Stingray

towel stingray

Towel Kitty Catches a Mouse on Carnival Liberty

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Cat

1. Bath Towel

2. Hand Towel

3. Washcloth

4. Decorations desired: eyes, nose, whiskers, collar, etc.  Bits of paper, cloth, or felt work for eyes and nose.  Pipe cleaners or stiff strings make good whiskers.  Googly eyes always work too if you have them.

How To Fold a Towel Cat

How to Make a Towel Cat Body

Use the bath towel for the body.  The cat takes the standard towel animal body, same as the dog, pig, and many other animals.

roll both ends of towel to middle from short sides

Roll both ends of the bath towel to the center from the short ends.

Fold in half, with the rolls to the outside.

fold towel in half and pull tips out of the ends of each roll

Pull the tips out of the end of each roll.

pull the tips at both ends until the rolled towel pulls into a body with 4 legs

Pull on the tips of all four rolls until the towel pulls out into a body with four legs.

standard towel animal body

cat body flipped over

How to Make a Towel Cat Head

hang hand towel from peg

Use the hand towel to make the cat’s head.  Hang the center of one long side of the towel from a peg on the wall, or tuck it under your chin.

tightly roll both sides to the center at the same time

Roll both sides tightly to the center so that the part on the peg becomes a point.

cross the end bits leaving the length you want the ears sticking out

Cross the ends of the towel at the wide end so that as much sticks out on either side as you want the length of the cat’s ears to be.

roll from wide end, rolls to outside and ears out of the roll

Roll starting from the wide end, with the flat part to the inside and the rolled part to the outside.

tuck the end tip in between the rolls

Tuck the tip in between the rolls and shape the ears as desired.

How to Make a Washcloth Cat Tail

pin corner of washcloth down with finger and roll from closest end

Pin down one corner of the washcloth with a finger.

keep rolling until the entire washcloth is rolled

While holding that corner down, roll from the adjacent corner and keep rolling until the entire washcloth becomes one roll with a wide end and a pointy end.

How to Assemble the Towel Cat

Place the head on top of the front legs, positioning head and legs as desired.

tuck tail under roll over back legs

Tuck tail under middle of roll where the back legs are and position as desired,

finished towel kitty

Add eyes and any other embellishments you want, such as nose and whiskers.

For instructions on how to fold other towel animals click here.

towel dinosaur trying to sneak out with our luggage

Next animal in this towel animal folding series: dinosaur

towel dinosaur

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Dinosaur

1. One bath towel

2. Two hand towels

3. Eyes and any other desired embellishments

How to Fold a Towel Dinosaur

roll both sides to middle from short ends

Start with the bath towel, and make the standard towel animal body, same as the dog, pig, or most of the other towel animals.  Roll both ends to the middle from the short sides.

fold rolled towel in half with rolls to the outside and pull tips out of ends

Fold in half with rolls to the outside and pull the tips out of each roll.

pull tips from ends of rolls until it pulls into animal body

standard towel animal body

Hold the tips of the two rolls from the same end of the towel in one hand and the tips of the two rolls from the other end of the towel in the other hand.  Pull all four at the same time until the rolls pull out into the four legs of an animal body.

hang hand towel on a hook

rolled towel on hook

Take the two hand towels, and one at a time and hang the center on a peg or hold it under your chin.

dinosaur head or tail

Tightly roll both sides at the same time so that the rolls come to a point at the end on the hook or under your chin, just like rolling the towels for the cat’s head.

put the head and tail towels between the leg rolls of the body towel

Turn the dinosaur body over so the rolled parts in the middle are on the top.  Insert the two hand towels into the middle of the body between the rolls with one pointing out on each side.

fold the leg rolls over the head and tail towels while flipping dinosaur over and into a seated position

Turn over and set body into a seated position.

Raise the neck and shape and position head and tail. Use front legs to support neck. Decorate as desired.

Raise neck and shape head as desired.  You may need to make some adjustments in the position of the head and neck towel and the front legs to get it to stand up.

finished towel dinosaur

Decorate as desired.  I used googly eyes and a pipe cleaner to decorate mine.  Bits of felt, cloth, or paper work fine for eyes too.

Then next animal in this cruise ship towel animal folding series is the towel bear.

towel bear

Towel Bear in Carnival Liberty’s Hot & Cool Dance Club

Supplies Needed to Make  Towel Bear

1. One Bath Towel

2. One Hand Towel

3. Eyes (bits of felt or paper or googly eyes)

4. Any other desired decorations – tongue, claws, etc.

How to Fold a Towel Bear

How to Fold the Towel Bear Body

roll both ends of bath towel to center

The bear takes the standard body, same as the turtle, pig, or many other towel animals.  Lay the bath towel out flat and roll both ends to the center from the short sides.

fold towel in half, rolls to the outside and pull tip ends out of each roll

Fold towel in half with the rolls to the outside.  Pull the tips out of the end of each roll.  I didn’t get a good picture of this step folding the bear, so I stole borrowed a photo from the cat.

take the tips of one roll in one hand, and the other roll in the other hand

Grasp the two tips that are the ends of one roll in one hand and the two tips that are the ends of the other roll in the other hand.

pull all 4 tips at once until the rolls pull out into the 4 legs of an animal body

Pull all four simultaneously until the rolled towel becomes four legs and a body.

How to Fold the Towel Bear Head

fold hand towel in half crosswise

Fold hand towel in half across the short side.

fold in half again

Fold in half again.

with finger holding down edge, fold corners of towel down the middle

Hold center down with a finger and fold each side down like a triangle.

flip towel over so folded parts of triangles are on the underside

Flip towel to other side and fold the center point over.

fold down center point of triangle

1. Pick towel up and invert while folding in half.

pick towel up and fold in half while inverting

Shape nose and ears as desired.

shape features as desired

How to Assemble a Towel Bear

place head between leg rolls of body

Place head between leg rolls of body.

bring arm rolls together and pull bear up into sitting position

Bring body up into sitting position.  Position legs as desired.

position and decorate as desired

Decorate with eyes and any other embellishments.

I used small googly eyes, bits of pipe cleaner for claws, and felt for the tongue on this bear.

Although the bear is the last animal from the Carnival Liberty series, I still have more animals to come.  Next up is the penguin, inspired by a penguin Rosario, our steward on the Norwegian Pearl, folded for us.

my towel penguin

For instructions on how to fold a variety of other towel animals, click here.

Towel Pigeon

How to Make a Towel Pigeon

Supplies Needed to Fold a Towel Pigeon

1. Bath Towel

2. Washcloth

3. Eyes and other desired decorations

Folding a Towel Pigeon

How to Make a Towel Pigeon Body

rolling up the towel hanging on a wall hook

Hang the center of one edge of the bath towel over a hook on the wall.

If you haven’t got any hooks on your wall you can tuck it under your chin to hold it instead.

Roll both edges of the towel as tightly as you possibly can.  The end at the hook should come out small and tight, and may even curl a bit.

The wide end will have some extra towel hanging out, which will eventually become wings.

Once the towel is completely rolled lay it on a flat surface rolled sides down.

rolled towel

Starting from the wide end, and with the unrolled bits hanging out to the sides, roll the towel sort of into a ball.

roll tightly from the wide end

Tuck the narrow end in between the rolls while it still has enough unrolled for a head and neck.

tuck the narrow part between the rolls

Turn so the narrow bit sticks up and then bend the top down for the head.

shape the tip into a head

How to Fold a Washcloth Pigeon Tail

Lay a washcloth out flat.

fold over one edge of the washcloth

Fold one side over an inch or so.  Fold the folded side again and again accordion style so it somewhat looks like the folds of a fan.

keep making folds back and forth until the entire washcloth gets folded

When the entire washcloth is a stack of folds, fold it in half in the middle so it totally looks like a fan.

fold the folded washcloth in the middle fan-style

Insert the folded end between the rolled folds on the backside of the pigeon body.

insert washcloth between towel rolls

Finishing the Towel Pigeon

finished towel pigeon decorated with googly eyes and pipe cleaner feet

Decorate as desired.  Mostly towel pigeons just get eyes.  Bits of paper, felt or other cloth, or googly eyes all work fine.  I rather liked the pipe cleaner feet I made for my penguin, so I made some for the pigeon as well.

How to Make Pipe Cleaner Feet for Towel Birds

start by folding one end of a pipe cleaner

Fold one end of the pipe cleaner over onto itself.

add a second fold the same length as the first

Make another fold where the doubled part ends.  Fold again at the same height as the first one.

after adding the third fold it looks like a bird foot

Repeat for the other end.  If the three folded bits do not all end up the same size, re-adjust the folds slightly one way or the other until they come out even.  Or choose not to worry about it since the back end of the feet gets tucked under the bird anyway.

Next Towel Animal: Seal

towel seal

For instructions on how to fold all sorts of other towel animals click here.

Towel Seals

The first animal in this series was the easy towel seal. When the stewards make that one on the ships, a lot of passengers aren’t quite sure what it is. There’s no mistaking this bigger, better, more detailed towel seal. Other options with this animal include using brown towels to make a sea lion, or adding tusks to make a walrus.

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Seal/Sea Lion

1. Two Bath Towels

2. Googly Eyes or bits of felt or cloth or paper eyes

3. Any other decorations desired such as a fish hanging from the mouth, a tongue, or whatever strikes your fancy

4. For a walrus, add tusks made of pipe cleaners, straws, felt, paper, or whatever you have that resembles tusks.

5. For a baby towel seal use two hand towels instead of bath towels and follow the same directions as for big seal.

baby towel seal

Starting the Towel Seal Head and Flippers

Fold one towel in half across the short side and then fold in half again parallel to the first fold. Set aside.

fold towel in half across the short side

fold towel in half across the short side again

 How to Fold a Towel Seal Body

fold about 3/4 of the towel over across the short side

Fold about ¾ of the towel across the short side so that about a quarter of it hangs out the end in a single layer.

fold corners to center on folded edge of towel

On the doubled end, fold both corners to the center so the end folded end resembles the point of a triangle.

roll both sides to the center

Roll both long sides to the center of the towel.

set the towel rolled sides up onto the previously folded towel (rolls will be tighter if you don’t let go to take pictures)

Place the pointy end on the center of the head and flipper towel.

fold the corners of the flat towel down over the rolled towel

Fold the corners of the head and flipper towel to the center over top of the body towel so the whole thing resembles an arrow.

it looks like an arrow with both corners folded

Fold the two triangles together and flip the whole thing over.

fold in half

roll seal over and shape head, flippers, and tail as desired

Raise the head and flipper end and shape as desired. Shape the tail end into tail fins.

finished towel seal

Decorate with eyes and any other desired embellishments.

plastic knives for tusks turn a seal into a walrus

What’s next in towel folding? My Cruise Stories very own towel anteater

Towel Anteater

You can find instructions on how to fold all sorts of other towel animals in My Cruise Stories towel animal archives.

How to Make a Towel Reindeer

Towel Reindeer

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Reindeer

1. One bath towel

2. One hand towel

3. One washcloth

4. Five pipe cleaners (AKA chenille stems)

5. Two eyes – Use google eyes or make eyes out of felt or paper

6. One big red pom-pom

7. Christmas garland (for harness)

How to Fold a Towel Reindeer Body

The reindeer takes the standard towel animal body.

roll short sides of bath towel to the middle

Lay the bath towel out flat.  Roll each end of the short sides to the middle.

Fold rolled towel in half, rolled sides out

Fold the rolled bath towel in half with the rolled part to the outside.

pull the tip of the towel out from the center of each rolled end

Pull the tips out of the end of each roll.

grasp both tips of one roll in one hand and both tips of other roll in other hand

Grasp the two tips of one roll in one hand and the other roll in the other hand.  Pull all of them at once stretching the towel tight until all the inner rolls pull out and the rolled bath towel becomes a 4-legged body.

finished towel animal body

How to Fold a Towel Reindeer Tail

Use a washcloth to make the towel reindeer tail.

fold washcloth in half

Lay the washcloth out flat.  Fold in half diagonally forming a large triangle.

fold in half diagonally again

Fold in half diagonally again forming a small triangle.

fold each half of the triangle to the center

Fold each half of the triangle to the center from the peak at the skinniest tip end to the base of the triangle at the widest end so it becomes the shape of a deer tail.

insert tail between rolls on underside of main body

With the rolled side facing up on both the main body and the tail, insert the tail between the rolls on one end of the body.

sit the tail end down and stand up front legs

Bring the legs on one side of the body over to the other side so the body folds in half with the tail sticking out the center of one end and roll the body over with the rolled side underneath.  Sit the tail end down and stand up the legs at the front end.

tie Christmas garland around the body and across the front

Tie a harness of Christmas garland around the center and across the front of the reindeer’s body.

How to Make Pipe Cleaner Reindeer Antlers

Each antler takes two shiny gold Christmas pipe cleaners (chenille stems).

wrap one pipe cleaner around the other

For each antler, bend one end of a pipe cleaner as the forward bit of the antler and the rest upward for the main tall part of the antler.  Take a second pipe cleaner and wrap it around the first at the bottom of the tall part with enough sticking up to make a small antler point at the joint.

finished reindeer antler

Wrap the second pipe cleaner around the first partway up and then bend the rest outward for a taller antler point.

How to Fold a Towel Reindeer Head

Use a hand towel to make the reindeer’s head.

fold towel from short side, not quite to the end

Fold the towel from the short end, not quite in half.  Leave a couple inches of single layered towel hanging beyond the edge.

fold over again from folded end

Fold towel over again, to the end of the doubled part, still leaving the single layer hanging off one end.

fold down corners on folded end

Fold corners down from the folded edge nearly to the end of the folded part.

roll sides to the middle

Roll each side to the middle.  Keep it straight at the start of the roll so none of the folded part gets into the single edge.

if desired taper nose end after passing corner folds

Once the roll reaches the end of the folded-down corner you can angle it a bit with the skinner end of the angle at the folded edge and the wider end where the single layer hangs over.

twist ends of pipe cleaner together on rolled side of head

When both sides are tightly rolled to the middle, wrap a chenille stem around the towel, closer the end with the single layered edge.  Twist the ends of the pipe cleaner together on the rolled side.

pipe cleaner wrapped around reindeer head

The pipe cleaner will sit flat on the flat side of the reindeer head.

fold the single layer down over the pipe cleaner

On the flat side, fold the single layer down over the pipe cleaner.  Shape the ears as desired.

Finishing the Towel Reindeer

Tuck the antlers into the fold at the base of the ears.  Pinch a bit of the forward antler just in front of where the other pipe cleaner is wrapped so there is something to tuck into the fold.  Position the antler as desired.

decorated reindeer head

Use double stick tape to add eyes and red pom-pom nose.

Set head on top of front end of reindeer and it’s done!

Finished Towel Reindeer

Next Towel Animal: Anteater

Towel Anteater

For more towel animals see My Cruise Stories Towel Animal Page.

Copyright 2012 My Cruise Stories

anteater towel animal

Most of the towel animals on this blog came from animals the stateroom stewards fold on cruise ships.  Like the crab and this anteater is my own creation, although the crab I made intentionally after the underside of a towel frog reminded me of a crab and the anteater came about quite by accident.  On our cruise on the Carnival Breeze, our stateroom steward was just learning how to make towel animals so I made one for him each afternoon to find when he came to do the evening cleaning and he made one for us each evening.  One day I tried to make something new I hadn’t done before – the Macaw out of Carnival’s Towel Creations book (which you can buy onboard Carnival ships).  It didn’t turn out quite right and the anteater was born.

Anteater I made on Carnival Breeze

Supplies Needed To Make a Towel Anteater

1. One Bath Towel

2. Two Hand Towels

3. Eyes (googly eyes or bits of paper or cloth.)

4. Pipecleaner tongue

How To Fold a Towel Anteater Body

Start with the standard towel animal body the same as the majority of other towel animals.  Lay the bath towel out flat and roll both ends fairly tightly to the center.  Fold rolled towel in half, rolled side out.  Pull the tips out of each rolled end.  Hold all 4 ends and pull until rolls pull into legs and your rolled towel becomes a body.

roll both ends of towel to the middle from short sides

fold towel in half, rolled sides out and pull tips of towel out of each roll

hold the tips of all four rolls and pull tight

rolls pulled tight into legs

How To Fold a Towel Anteater Tail

Hang the center of one hand towel on a wall hook or tuck it under your chin.  Roll both sides to the center at an angle as tightly as you can.  Tuck tail between rolls of body with rolled sides up on both towels.

hang center of hand towel on wall hook

roll both sides tightly to center

tuck tail between rolls on body rolled site up

How to Fold a Towel Anteater Head

Fold one third of the towel down on the short side.  Fold the other end just over the edge of the first fold.  Fold the top corners down like a triangle.  Lay the pipecleaner tongue between the triangles, sticking out at the end.  Roll tightly from both sides.  Tuck wide end between body rolls, rolled side up on the opposite side from the tail.

fold down a third of a hand towel

fold up the opposite end just over the end of the first fold

fold the corners down like a triangle

put a pipe cleaner between the folds of the triangle

roll both sides tightly to the middle

Finishing the Towel Anteater

Fold the legs together and roll anteater over.  Pose as desired, adjusting towels as needed.  Decorate with google eyes or use bits of felt, cloth, or paper for eyes.

fold the legs together

roll the anteater over

Finished anteater

Now if I could just get this anteater to go outside and eat some ants!

For instructions on how to fold many more towel animals please visit My Cruise Stories towel animal page.

copyright 2014 My Cruise Stories

Towel Crocodile

On our cruise on the MSC Divina, one of the stewards kindly allowed us to video him folding a variety of  towel animals.  Considering that Bagus was not our steward we greatly appreciated that he went above and beyond the call of duty to make these videos for this blog.

Most of the animals in this series from the Divina are easier to make than a lot of the animals featured on this blog so far, which is quite nice for new towel animal folders or those who have problems with the more difficult towel animals.  First up we have a crocodile.

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Crocodile

Two Hand Towels

One Bath Towel

Eyes

Towel Crocodile Folding Instructions

How to Fold Towel Crocodile Legs

fold a few inches over on hand towels to start the legs

Lay one hand towel out flat.  Fold over several inches across one short end.

roll towel from folded edge

From folded edge, roll towel to other end.

crocodile legs

Bend rolled towel at the middle so it resembles a boomerang and set it down where you want one end of the crocodile to sit.  Repeat with other towel and set parallel to first towel at the distance the hind legs go away from the front.

How to Fold Towel Crocodile Head and Body

bath towel hanging from hook on wall

Tuck center of one edge of long side of bath towel under your chin or hang it on a hook on the wall.

roll both sides of towel

Roll both sides of towel to the center at an angle from where the towel hangs.

set the body on the legs

Set towel over legs, rolled side down.  Leave enough of pointy end hanging over front set of legs for head.

nose end tucked under and tail end shaped

Tuck the pointy end under to round off the end for the nose.  If desired, arrange the back end into a tail shape.

towel crocodile decorated with googly eyes and felt nostrils

Decorate with eyes, which can be bits of felt or paper or googly eyes.  You can add further decorations such as nostrils if desired.

finished towel crocodile

Other easy towel animals include the snake and the penguin.  Many more towel animal folding instructions are available on My Cruise Stories towel animal page.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2014

Towel Leprechaun

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Leprechaun

1. Green Bath Towel

2. Beige, Tan, or Brown Hand Towel

3. Gold Pipe Cleaner (chenille stem)

4. Black Paper

5. Black Socks

6. Brown or Black Yarn

7. Eyes -googly eyes or paper or felt eyes

8. Leprechaun Hat

How To Make a Towel Leprechaun Body

green bath towel with short ends rolled to the center

Lay a green bath towel out flat.  Roll both sides to the center from the short ends.

rolled towel folded in half with some tips pulled out of the center

Fold rolled towel in half, rolls to the outside.  Pull the tips out from the center of each roll.

one hand grasps the tips from each end of the same roll

Take the the tips from both ends of one roll in one hand and the tips from both ends of the other roll in the other hand.

the leprechaun takes the standard towel animal body used on many towel animals

Pull until the towel resembles a body.

headless towel body in seated position

Raise one end of towel leprechaun body up and set arms onto legs in seated position.

Decorating the Towel Leprechaun Body

gold square made from a pipe cleaner

Fold a gold colored pipe cleaner into a square, leaving one end sticking out.

With the loose end wrapped to the middle and tucked down the square becomes a buckle

Wrap loose end to center of square, fold down and tuck end around opposite side so it forms a buckle.

slip a strip of paper through the newly made buckle and it becomes a belt

Cut a strip of black paper to the width of the pipe cleaner buckle and run the paper through the buckle.  Place over the front middle of the towel leprechaun body and tape to the back.

no head on this body yet, but now it has a belt

Fold small black socks down into themselves to make them into little boots for the towel leprechaun and tuck the ends of the legs into the boots.

How to Make a Towel Leprechaun Head

pick a towel color that resembles a human skin tone for the head

Hang center of long side of skin-colored hand towel over hook on wall, or tuck it under your chin.

there should be hands on both sides of the towel, but the other one is on the camera

Roll both sides tightly to the center at the same time.   Set rolled towel on flat surface, rolled side down.

leave enough towel for ears sticking out on each side and hold the any extra in the middle when starting to roll

From the wide end, leave as much of the loose part of the towel sticking out on either side as you want for the leprechaun’s ears.  Hold any excess loose part against the wide end of the rolled towel as you start to roll so it gets rolled into the head as you only want enough sticking out for leprechaun sized ears.

rolling the head

Roll tightly from the wide end toward the narrow end with the rolls on the outside.

finished leprechaun head

When you get nearly to the end, tuck the narrow end in between the rolls, leaving enough for a nose sticking out from between them.

How to Make a Yarn Leprechaun Beard

cut piece of yarn over card

Cut a strip of yarn long enough to tie around the leprechaun’s head.  Lay yarn string over a card several inches long and around an inch or so wide.

wind the yarn around the card

Wrap yarn around the card and loose string taking care not to tangle the loose string into the end of the yarn you are wrapping with.  When the card has as much yarn on it as you want the thickness of the leprechaun’s beard to be, cut the end off from the yarn you are winding with so you just have the yarn looped over the card and string.

once the card is full of yarn, pull it out leaving just the string through the yarn loops

Slide the card out of the yarn and then you just have loops over the string.  Set the beard onto the leprechaun’s head as desired and tie the ends of the yarn string together in the back of the head.

Finishing the Towel Leprechaun

head with eyes and beard ready to set on body

Tape eyes onto the leprechaun’s head with double stick tape.  Place the head on top the body.  Use a leprechaun hat purchased from party supply or dollar store, or make a leprechaun hat out of paper to set on leprechaun’s head.

Make sure the yarn is not the same color as the towel. It doesn’t look human enough if the colors are too close like this one.

Towel Leprechaun all ready for St. Patrick’s Day

Now you have a finished towel leprechaun.  If you wanted to get really fancy you could add little glove or paper hands, a pot of gold, or other embellishments if desired.

FOR MORE TOWEL ANIMAL FOLDING INSTRUCTIONS, PLEASE VISIT MY CRUISE STORIES TOWEL ANIMAL PAGE

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY!

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2014

How To Make a Towel Dragon

Sometimes I use towel animals from cruise ships on my blog and sometimes I come up with my own designs.  These dragons are creations of my own imagination.

fire-breathing towel dragon

Dragons are a fairly difficult towel animal to make and are best suited for experienced towel animal folders.  If you are a beginner and want to make a dragon anyway try the small dragon first because it is the easiest.

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Dragon

different types of towel dragons: multicolor – majestic, green and striped – big, black – small

For a Majestic Dragon: 1 bath towel, 2 hand towels, 1 beach towel

For a Big Towel Dragon: 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels

For a Small Dragon: 1 bath towel, 1 hand towel, 2 wash cloths

eyes (googly eyes or bits of felt or paper)

flames made from paper or felt

nostrils made from paper or felt

pipe cleaner (in craft stores may be called chenille stem)

How to Fold a Towel Dragon Body

tightly roll both short sides of a bath towel to the center

All sizes of dragons use a bath towel for the body.

Fold the rolled towel in half, rolls to the outside. Pull tips out of the center of each roll.

Take the tips from both ends of one roll in one hand and the tips from both ends of the other roll in the other hand and pull until the rolls pull into legs and the middle into a body.

flip finished towel animal body over

How to Fold a Towel Dragon Tail

hang center of one long side of tail towel on a wall hook or tuck it under your chin. Roll both sides to the center as tightly as possible.

The big dragon and the majestic dragon use hand towels for the tail.

Keeping your tail rolls as tight as possible, tuck tail rolled side up between the leg rolls on the body. Make sure the solid edge of the towel is on top of the body and all loose ends are contained between the leg rolls.

The small dragon uses a washcloth for the tail.

How to Fold a Towel Dragon Head

Just like the tail, hang center of one edge of long side on wall peg or tuck under your chin. Roll both sides together as tightly as possible. This will be more difficult than the tail because it is a bigger towel and really tight rolls are more important.

The majestic dragon uses a beach towel for the head and neck.

Place the end of the tightly rolled towel between the leg rolls of the body opposite the tail. Tuck any long loose ends in between the tail rolls.

The big dragon uses a bath towel for the head and neck.

the head and tail towels tucked into the body with the head towel’s loose ends tucked into the tail

The small dragon uses a hand towel for the head and neck.

Take one pair of legs in hand and bring them over top of the head and tail towels to meet the other pair of legs. Keep the motion going to roll the whole body over until it is standing.

Adjust leg position as needed so dragon body stands on its own.

How to Fold Towel Dragon Wings

Fold over about an inch across one edge of the long side of the wing towel

The big dragon and the majestic dragon use hand towels for the wings.

Flip the towel over and make another fold in the opposite direction.

The small dragon uses a washcloth for the wings.

Continue making small folds across the towel.

When done the wing towel will look something like a fan

wrap a pipe cleaner around the center of the wing towel and twist it tight

Insert the ends of the pipe cleaner into the folds of the body so the wings stand up a bit above the dragon’s back. Position wings as desired.

If you don’t have a pipe cleaner just pinch the center of the wing towel together on the dragon’s back after making the fan-like folds and spread out each wing as desired.

Finishing the Towel Dragon

Raise the head and neck towel. Curve the base of the neck back so it rests on top the wings. Curve the top of the neck forward and the head down. Adjust to desired position.  A beach towel gives this majestic dragon a very long neck.

Decorating the Towel Dragon

Decorate dragon with eyes, nostrils, and flames. The googly eyes and paper flames have double-stick tape holding them on this small dragon, but the felt nostrils stay on their own.

big towel dragon

For step-by-step instructions on how to fold a variety of other towel animals, please visit My Cruise Stories Towel Animal Page.

this dragon needs tighter rolls

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2014

Towel Squid

When I posted the blog about how to fold a towel pigeon, I got a comment from my son (the very same person who had said my towel crab needed more legs) saying one of the partially folded photos looked like a squid and that I should do a blog on how to make a towel squid.  So here it is, from pigeon to squid.

partly folded pigeon body resembles a squid

Supplies Needed for Towel Squid Folding

1.  Hand Towel

2. Wash Cloth

3. Eyes and any other desired embellishments

Instructions for Folding a Towel Squid

Find the center of one long edge of the hand towel.  Hang it on a hook on the wall, or if no hook is available or you just prefer to do it that way, tuck it under your chin.

whether you hang the towel from a hook or tuck it under your chin, the key is to get the ends rolled tightly

Tightly roll both edges to the center.  While you want your hands near the top pointy end for birds to get that end good and tight, for the squid it is better to hold the bottom end.  You need the bottom end tight for it to hold its shape, and you don’t want the top end to curl, as it does when very tight (which is desirable for birds, but not squids.)

hold near the lower end of the towel while rolling it for a squid

Set the rolled towel down with the rolls underneath the towel.  Fold the bottom edge up just a bit to help it hold its shape and to make the legs a tad longer.

both sides of towel rolled together, this side with the rolls goes underneath

Lay the washcloth out flat.  Start from one corner and roll until you reach the opposite corner.

roll the washcloth from corner to corner

Bend washcloth into a U shape and insert bent side under the folded edge of the squid body between the other two legs.

bend the washcloth like a horseshoe

Now it has 4 legs instead of 2, which is still not as many as a real squid, but since this squid lies flat we will just imagine the other legs are hidden underneath where we can’t see them.  Or roll two more wash cloths and add more legs.

tuck the bent end of the washcloth under the squid body to add more legs

Decorate squid as desired.  I tried humanizing it by adding a nose and mouth as well as eyes, but since real squids do not have that sort of face I liked mine better with just the eyes.

finished towel squid with face

My Cruise Stories has a whole series on towel animal folding with instructions for making all sorts of other towel animals.

Copyright 2014 My Cruise Stories

How To Fold a Towel Lobster with Bagus of MSC Divina

Towel Lobster

Supplies needed to make a towel lobster:

1 bath towel

1 hand towel

eyes

2 washcloths (optional)

 Towel Lobster Folding Instructions

fold the towel in half and fold the end of the top half down a bit

This lobster starts with the standard towel animal body – sort of.  In the video, Bagus shows a little trick for this.  He first folds the towel in half to insure both sides are even, and he also tucks a bit down on each end before rolling.  There’s nothing standard about how the body gets positioned after folding, he’s got quite a trick there.

roll top half of towel from the fold across the end

Start by folding the bath towel in half across the short side.  Fold over several inches across the top short edge.  Start rolling from the folded edge.  Roll until you get to the middle of the towel.

make the second roll the same as the first

Flip the other side out from under the roll and roll the other end the same way as the first side.

pull tips out of the center of each roll

Fold the rolled towel in half, rolls to the outside.  Pull the tips out of the end of each roll.  Take both tips from one roll in one hand and both tips from the other roll in the other hand.

hold the tips of both ends of one roll in one hand and both ends of the other roll in the other hand

Pull both sides away from each other as if your hands were playing tug-o-war with the towel.

looks like a standard towel animal body so far

Set the body down rolled side up and pull tight.  Seems normal so far if you’ve made other towel animals, but now comes the trick.

lift the center of one roll and place it on top of the center of the other roll

Lift the center of on roll and place it over the top of the other roll.  Position front legs as desired.

drape hand towel over back legs of lobster body

Set hand towel over top of lobster.

make a series of folds in the hand towel

Make a series of fan-like folds across the short side of the hand towel down the lobster’s back.  Tuck the sides of the hand towel under the lobster and shape the tail.

tuck the sides of the hand towel under the lobster and shape the tail as desired

Decorate with eyes.  Bagus used a glue stick, I always use double-stick tape.  Either way works to stick google eyes on.  Eyes made of paper or felt tend to stick fairly well on their own.

finished towel lobster

You could be done at this point, but I always like to embellish things, so I’ve added claws to mine.

How to Fold Towel Lobster Claws

roll washcloth diagonally for lobster claw

Lay a washcloth out flat.  Starting from one corner, roll diagonally across the washcloth to the opposite corner.  Fold in half at the center of the roll and tuck into the end of one of the lobster’s front legs.  Position in claw shape.  Repeat with other washcloth and lobster leg.

fold rolled washcloth at center and insert into ends of towel lobster legs

The lobster would be better done in red towels, but I didn’t have any red towels, and not many colors where I have two washcloths, so mine has blue stripes.  Luckily I can make it redder on the computer to see how much more lobstery it would have looked if I’d had red towels.

red(ish) looks a lot more like a lobster than blue

For instructions on how to fold all sorts of other towel animals, visit My Cruise Stories towel animal page.

 Copyright My Cruise Stores 2014

How To Fold a Towel Person

Lame Adventures in a towel

I hadn’t really thought about making a towel person until V of Lame Adventures mentioned in a comment that she thought I could make her in a towel.  Of course trying to make a towel sculpture of a specific person is harder than just making a random towel person.   For a specific person you need to find some characteristics of that person you can imitate in a towel. Start with a towel in the closest shade you can find to the person’s skin color.  Which is not easy as towels don’t tend to come in colors that resemble anything near human skin tones.  I do have one hand towel I found in a thrift shop that works pretty well for caucasian skin.  Luckily only the head towel color matters.  Any color works for the body towel since people wear clothes.

banner photo snagged from Lame Adventures blog

Since I am making this towel person to resemble an actual person it would be nice for anyone reading this to know what she looks like.  So I jacked her photo from the banner on her blog.

Curling ribbon or yarn would make great hair for towel people.  Curling ribbon for curly hair, which works fine if you want yellow, red, or white hair since curling ribbon is easy to find in those colors.   I could not find any in brown or black.  Yarn comes in all sorts of colors and makes great straight hair.  Of course V has to be difficult and have curly brown hair.  Sigh.  Pipe cleaners is all I could find to make dark curly hair.  These were actually called fuzzy craft sticks, but same thing.

The other distinguishing feature she has is glasses, and luckily I have some of those.  Cheap baby clothes are plentiful at thrift stores and sized about right for towel people.   I couldn’t find tiny gloves for the hands in the middle of the summer and was too cheap to buy tiny socks for the feet, which would be the obvious things to use.

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Person

hand towel in skin tone

bath towel any color

baby clothes if desired

decorations – this is what brings the towel person to life, whatever you use for eyes, hair, hands and feet, mouth, and any other embellishments like glasses or a purse or shoes

How to Fold a Towel Person Head

Make sure the ends are exactly even. This towel needs the ends adjusted before rolling because one side hangs a bit lower than the other.

Hang the hand towel from a wall hook or tuck it under your chin.  Roll both sides as tightly as you can.  Mine tend to come out a bit lopsided now.  As anyone who reads this blog regularly knows, I broke my left elbow inside the joint last spring.  Both the doctor and therapist had very low expectations for me, but it did heal better than either of them expected.  It will never be 100% though and there are some positions that arm can’t achieve.  It also lacks in strength and dexterity, with two of the fingers trying to function as a single unit.  So I can’t ever roll both sides evenly any more.

Roll towel from the top so the end gets very tight while making the entire pair of rolls as tight as possible.

With the rolls to the outside, roll from the wide end to the point.  Leave just enough towel for ears hanging out at the end and tuck the point end in between the rolls with a bit sticking out for the nose.  For more photos on the various stages of folding a towel head, see the leprechaun towel folding blog.

the ears on this head need some adjusting to even them out

after folding and tucking things in the ears even out and look more human

Pointy ears work fine for things like cats, elves, or Vulcans, but since this is a human, shape the ears rounder by tucking ends in as needed.  Tuck in more on one side than the other if necessary to even the ears out as I had to on this one.

I have little blue jeans and a tiny sweatshirt to dress my towel human, mainly because that is what the thrift store had that did not look completely babyish.  So I’m using a light blue towel for the body.  It can be the shirt and will go with the rest of the outfit.

How to Fold a Towel Human Body

try to roll the two halves of the towel as evenly as possible

The towel person uses the standard towel animal body used in the majority of towel animals.  Lay the bath towel out flat.  From the short side roll each end to the center.

the tips just need to pull out enough to hold onto them in the next step

Fold rolled towel in half, rolls to the outside.  Pull the tips out of the center of each roll.

pull the tips so the towel pulls out the ends of the rolls and forms legs

Taking the two halves of one roll in one hand and the two halves of the other roll in the other hand, pull all four until the rolls pull out into legs (or in this case arms and legs) and the towel resembles a body.

If you don’t have the hand or arm strength to pull all four rolls at once, let one side go and use both hands on opposite ends of the same roll to pull just one side at a time

it looks the same in the end whether you pulled all the legs together or one side at a time

If you lack the hand strength to pull them all at once, just get it started a bit and then pull each side separately.  I have to do it that way now since I can’t pull it all at once.

not quite a person yet

When the towel body is done it is time to dress it and add the head.

the towel person could be done at this point as a little boy if I used different eyes

Finishing the Towel Person

The leprechaun’s clothes is the body plus belt and boots

Yoda’s robe is just a towel

Dress the towel person body as desired (which could be as simple as putting it in a sitting position and draping another towel around it like a robe or using the body towel as clothing.)

Position the body as desired and add  decorations – eyes, hair, etc.

Finishing touches on the lame adventures towel person included eyes, glasses, gloves, socks, and hair as well as the little jeans and sweatshirt.   She was positioned to imitate the picture.  She kind of reminds me of the old original cabbage patch dolls back when they had yarn hair.

For other towel creations please visit My Cruise Stories Towel Animal Page.

copyright My Cruise Stories 2014

How To Fold A Towel Unicorn

Towel Unicorn

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Unicorn

1 White Bath Towel

1 White Hand Towel

1 White Wash Cloth

2 Gold Pipe Cleaners (AKA chenille stems or fuzzy craft sticks)

2 eyes

How to Fold a Towel Unicorn Body

The towel unicorn uses a standard towel animal body made from a bath towel.  Start by laying the white bath towel out flat.

roll both sides of the bath towel to the center from the short ends

Roll each end to the center from the short side.

fold the rolled towel in half with rolls to the outside and pull the tips out of the center of each roll

Fold rolled towel in half, rolls to the outside.  Pull tips out of the center of each roll.

take both ends of one roll in one hand, both ends of the other roll in the other hand, and pull

Take the tip ends of both sides of one roll in one hand, and the tip ends of both sides of the other roll in the other hand.

finished towel animal body

Pull all of them at once until you have pulled legs out of the roll and the towel looks like a  body with four legs.  If you lack the hand strength to pull the whole thing at once, pull it as far as you can, then set it down and take one end of a roll with one hand and the end of the other end other roll on the same half (longways) of the body with the other hand and pull just one side of the body.   Repeat with the other side.

How to Fold a Towel Unicorn Head

fold hand towel in half widthwise

Fold the hand towel in half across the center the short way.

Fold towel over at the open end

Fold the edges of the open end over a couple inches.

one corner folded

both corners folded into triangles

From the center of the 2-inch fold, fold each corner over in triangle fashion.

fold the point down under the towel

the point is folded down and the long straight edge folded up

Fold the point down and the long edge up.

fold the corners down into little triangles on both ends of the long bit that just got folded up

Fold over the corners of the long edge into little triangles.

you can roll one side at a time or roll both sides at once, whichever works for you

both sides rolled to the middle

Tightly roll both sides of the head to the middle.

put a rubber band around the head near the straighter end

Put a rubber band around the head near the straighter edge.

fold the edge over the rubber band and shape the ears and the nose

Fold the end of the towel over the rubber band and shape ears from the bits that stick up out the middle.  Shape the other end as desired for the nose.

How to Make a Pipe Cleaner Unicorn Horn

set two gold colored pipe cleaners perpendicular to each other

Set two pipe cleaners perpendicular to one another.

fold each pipe cleaner in half over the other one so they hook together in the middle

Fold both in half over each other so they are hooked over one another.

twist the pipe cleaners around each other to make a horn

Twist from the folded ends until the twisted part is the length you want the horn to be.

when the horn part is the desired length, use the leftover ends to hook the horn to the rubber band on the unicorn head

Lift up the edge of the towel folded over the rubber band and intertwine the ends of the pipe cleaners into the rubber band.

unicorn head with horn attached

Fold the edge back over the rubber band so all that shows is the horn.  (Or just make the horn ahead of time and put it on the rubber band while you are making the head.)

How to Fold a Washcloth Unicorn Tail

fold on the diagonal leaving a boarder on the edges

Lay white washcloth out flat.  Fold one corner over diagonally, leaving a boarder of an inch or two unfolded.

turn over so fold is on underside or just fold it down to start with

Turn washcloth over so folded part is underneath.

roll diagonally from the center of the washcloth

keep rolling from the end where you started until you roll the whole washcloth into a cone

From the center of the folded end, roll entire washcloth in one continuous roll so that it has a small tight end and an open sweeping end.

cone-shaped finished tail

Finishing the Towel Unicorn

position the body – horses lay down with all their legs on the same side so unicorns would too

Position the unicorn’s body as desired.  Insert the tail on one end and set the head on the other.  Decorate with eyes.  Felt or paper eyes will usually stick to the towel on their own, but googly eyes need double stick tape to hold them on.

finished towel unicorn

For more towel animal folding instructions visit My Cruise Stories Towel Animal Page.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2015

towel ducks

How to Make Towel Ducks

Supplies Needed for Making Towel Ducks

Bath Towel – for large duck

Hand Towel – for small duck

Washcloth – for duckling

Eyes

Towel Duck Folding Instructions

If you want to make a large duck, use a bath towel. If you want to make a small duck use a hand towel. All steps are the same for both sizes.

fold corners of long side into a triangle

Lay towel out flat. Fold over top corners along the long side of the towel making a triangular tip.

roll both sides to the middle from the folded edges

Roll both sides in as tightly as you can from the pointed tip along the folded sides.

roll both sides to the center as tightly as you can

Tuck the loose ends in between the rolls on the wide end.

tuck the loose ends between the folds

Set towel with rolls down and shape wide end to look like the back end of a duck.

shape the wide end to look like the tail end of a duck

If you have rolled your towel nice and tight like a cruise ship stateroom steward, fold the narrow end back over the top of the duck body into a S shape for the neck and head and pose as desired.

Of course not everyone is able to roll their towels tightly like the stewards do. I broke my arm at the elbow joint a couple years ago and have a bit of nerve damage down into the fingers. Things could have been a lot worse since it healed better than expected and nobody else notices the arm is not quite normal. There are however some things I can no longer do and rolling towels tightly is one of them. Thus the necessity for other ways of making animals, which are also useful for anyone who is not an expert towel folder.

if the duck head and neck don’t stay put flatten them with a book

If you are unable to roll the towel tight enough for the neck and head to stay posed, fold them back into an S shape and put a heavy book on top. Leave book for several hours to overnight and the head and neck will stay up when you remove the book.

the neck needs to curve back a bit to hold up the head

Once the head and neck are posed, place eyes on the head. Use google eyes if you have some, if not make eyes from felt or paper. If the eyes do not stay on their own use double stick tape to keep them in place.

Towel Duckling Folding Instructions

fold edge over to turn a square into a rectangle

Lay washcloth out flat. Fold bottom edge of washcloth up 2 or 3 inches to make a rectangle instead of a square.

fold corners down into a triangle same as with duck towels

Fold down the top corners and continue following the same instructions used for the larger ducks.

towel ducks

For more towel animal folding instructions visit My Cruise Stories Towel Animal Page.

towel duck

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