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Today's Dollar Store Craft is an incredibly adorable toddler-sized bathrobe! It's perfect for throwing on after a bath or a swim, and best of all, it's made from TWO dollar store dish towels! It's so simple to make, yet certainly has a lot of bang for your two bucks!

SUPPLIES:

~ Two terry dish towels -- mine measured about 14.5"x24"
(This size of dish towel yielded a robe perfectly sized for my almost-18-month-old, although these towels are a bit on the smaller side. I am sure you could find larger ones for an older toddler.)
~ Approximately 3 1/2 yards 3/4" wide cotton twill tape

STEP ONE: Prewash and dry your towels and twill tape!

STEP TWO: Fold one towel in half from hem to hem and cut along the fold, as shown.

STEP THREE: Fold your second towel in quarters to find the center and mark. Fold from hem to hem and cut from one edge to the center, as shown.

STEP FOUR: With your towel still folded cut a small neck opening, as shown.

(I don't know if this diagram is helpful or confusing!)

STEP FIVE: Lay your towel with the neck opening on a flat surface.

STEP SIX: Lay one of your dish towel halves on top, right sides together, with the raw edge centered on the edge. Pin, being careful not to stretch the towels. Sew with a 3/8" seam allowance.

Repeat Steps Five and Six for the opposite side of your towel, as shown.

STEP SEVEN: Continue the center front cut line through the hem of your towel, as shown.

(Note: You COULD do things in a different order -- skipping steps three and four until after five, six and seven. I did mine this way because it was easier to fold and find the center point of my towel before attaching the other towel halves.)

STEP EIGHT: Remove a small amount from the "underarm" area of the robe. Fold your robe right sides together and cut away a 1 1/4" width rectangle. This makes the sleeves narrower and more fitted, and also eliminates the bulky finished edge of the towel.

At this point I serged the seams where I attached the towels to each other, then topstitched the seams down. I do recommend finishing the edges to avoid fraying, but you could certainly use a zigzag stitch if you don't have a serger.


STEP NINE: (not pictured) Sew the side seams on each side from the hem of the sleeve all the way around to the hem of the robe. Use a 1/2" seam allowance. Serge or zigzag for a finished edge on the seams. Note: If you like, you can add twill tape loops for your robe when you sew the side seams.

STEP TEN: Cut a 1 1/2 yard length of twill tape and press it in half lengthwise, as shown. This will be the binding for the raw edge opening of your robe.

STEP ELEVEN: Carefully bind the robe opening, starting at the hem on one side (finish the ends of the twill tape by folding them inside before you sew), and continuing all the way around to the other hem. This finishes the edge of your robe beautifully, without the need for bias tape or a facing!

STEP TWELVE: Cut your remaining twill tape into two 1 yard pieces. Layer them together and sew all the way around. This is the tie for your robe.

Your adorable little robe is finished!