My nephew, Elliot, also has a birthday this month. He will be turning three on the 26th. Elliot likes to play outdoors whenever possible and, in the summer, he likes swimming and playing in the sprinkler, so I decided to make him a fun towel/wrap. It's supposed to be a shark, but I think it looks more like some kind of weird sea monster.
The exterior body and dorsal fin are made from two inexpensive bath towels that I got at Target. The eye appliques are made from bits of terrycloth (cut from inexpensive washcloths). I wasn't sure about making the teeth from terrycloth, so I made them from white flannel. The entire thing is lined in very lightweight terrycloth in a darker blue. I should probably be glad I have my mother's sewing machine this week, because it has a really cool "auto tension" feature that was invaluable when sewing through are many as six layers of terrycloth at a time.
Here's an action shot, showing the hood . . .
. . . and another showing the dorsal fin. I'm sure it will look better on Elliot, but you get the idea!
I should also mention that my father's birthday is also in April (on the 12th). Happy belated birthday, Dad!
It's fantastic, he's going to be so happy!
Posted by: the pesky bombolino | April 17, 2008 at 12:31 AM
Oh wow! he'll love it!
Posted by: Tine | April 17, 2008 at 12:52 AM
I love it - especially the dorsal fin. What an extremely cool present to give.
Posted by: Jodie | April 17, 2008 at 02:45 AM
You are so creative! That towel is gonna make for one fun Summer for your nephew.
Posted by: Marcia | April 17, 2008 at 06:11 AM
Very cute shark towel, your nephew will love it.
Posted by: shannon | April 17, 2008 at 07:27 AM
He's great!! And your nephew will love it. Are you making a big one for your Dad for his birthday? ;) LOL
Posted by: Rebecca | April 17, 2008 at 07:40 AM
I completely squealed with delight when I saw this! Did you come up with the pattern on your own? It's so adorable. Are you willing to do a tutorial for this?
Posted by: Stephanie | April 17, 2008 at 08:18 AM
That has got to be the coolest towel EVER! I love it!!!
Posted by: RobinE | April 17, 2008 at 08:38 AM
It is very cute- regardless of what exactly it is- I can see shark though
Posted by: Betty | April 17, 2008 at 12:55 PM
He will love it! My 2 year old is really into sharks too. Cool idea!
Posted by: tammie | April 17, 2008 at 02:43 PM
Thank you, everyone!
Stephanie,
I just sort of made it up as I went along. I'm not sure I'll be able to do a tutorial for this one, but I can tell you that the outside is basically two bath towels trimmed of edging and cut into the rough shape of a house. (The point at the top is where the hood goes and the dorsal fin is sewn into the back seam.) I hope this helps! :)
Posted by: Elizabeth | April 17, 2008 at 05:46 PM
That's a great towel and i love the bag in the last post too.
SARAH X
Posted by: sarah | April 20, 2008 at 02:28 AM
That is COOL. I bet he LOVES it!!! My ds sure would have at that age!!
Posted by: muralimanohar | April 20, 2008 at 04:01 PM
Great towel, it definitely looks like a shark.. :)
Posted by: Jodie | April 20, 2008 at 10:23 PM
I LOVE the towel and I hate sharks! So, so fun - lucky nephew! Have I told you how much I love your blog?!?
Posted by: Nan | April 21, 2008 at 05:28 PM
Love it! I think my 16 yr. old swimmer will get a kick out of it too!
Posted by: Tabitha | April 23, 2008 at 10:38 AM