Towel Origami: Drying Off After a Shower Just Got More Fun
- Created: Tuesday, 05 April 2016 15:02
That’s a lot of time spent looking at terry cloth. There are, of course, ways to make your quality time in the bathroom more enjoyable. Beautiful, fluffy towels made from quality cotton and terry cloth can make drying off a luxury experience. Stunning towel colors and styles can also add an element of sophistication to your bathroom.
However, no towel — no matter how lovely — looks its best when crumpled on the floor or tossed haphazardly over a towel rack. How you arrange your towels can be important, too. Spas and elite hotels know this and spend considerable time and effort folding, rolling and arranging towels into cushions of softness for guests to enjoy.
If you’ve traveled recently, you may have even noticed a new trend in the bathroom: towel origami. Towels arranged artfully into adorable or amazing animals are eye-catching and add some whimsy to any spa, bathroom, hotel room or home.
If you want to try this yourself, you’re in luck! We at Towel Super Center have put together this handy guide on how to do towel origami, from easy towel animals you can whip up in seconds to more elaborate styles. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Towel snake
Start with a large bath towel. Green or brown towels can work especially well. Lay the towel in front of you so the long side is facing you. On the left-hand side of the towel, fold in the top edge and bottom edge so they meet in the middle. You now have a towel that looks like an arrow pointing left. Take the bottom long edge of the towel and fold it up so it meets the middle of the towel.
Roll the towel lengthwise until you have a rolled towel with a tapered end on the left. Tuck right-hand side of the roll into a loop so the snake can “sit up.” Fold the tip downward to create a tapered snake head at the top. You can add a piece of ribbon or google eyes to the towel to make the animal even more complete.
Towel swans in love
To make this, you will need two bath towels — white ones work best. Start by laying one towel in front of you so the long edge is facing you. Take the top two corners of the towel and fold them toward the middle, so they meet in the center of the towel. You should have a triangle shape at the top of your towel.
Next, take the outside edges of the towel and roll them toward the center of the towel, so you have two rolls that meet in the center of the towel. The ends of the rolls will be the wings of the swan and the top part of the towel will be the beak. Now, fold the towel into thirds toward you, so the beak is at the top of the fold and facing away from you. Arrange the towel so it stays folded.
Use the second towel to make a second swan. Now, position them so they are facing each other, beak to beak. You can add chocolates or flowers in the center for a romantic treat.
Towel snails
For this, you will need a bath towel and hand towel. You can use white towels, but two towels of different colors can look especially great. For example, a beige or tan bath towel and a green or blue hand towel are ideal with this piece of origami.
Use the bath towel to make a swan, just as described above. Then, fold the hand towel lengthwise so it is just slightly wider than the swan. Roll the hand towel into a tight roll widthwise. This is the snail’s shell. Tuck it into the swan, between the wings and the head. You’ve now transformed your swan into a snail!
You can add pipe cleaners to the head of the snail for antennas, and you can add googly eyes to make the creature even more cute. Another option is to use smaller towels to make a smaller snail beside the large snail.
Towel basket
If you don’t want to make towel animals, a towel origami basket is a great choice. It’s easy, attractive and very practical, since you can tuck bath products or additional towels into the completed basket. For this project, you will need a small washcloth or hand towel and a large towel — either a bath towel or beach towel.
Start by folding the large towel in half widthwise. Lay it flat in front of you so the open end faces you. Starting with the top edge down, fold the towel into thirds horizontally. The opening should be at the top (facing away from you). Next, fold the towel into thirds again, vertically. You now have a very fluffy square.
Slide your hand into the left of the towel, under the first layer of fabric. Your hand should be in a towel pocket. Flip the whole towel square so you fit the right-hand part of the towel into the pocket you’ve created with your hand. This will create a deeper pocket and the base of your basket.
Flip the pocket you’ve created on its side so it is on the surface in front of you, and the open ends are pointed up. Stick your hand inside the layers of towels and gently pry the layers aside to create an open basket shape.
Roll the hand towel or bath towel into a roll lengthwise and attach to your basket as a handle. Use safety pins or clothes pins to keep the handle secured. You can arrange anything you like inside the basket! If you will be putting in bottles of product or anything heavy, add a paper plate or some cardboard to the bottom of the towel basket to make it sturdier.
Towel peacock
If you’d like to display a selection of towels — including a bath towel, hand towel and washcloth — a towel peacock is a great way to place all these towels together. You can make a towel peacock out of white towels, but towels in contrasting colors can look very striking.
To make the peacock, start with the large bath towel. Following the directions above (in step number 2), create a towel swan. Fold the hand towel and washcloth into hand fans by folding them in half widthwise and making pleats in the towels. Set up the swan body on a bed or counter and arrange the fans over the body of the swan to create a peacock. Make sure the hand towel is behind the washcloth so it’s visible. You may need to prop up the fans against a pillow to make them stay in place.
If you don’t want to make a peacock, the folded fans can still look very attractive when placed on a bed or counter. Just choose towels of different sizes and complementary colors and create fans out of them. Lay them out so they fan outward, from smallest towel to largest. If you only have a few minutes, this is an easy way to try towel origami without much effort.
Towel stingray
Marine animals are an especially fun type of towel origami since they play on the idea of water. A stingray is one of the simplest types of towel origami to try, and it can be a great project if you’re new to this type of activity.
You will need two towels, one larger and one smaller. You can use a hand towel and a washcloth, for example, or a bath towel and a hand towel. Grey or white matching towels work well for this project. If you have googly eyes or sunglasses, include them, too (unless your towels will be used by young children, in which case small plastic novelty eyes can pose a choking hazard).
To start, make the tail. Simply take the smaller towel and roll it tightly lengthwise at an angle, so one end is tapered. Next, take the larger towel and fold it in half widthwise, so you have a square. Place this square over the rolled-up smaller towel so the stingray’s “tail” is peeking out. Tuck half of the larger towel under, so you have a flat edge at the furthest end away from the tail. The result should look like a diamond with a tail sticking out.
Place sunglasses or eyes on the larger towel, where the stingray’s eyes would be. You can also surround the origami piece with seashells or soaps shaped as seashells for an extra touch of fun.
A wedding cake or a stack of boxes
A stack of towels folded like a wedding cake or stack of hat boxes can look elegant and stunning. It’s also one of the easiest types of folds you can do. If you don’t want to create animals or other novelty shapes and want a more sophisticated form of origami for yourself or your guests, this is a great option.
To start, you will need at least three types of towels in different sizes. You can do this project with a bath towel, beach towel, hand towel and washcloth, for instance. You can also work with plain white towels or colorful towels.
This will work best with the thickest and fluffiest towels possible, since they will offer more stability and thickness. In addition, you will need wide satin ribbon in a contrasting color.
Fold each towel in half lengthwise and roll into a tight roll. Use the ribbon to tie the towel together so it stays in a roll. Repeat with all your towels. Tie the ribbon into a fancy bow on each towel and then stack the rolls, from largest roll to smallest. This can look stunning with fresh or artificial flowers sprinkled over the towels.
Towel roses
Use washcloths or facecloths in white, pink or red for some gorgeous towel roses. Fold the towel toward you in half, so the open edge is facing you. Fold the towel toward you in half again. Roll the cloth widthwise, tucking the end under. Arrange the folds inside the flower so they are a little loose.
Take a few green washcloths or facecloths. Fold them in half to form triangles. Place them on a bed or counter and arrange them a little so they are still triangles but no longer perfectly folded. You want them to look a little like leaves. Arrange the towel roses on top. You can even sprinkle real rose petals or flowers over top of the flower arrangement.
Towel crab
You will need a hand towel or bath towel for this. Any color can look great, but red is especially appropriate. Lay your towel out flat and bring the two longest edges toward the middle so they meet. Your towel should now be thinner but just as long. Repeat the process of bringing the longest edges toward the middle, but now leave the bottom one-third of the towel unfolded, so the edges don’t meet at the bottom.
Where the edges at the bottom are unfolded, roll the towel tightly upward about one-third of the way up. Place your hand firmly on this roll and use your fingers to pinch the edges of the towel from the sides of the roll. Shape them in semi-circles. These will be the crab’s claws, curled in front of the body.
Next roll the rest of the towel around the space in between the two claws, brining it around once or twice. Tuck the ends under between the two claws, so there is a square “head” between the two claws. Place sunglasses or novelty eyes on the head, if you like. You can also place a plastic bucket and shovel filled with bath supplies beside the crab for a fun “beach” look.
Ideas for Your Towel Origami
You can use your towel origami in creative ways. Place your origami in the center of a guest bed for a great presentation, for example. You might also want to arrange your towel creations on a bathroom counter for a practical but fun décor item. On shelves, on dressers and in the closet, towel animals and origami draw the eye and look wonderful.
They’re popping up everywhere, too. Spas and hotels are using origami towels to make guests feel pampered, and even gyms sometimes use towel origami to help portray luxury. In private homes, parents use carefully-arranged towels to make guests feel special and to encourage kids to take a bath. If you haven’t given this type of project a try, now’s your chance. All you need are a few towels and a little curiosity.
If you need to pick up some quality towels for your towel origami, visit Towel Super Center. Our wholesale towels come in a range of colors and styles to match your décor, and all our towels are absorbent, durable and high quality. Whether you’re folding towels into unique shapes or simply trying to towel off, quality counts. That’s why we take towels so seriously at Towel Super Center. Check out our selection today!
