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DIY Shower Cap – How to Sew a Shower Cap in 10 minutes

Making your own shower cap means you can customize the shower cap to the amount of hair you need to tuck up into it. Short haired girls will need a smaller shower cap while a person with long thick hair will need considerably more room in the shower cap to accommodate luxurious tresses. Ever been to a hotel where the dinky little plastic shower cap provided simply is too small to get your hair into it? Out DIY shower cap is lined with satin so your hair won’t get frizzy. All the materials you need to make your own DIY shower cap is two pieces of fabric, a piece of elastic, and iron on vinyl, or one of the pieces of fabric to be waterproof.

diy shower cap

Now satin and silk are very popular as pillowcases as they don’t cause the hair cuticles to get roughed up, avoiding that bedhead look. The same goes for using a satin lining in a shower cap. After your shower, your satin-lined shower cap will save you time spent detangling hair, less chance of hair breaking, your style will last longer, and overall, you’ll have a smoother look to your hair. The whole point of a shower cap is to protect your hair from the heat and moisture and keep it looking good, and a thin piece of plastic just doesn’t quite cut it.

waterproof diy shower cap in use

Below you will find my step by step DIY shower cap written tutorial with VIDEO instructions for all the visual learners.

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How to Make a Shower Cap

Supplies and tools

diy shower cap materials

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How to Sew a Shower Cap

Watch the diy shower hat video first and then follow the written step by step instructions below.
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DIY Shower Cap VIDEO TUTORIAL

SHOWER CAP INSTRUCTIONS:

What you will need are two pieces of fabric 21 inches by 21 inches. If you have very long thick hair you may want to go for a slightly larger piece – up to 24 inches by 24 inches.

STEP 1: Fold

There are two ways to fold your fabric, I’m showing you method #1 in the video, and method #2 is described below. 

Take the piece of fabric you plan to use as your outer layer and fold it in half from the left over to the right so that the edges line up neatly, with the right sides facing each other. Fold in half a second time from top to bottom. So, if you started with a 21-inch square you will now have a 10 ½  inch square. If you choose a bigger shower cap size then your square will be half your original square – 22 x 22 or 23 x 23 or even 24 x 24 to accommodate really long hair.

STEP 2: Mark

Take a ruler and mark 10 inches (25.5cm) along the side, pivoting your way around from the upper left corner of the square, marking off at intervals to create a curved line where you need to cut your circle.

marking of the DIY shower cap

Connect the dots

diy shower cap marked circle

If this method isn’t appealing, you can use a kid’s school compass with an erasable fabric pen inserted instead of the usual pencil to mark off the 10-inch distance. No compass? No problem, just take a piece of string and fasten it to your erasable fabric marker and mark off 10 inches from the from the upper left corner.

STEP 3: Cut the outer fabric

Cut along the curved line you have marked, through all four layers of fabric, and open out to see the circle you have created.

Voila! Your shower cap pattern is ready.

cut the shower cap pattern and circle

STEP 4: Cut the lining fabric

Place this outer shower cap circle right side to the right side of the satin lining and cut around to get two circles.

making of the diy shower cap - cut lining according to the shower cap pattern

STEP 5: (OPTIONAL) Laminate your fabric

If you are not using laminated cotton or oil cloth or other waterproof fabric now is the time to apply the iron on vinyl according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once it is applied trim the edges of any excess vinyl.

STEP 6: Sew together

With right sides of outer layer and lining facing each other, clip together using clips, or you can pin in place, so the two circles are perfectly lined up. Stitch 1/4 inch (6mm) from the edge leaving a gap of 1 ½ inches (3.5cm) through which you will pull the fabric to turn the right way out.

sew around the homemade shower cap

STEP 7: Turn around and press

Pull the fabric through and smooth out so the two right sides of outer and lining are now showing.

Press with an iron to smooth the edges.

STEP 8: Stitch around

Stitch right around the circumference of the DIY shower cap about 3/8 inch (1cm) from the edges – make sure as you sew that the edges are lined up and lie flat, so the lining does not show on the outside. You will stitch right past the gap for turning, as this line of stitching is creating the casing for the elastic to be threaded through.

shower cap stitching

STEP 9: Insert the elastic

Take your elastic and put a safety pin in either end. I learnt this through the sheer frustration of pulling the end into the fabric on projects then having to start again – with a pin on both end if you pull the end into the casing by mistake you can use the safety pin to ‘get out of trouble’.

Some people pin the end of the elastic to the fabric itself. Anyway, thread the elastic through  and once you have met the other safety pin fasten the two safety pins to each other to ensure the elastic doesn’t ‘escape’. Now using your fingers smooth the elastic so it lies flat inside the casing and is not twisted.

STEP 10: Stitch the elastic

Now pull up the elastic a bit to give you enough room to work, and remove the safety pins. Overlap one end of the elastic over the other by about ½ an inch (1cm), and sew a zigzag stitch or a couple of straight rows, making sure to back tack so the join is firm.

shower cap stitching the elastic

STEP 10: Stitch the gap closed

Now fold in the raw edges surrounding that 1 ½ inch gap neatly and pin into place, then use your machine to stitch a neat line as close to the edge as possible, to close the casing. If you are not comfortable using your machine for this – either because you don’t want a visible line of stitching across the gap or find it awkward, you can close the gap by hand using an invisible stitch.

shower cap - sewing the gap closed

You shower cap is ready to use! Once you have made your first one you may want to make some more for friends and relatives, customizing them to the prints and colors they like.

That’s it your DIY shower cap is ready!

how to make a shower cap

Shower Cap FAQs, Tips and Troubleshooting:

Q: Can I use plastic sheeting for the outer layer of the shower cap?

A: Yes, you can, just adjust your stitch length to be a bit longer on your machine to avoid the plastic tearing. Otherwise, the method will be the same.

Q: Can I use a cotton lining instead of the satin?

A:  It is fine to use cotton lining – just be aware you won’t have the hair smoothing benefits of satin. If you find proper satin expensive, there are polyester satins that will work just as well and are less expensive.

 

Once you have made our DIY shower cap you may want to go ahead and make a couple for yourself – it is always good to have one packed and ready to go with your travel kit, and one spare for when one shower cap is in the wash. We advise a quick hand wash and drying outside in the sun. If you liked this DIY shower cap project, please post a photo of how it turned out, and subscribe for loads more exciting sewing projects.

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How to sew a shower cap

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Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 7 comments
Ann - June 27, 2021

Great tutorial! Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJ’s.

Reply
    Helen - June 28, 2021

    I’m so glad you’re enjoying my tutorials! Thank you for hosting!

    Reply
Shelbee on the Edge - June 28, 2021

Love this! I need some shower caps as I only wash my hair about every 4th or 5th day. I generally just tie it up but it does get a little wet which is annoying.

Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com

Reply
Sarita - June 30, 2021

Such a useful and simple sewing project. Thanks for sharing at The Homestead Blog Hop!

Reply
Chickenruby - June 30, 2021

Thank you for sharing with #pocolo

Reply
Stephanie 139a - July 1, 2021

Great pattern – thanks for sharing!

Reply
Donna @ Modern on Monticello - July 8, 2021

Wonderful tutorial. I didn’t know about using the satin or silk fabric for the inside for better hair care. Thanks for sharing this. #HomeMattersParty

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