two different styles of towel stingrays

This blog has two different types of stingrays.  The first shows how our cabin steward on the Carnival Liberty, Astika, made a super easy stingray.  The second is from the towel animal folding book available for passengers on Carnival ships to buy.

Astika’s Super Easy  Towel Stingray

Supplies Needed

1. Hand Towel

2. Bath Towel

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

How to Fold Astika’s Stingray

Folding the Stingray Tail

roll hand towel lengthwise into one roll

Roll the hand towel lengthwise.  The whole towel in one roll.  Yup, it’s that easy.

rolled towel stingray tail

Making the Stingray Body

fold towel in half crosswise

Fold Towel in half crosswise.

fold in half diagonally

Fold in half on the diagonal so it makes a triangle.

Assembling the Towel Stingray

drape the triangular folded towel over the rolled tail and shape the towel to the edges of the roll

Place the body over the tail so the long side is centered over one end of the tail and the point sits on the tail roll.

Shape the towel body along the edges of the towel roll.

Fold back the tip on each side of the triangle, add eyes and it’s done!

Fold over the tips on each side.

Add eyes.

This is a great one for beginning towel animal folders because it is so easy.

Carnival Towel Animal Book Stingray

Supplies Needed

1. Bath Towel

2. Hand Towel

3. Eyes

Folding the Stingray Body

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

Lay the bath towel out flat and roll both ends to the middle.

put the rolled part on the bottom and fold one end back over the top

Flip it over so the rolls are on the bottom.  Fold one end up about a third of the way over the upside down rolls.

turn towel over so the folded bit is on the bottom

Turn it over so the folded side is on the bottom.

partially unroll the towel starting from the ends farthest from the fold

Unroll the ends farthest away from the folded part.

unroll enough to spread the towel out into a stingray body

Keep unrolling until it spreads the width you want your stingray to be.  The folded under part may unroll a bit while you do this until it is about a fourth of the way under the towel instead of a third as it started.  (Note: the book directions say only to fold it back a forth to start with, but their sketches show it from a third to nearly halfway.)

Making the Towel Stingray Tail

hold one corner of the hand towel down with a finger while rolling towel from the short side

Lay the hand towel out flat.  Use a finger to hold down a corner, and roll the short side from that corner.

rolling the stingray tail

Continue rolling from that corner until the whole towel becomes one roll.

towel rolled into stingray tail

Assembling the Towel Stingray

put the rolled tail under the body so the wide end reaches the backs of the folded-under rolls

Put the rolled tail under the body so the corner where the roll started hangs out as the tip of its tail and the other end reaches the ends of the rolls folded underneath its body.

finished stingray with googly eyes

Shape as desired and add eyes.

finished stingray with felt eyes – they stand out better against the striped towel

Next Animal in this Cruise Ship Towel Animal Folding Series:  Cat

Towel Cat on Atrium Stairs, Carnival Liberty

For instructions on how to fold other towel animals, click this link.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2012