Towel Bat

A Bit About Bats

Vampire tales give bats a bad name, but very few bats are vampire bats – only 3 out of well over 1000 bat species – and even those feed on animals rather than humans.  Some bats function as pollinators and seed disperses in ecosystems that wouldn’t survive without them. Some even pollinate crops like bananas and agave.  About 70% of bat species are insectivores and perform a very beneficial role in pest control as bug eaters.  These bats can save crops as well as keeping yards mosquito free.  Bat droppings, called guano, make excellent fertilizer.

Supplies Needed to Make a Towel Bat

1 bath towel

1 washcloth

2 eyes

How to Fold a Towel Bat Body

roll both ends of a bath towel to the middle

Use a bath towel for the towel bat’s body.   Lay the towel out flat and roll both ends to the middle from the short sides.

tuck one end of the rolled towel underneath the long rolls

Fold one end of the towel rolls under the rolled towel.

unroll outward leaving a wide opening at the unfolded end

Partially unroll the long top rolls, leaving a wide opening at the unfolded end.

the body also makes the wings

How to Fold a Washcloth Bat Head

fold the corner down from the folded end

Lay the washcloth out flat.  Fold washcloth in half.

fold both sides over like triangles

Fold both ends over into triangles, with the original fold at the peak of the one big triangle left after folding the two corners.

showing one side rolled, but you can roll both at the same time

Roll both sides of the triangle to the center.

both sides rolled to the center

put a rubber band near the wide end

Place rubber band around rolled washcloth near the open wide end.

fold the flap of washcloth down over the rubber band

Fold flap of washcloth over rubber band.

Finishing the Towel Bat

put the head on the body and add eyes

Place the head at the center of the fold in between the towel rolls and shape bat ears as desired.  Add eyes.  Felt or paper eyes stay on pretty well on their own, but if you have googly eyes use a bit of double stick tape.  While you could make a towel bat any time of year, October is best since they make excellent Halloween decorations.

For instructions on how to fold lots of other towel animals please visit My Cruise Stories Towel Animal Page.

Copyright My Cruise Stories 2015