Towel Size Finder

Measure around where you wrap a towel: your hips, or your chest under the arms. You get the towel that wraps you with room to tuck in, and the bar to hang it on.

Where you wrap it
in
Your towel bar
On that bar

Towel to buy

27″ × 52″ bath towelwraps your 40″ with 12″ to tuck in · reaches 27″ down

The sizes sold, to scale, against your measurement
    Where the towel bar goes →

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date and time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon. This content is provided "as is" and is subject to change or removal at any time.

    Quick answer: a bath towel is about 27″ × 52″ (69 × 132 cm), up to 30″ × 58″ depending on the maker. A bath sheet is 35–40″ wide and 63–80″ long. A hand towel is 16–20″ × 30–32″ and a washcloth 13″ × 13″. A 27″ × 52″ bath towel wraps hips up to 46″ around with room to tuck in; past 54″ around, choose a bath sheet.

    How to use the towel size finder

    1. Say where you wrap a towel: round the waist, or under the arms.
    2. Measure around you there with a soft tape: the hips at their widest, or the chest just under the arms.
    3. Read the towel: the smallest size sold that wraps you with a hand’s width to tuck in, the roomier one, and the towel bar that holds it. Copy link keeps the result.

    The rules behind the sizes

    Each maker has its own “bath towel”

    There is no one standard. Weezie’s bath towel is 27″ × 52″, FIG Linens’ 30″ × 52″, Riley Home’s 30″ × 58″, and Scooms’ 70 × 135 cm (about 27½″ × 53″). Bath sheets differ more: 36″ × 75″ at FIG Linens, 40″ × 70″ at Riley Home, 100 × 160 cm (39½″ × 63″) at Scooms. The finder picks from the sizes on sale with the size in the listing: 27 × 52, 27 × 54, 30 × 60, 35 × 70 and 40 × 80.

    A towel wraps you when it is longer than you are round

    “Bath towels are large enough to wrap around the body,” Weezie writes, and a bath sheet “will wrap fully around you as you dry” (Scooms). Wrapped, a towel’s LENGTH goes round you and what is left over is the tuck. The finder wants 6″ (15 cm) over, about a hand’s width, and names the smallest size sold that gives it.

    Its width is how far down it reaches

    Tucked at the waist or under the arms, the towel’s width hangs down you: 27″ (69 cm) for a bath towel, 30″ for an XL towel, 35–40″ for a bath sheet.

    The towel bar: 18, 24 or 30″

    Towel bars are sold 18, 24 and 30″ long (Moen’s Metry line, for one). A towel hung open needs a bar at least as long as it is wide, so a 27″ bath towel takes the 30″ bar. Folded in thirds it is 9″ wide, and two fit on a 24″ bar. A bath sheet is too wide to hang open on any of them: fold it in half.

    Towel size chart, by maker

    TowelWeezieFIG LinensRiley HomeScooms
    Washcloth13 × 13″13 × 13″13 × 13″11.8 × 11.8″
    Hand towel16 × 30″18 × 32″20 × 30″19.7 × 39.4″
    Bath towel27 × 52″30 × 52″30 × 58″27.6 × 53.1″
    Bath sheet–36 × 75″40 × 70″39.4 × 63″

    Width × length. Scooms sells in centimetres; its sizes are converted.

    Which towel wraps you

    Around youTowelLeft to tuck
    36″ (91 cm)27″ × 52″ bath towel16″
    42″ (107 cm)27″ × 52″ bath towel10″
    48″ (122 cm)27″ × 54″ bath towel6″
    54″ (137 cm)30″ × 60″ XL bath towel6″
    60″ (152 cm)35″ × 70″ bath sheet10″
    66″ (168 cm)40″ × 80″ oversize bath sheet14″
    72″ (183 cm)40″ × 80″ oversize bath sheet8″

    Three worked examples

    Hips 40″ around, wrapped at the waist. A 27″ × 52″ bath towel goes round with 12″ to tuck in and reaches 27″ down. Hang it open on a 30″ bar, or two in thirds on a 24″ bar.

    A chest 52″ around, wrapped under the arms. The 27″ bath towels are too short to tuck; a 30″ × 60″ XL bath towel wraps with 8″ over and reaches 30″ down.

    Hips 62″ around. Only a bath sheet wraps: the 35″ × 70″ goes round with 8″ over. Fold it in half to hang it on an 18″ bar.

    Common towel mistakes

    • Buying by the name. “Bath towel” means 27 × 52″ at one shop and 30 × 58″ at another. Read the size.
    • Measuring the waist, not the hips. A towel tucked at the waist must pass round the hips below it.
    • A bath sheet on a short bar. A 35–40″ sheet cannot hang open on a 30″ bar, and folded thick it dries slowly: Scooms warns the bigger sheet “will take a little longer to dry”.
    • A bar too short for two. Two bath towels folded in thirds need a 24″ bar.

    Hanging the bar? Find its height, and the robe hook’s, with the free bathroom accessory height calculator, or plan the whole room in the 2D room planner.

    Where the towel bar goes

    Read next

    Towel size questions

    What size is a bath towel?

    About 27″ × 52″ (69 × 132 cm), though makers vary: 27 × 52 at Weezie, 30 × 52 at FIG Linens, 30 × 58 at Riley Home. On sale you will also find 27 × 54 and 30 × 60 “XL” bath towels.

    What is the difference between a bath sheet and a bath towel?

    Size. A bath sheet is 35–40″ wide and 63–80″ long; a bath towel 27–30″ × 52–58″. The sheet wraps fully around you and reaches further down, but it takes longer to dry and does not hang open on a towel bar.

    What is the standard bath towel size?

    No one size is the standard. 27″ × 52″ and 27″ × 54″ are the usual ones on sale: they wrap hips up to 46″ and 48″ around with 6″ to tuck in.

    What size is an oversized bath towel?

    “XL” bath towels are sold at 30″ × 60″; oversize bath sheets at 35″ × 70″ and 40″ × 80″. The 40 × 80 wraps up to 74″ around with a tuck.

    What size is a hand towel?

    16 to 20″ wide and 30 to 32″ long: 16 × 30 at Weezie, 18 × 32 at FIG Linens, 20 × 30 at Riley Home. Scooms’ is longer, 50 × 100 cm.

    What size is a washcloth?

    13″ × 13″ at most makers (Weezie, FIG Linens, Riley Home); 30 × 30 cm at Scooms.

    What size towel bar do I need?

    For one bath towel hung open, a 30″ bar; for two folded in thirds, 24″; for a hand towel, 18 or 24″. Bath sheets are wider than any bar: fold them in half.

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.