Mastering Contrast with Stripes in Two Stunning Styles

Contrast with Stripes in Two Stunning Styles

Weaving Projects that Go Together Like Sunshine and Summer Picnics.

Carefree Carry-All Tote & Easy-Breezy Towel Set

This month, we’re bringing you two projects that are not only fun to weave on their own but also work perfectly together as a set for your outdoor adventures.

Whether you're headed to the park, the beach, or just out for a sunny stroll, our Carefree Carry-All Tote Bag and matching Easy Breezy Towel are the perfect companions.

The Carefree Carry-All Tote with bold stripes is sturdy, roomy, and full of personality. We’ve paired Aurora Earth 8/2 Cotton in our Summer Edition color palettes with the light and airy Cotton Fine, a blend of 80% Pima Cotton and 20% Merino Wool. It’s a bag that blends function with beauty—perfect for everyday use!

To complement the tote, we created a coordinating Easy Breezy Towel that echoes the same summer color palettes, but with a twist. Instead of bold stripes, this towel features thin stripes, bursting with color and giving it an energetic feel, while still tying in beautifully with the tote’s color theory. 

The Easy Breezy Towel is soft, absorbent, and great for impromptu picnics, sandy toes, or wrapping up fresh fruit from the farmer's market. It’s a little piece of summer, woven by you!

These projects are perfect for rigid heddle or 4-shaft loom weavers looking to create a handmade summer tote and towel set that’s both stylish and useful. They make a lovely gift combo or personal treat!

Let's explore color options and weave structures, bringing these projects to life!

Creating Visual Contrast with Color!

Here at Cotton Clouds, one of our favorite things is pulling colors from the shelves and watching a beautiful palette come together. 

With so many stunning shades at our fingertips, we love curating color combinations that are full of creative potential and spark inspiration to bring your projects to life.

We know it’s not always easy to choose colors based on what you see on a screen. Images can look different from one device to the next. Our Aurora Earth Color Bundles make it easy and inspiring to explore new color palettes with confidence.

Carefree Carry-All Tote

Creating Visual Contrast with Different Stripe Widths

Wide stripes create strong visual blocks that draw the eye and add structure to your design. They’re bold, modern, and great for making a statement. This is the style of warp stripes we have chosen for our Carefree Carry-All Tote.

This warp chart uses a mix of six colors from our Aurora Earth 8/2 cottons, with a stripe of natural between each color. This is a bold, vibrant way to make a statement in your warp.

Thin stripes create bursts of playful color and provide plenty of personality.

The warp chart used for the Easy Breezy Towel also features our Aurora Earth 8/2 Cottons. The difference here is that each color section is thinner than in the tote design with wide stripes. 

With finer stripes, you’ll need to repeat the stripe sequence to reach your desired weaving width.

You can customize the color combination to suit your style—I've chosen a rich blend of reds, pinks, and browns that add warmth and energy to the project.

What Weave Structure Should You Choose?

Once your loom is warped and ready to go, it’s time to choose a weave structure.

For my towel, I went with plain weave—it’s quick, easy, and perfectly suited to the relaxed, easy-breezy feel of this project, just like the name suggests. It’s also a great choice for beginners, since it’s simple to weave and really lets the colors and stripes do the talking.

For my tote, I wanted to add a bit more visual interest and dimension, so I chose a texture weave using one pick-up stick on my rigid heddle loom or 3 shafts on a multi shaft loom. It’s a fun step up from plain weave and still very approachable for newer weavers. The result is a sturdy, stylish fabric that adds both texture and personality to your finished tote.

Finishing and Hemming for Towels

I like to hem my towels for a clean, finished look that holds up beautifully, wash after wash.

After removing the fabric from the loom, sew a zigzag stitch across each end in the hem areas to secure the threads before cutting the towels apart.

Next, use an iron with steam to press each hem edge, folding it over twice to create a crisp, flat edge. Then, stitch across each folded edge with a straight stitch to secure the hems in place.

Machine wash and dry your towel. Cotton has a tendency to look wrinkled just out of the dryer, so you can press with a warm iron to smooth out the wrinkles if desired.

Your towels will soften and relax more with each wash, becoming even more absorbent and enjoyable to use over time.

Constructing Your Tote

Cutting You Bag Materials

Cut a piece of lining fabric the same length and 1” wider than your woven fabric.

Cut a piece of one-sided heavy interfacing the same size as your woven fabric. You can use pieces that equal the width and length if your roll of interfacing isn’t wide or long enough.

Cut 2 pieces of cotton canvas webbing for straps, 13" each.

Sewing Your Bag

One side of your fabric will have warp floats, while the other side has weft floats. They are both appealing so you can decide which side you want as the right or wrong sides.

Hem your woven fabric on each end by folding each end down twice and pressing with an iron. Sew a straight stitch across securing the hems.

Lay out your woven fabric and pin your handles to the wrong side at each end of your woven fabric. Measure 6” from the selvedge edge and line up the first strap pinning it securely. Then pin the other end of the strap 6” in from the other selvedge. Make sure your strap isn’t twisted when doing this. Do the same with the second strap on the other end of your woven fabric.

Sew the straps on securely.

Lay out your woven fabric with straps attached and wrong side up. Lay your interfacing on top of the fabric and iron it, making sure that the sticky side of the interfacing is touching the fabric. 

*Note: You can add an outside pocket before sewing up the side seams in the next step if you want to add this feature.

Fold your woven fabric with right sides together and pin securely. Sew up the two side seams.

Sew a 2” boxed corner and trim off excess fabric. Repeat on the other bottom corner.

Turn your bag right side out and set it aside.

Sewing the Liner

Hem your liner fabric on each end by folding each end down once and pressing with an iron. Sew a straight stitch across securing the hems.

*Note: You can add an inside pocket before sewing up the side seams in the next step if you want to add this feature.

Fold liner fabric so that right sides are touching and sew up both sides.

Sew a 2” boxed corner and trim off excess fabric. Repeat on other bottom corner.

Assembling Your Bag

Now you will have two bags, the liner bag and the outer woven bag. Tuck the liner bag into your woven bag with wrong sides together. Match up the side seams and pin all the way around the top.

Sew around the top securing the liner bag into the woven bag.  Your handles should be between the two bags.

Your bag is complete and ready to enjoy!

I hope you enjoy mastering stripe contrast with both thin and bold stripes!

Are you ready to weave your very own

Carefree Carry-All Tote & Easy-Breezy Towel Set?

Order your kit today!

You can also purchase the PDF Patterns separately that include step-by-step instructions with charts, steps for the texture weave sequence, and photos for sewing your tote and towel.

Thank you for weaving with Cotton Clouds! 

Jodi Ybarra
Cotton Clouds, Inc

© 2025 Cotton Clouds. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced without prior written permission of Cotton Clouds Inc.

All yarns for this design are available from Cotton Clouds Inc. If you have any questions while weaving this pattern, don’t hesitate to send an email to jodi@cottonclouds.com and I will guide you along the way! You may sell products using my patterns but please credit Cotton Clouds for the design.