Sun-Kissed Towels: Shake Up Your Routine with Crammed Warp!

Ready to shake up your warping routine?

Let's Weave Sun Kissed Towels

This month in our Art of Contrast series, I’m excited to share one of my favorite techniques for creating bold, structural fabric—crammed warp weaving!

There’s something very satisfying about weaving fabric that looks beautiful and feels like it has a story. That’s exactly what happens when you bring crammed warp weaving into the mix—it adds dimension, contrast, and that little extra “WOW” to your cloth.

What's the Deal with Crammed Warp? It’s all about intentionally placing your warp threads much closer together in certain areas of your project, while leaving others spaced more traditionally. This creates dense, textured zones that contrast with balanced warp areas—resulting in a fabric with rhythm and flow. It's a great way to show contrast in your weaving!

These denser warp sections aren't just for adding a textural feel; they make the fabric sturdier and more durable. Think placemats with body, table runners with presence, or towels that feel thick and substantial.

What are the Yarns of Choice? You can use many types of yarn when weaving crammed warp. To achieve a subtle effect, you can use thinner yarns with minimal crammed warp areas, or thicker yarns for a more pronounced effect.

Bringing Contrast to Life! For this month's project, we will be working with our favorite Aurora Earth 8/2 Cotton in six vibrant summer colors, separated by crisp bands of bright white. A white weft ties it all together and makes each color band pop with brilliant contrast—really highlighting our theme!

Aurora Earth Summer Bundle - Sun-Kissed

Let's Get Weaving!

• Gather your supplies: You will need a rigid heddle or multi shaft loom; 21" weaving width, 10-dent reed, and one shuttle
• We make it easy!  Our Sun-Kissed Towel Kit makes gathering your supplies easy! This kit includes all the Aurora Earth 8/2 Cottons that are needed to make a set of three towels. 
• Yarns: 220 yds each of Aurora Earth 8/2 Cottons in 6 colors, and 1500 yds bleach white.
• We supply the pattern: The pattern is included in this blog or purchase the Sun-Kissed Towel PDF Pattern Download. 
• Join the Cotton Clouds Weaving Community on Facebook so that you can share your questions, pictures and accomplishments. 
  

• Let's Weave together!  I hope you enjoy this free pattern!  I'm here for you every step of the way!  

Sun Kissed Towels

Rigid Heddle Instructions

Weave structure:  plain weave 

Warp Yarns: Aurora Earth 8/2 Cottons in six coordinating colors 220 yds each and white 650 yds.

Weft Yarns: Aurora Earth 8/2 Cotton White 850 yds.

Equipment needed: Rigid Heddle Loom; 20.3” weaving width; 10 dent reed; 1 shuttle

Total warp ends: 203 ends

153 ends Aurora Earth Colors with 2 threads per end.

50 Aurora Earth White with 4 threads per end.

Warp length: 3 yards (108”)

Setts: 10 epi; 12 ppi

Finished Dimensions: three 3 towels 17” x 22” hemmed. You may even get an extra hand towel if you use the lashing on method when warping your loom. 

Please read through the entire pattern before starting. The warp sequence is a little different than what you might be used to.

Warping Your Loom
Set up your loom to direct warp a length of 3 yards (108”). You will be starting in a hole with Color A.

Aurora Earth Colors A-F will be in hole, slot, hole - each with two threads. Two threads = one trip to the warping peg.

Aurora Earth White will only be in slots with four threads per slot. Four threads = two trips to the warping peg.

The numbers in the chart represent the number of ends. Some ends will have two threads, and some will have four threads. The 3's in the chart will be six threads (hole, slot, hole), and the 1's will be four threads (all in same slot).

Once you have all your slots and holes threaded, wind the yarns onto the back beam and tie them onto the front apron rod in small sections. Tighten your warp for an even tension. 

Preparing the Shuttle: Wind your weft yarn onto your stick shuttle or wind your bobbins if you are using a boat shuttle. I recommend using a 24” stick shuttle. It holds a lot of yarn so that you won’t have to reload your shuttle often. 

Weaving: Weave with scrap yarn to spread the warp evenly. Weave the entire length of your warp with single strand Aurora Earth white. 

When you have finished weaving the entire length of your warp, weave a few rows with a contrasting yarn before cutting the woven fabric from the loom.

Finishing & Hemming: Remove the towels from the loom and measure out each towel and mark with a pencil. Sew a zig zag stitch across each end at the markings before cutting the towels apart. 

Using an iron with steam fold each hem over twice to get a nice flat edge.

Sew a straight stitch across securing each hem. 

Machine wash and dry, removing the towels promptly from the dryer to prevent wrinkles. 

Press with a warm iron if needed. 

Towels will relax with more washes.

Designed by Jodi Ybarra for rigid heddle weavers.

Sun Kissed Towels

4-shaft Instructions

Weave structure:  plain weave or twill

Warp Yarns: Aurora Earth 8/2 Cottons in six coordinating colors 220 yds each and white 650 yds. 

Weft Yarns: Aurora Earth 8/2 Cotton White 850 yds.

Equipment needed: 4-shaft loom; 20.3” weaving width; 10 dent reed; 1 shuttle.

Total warp ends: 203 ends (506 threads)

153 ends Aurora Earth Colors with 2 threads per end.

50 Aurora Earth White with 4 threads per end.

Warp length: 3 yards (108”)

Setts: 10 epi; 16 ppi

Please read through the entire pattern before starting. The warp sequence is a little different than what you might be used to.

Winding Your Warp: Wind a warp following the warp order chart. The colors will each have six threads and the white between each color change will have four. Wind six threads of Color A then set that aside. Wind four threads of white then set that aside. Wind six threads of Color B, then set that aside. Wind four threads of white. Continue in the color sequence until you have all 506 threads measured on your warping board.

With this crammed warp pattern the colored ends are doubled (2 threads), while the white are crammed (4 threads).

Sleying the Reed: Sley two threads in each dent with the colors and four threads in each dent with the white. There will be three dents of color and one dent of white threaded across the reed.

Preparing the Bobbins: Wind your bobbin with white weft yarn.

Threading the Heddles: Thread your heddles with one thread per heddle in 1, 2, 3, 4 sequence so that you can weave in either tabby or twill.

Tying Up the Treadles: You have the option of plain weave or twill when tying up your treadles.

Plain weave option: treadles 1, 3 - 2, 4

Twill option: 1,2 – 2,3 – 3,4 – 1,4

Weaving: Weave with scrap yarn to spread the warp evenly. 

Weave the entire length of your warp with single strand Aurora Earth white. 

When you have finished weaving the entire length of your warp, weave a few picks with a contrasting yarn before cutting the woven fabric from the loom.

Finishing & Hemming: Remove the towels from the loom and measure out each towel and mark with a pencil. Sew a zig zag stitch across each end at your markings before cutting the towels apart.

Using an iron with steam, fold each hem over twice to get a nice flat edge.

Sew a straight stitch across securing each hem. 

Machine wash and dry removing from dryer promptly to prevent wrinkles. 

Press with warm iron if needed. 

Towels will relax with more washes.       

Designed by Jodi Ybarra for 4-shaft weavers.

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.  

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

This pattern was inspired by the vibrant hues of our Aurora Earth Summer Bundles—a celebration of color perfect for summer weaving. With so many beautiful combinations to choose from, there’s something to match every color lover’s palette. Pick your favorite bundles and enjoy weaving set after set of these cheerful Sun-Kissed Towels!

Order Your Sun-Kissed Towel Kit Today!!!

I hope you enjoy weaving your Sun-Kissed Towels with Crammed Warp!  Please share your pictures in our Cotton Clouds Weaving Community on Facebook so that others can see what you are weaving! 

Thank you for weaving with me!

Jodi Ybarra

But Wait—There's More!!!

Join Deborah Jarchow for a Zoom Class weaving her Cram Session Napkins!

We are excited to collaborate with Deborah Jarchow for a Zoom class exploring the creative possibilities of crammed warp and crammed weft techniques.

This class will guide you through the unique ways that spacing and density can add visual impact and tactile interest to your fabric. Deborah will walk you step-by-step through the process, sharing expert tips and creative insights that will leave you inspired and confident to explore these techniques on your own.

This interactive class is perfect for adventurous beginners and experienced weavers alike. You'll have the opportunity to ask questions, connect with other weavers, and learn in a supportive, hands-on environment—all from the comfort of your own home.

Class includes

• Live Zoom instruction with Deborah Jarchow

• Demonstrations for warping and weaving crammed warp and crammed weft

• Q&A and personalized guidance

• A digital handout with instructions for both rigid heddle and multi shaft looms.

Class Date and Times

There will be two class times available on June 29th, 2025.

• 9 am Arizona and Pacific time (12 pm Eastern, 11am Central, 10am Mountain) 
  
• 1 pm Arizona and Pacific time (4pm Eastern, 3pm Central, 2pm Mountain)
  

Sign up today!

The cost of this class is $25 and separate from kit purchase. To sign up for this class, email Deborah Jarchow at djweaves@me.com. Please let Deborah know which session you plan to attend and send the $25 to her via PayPal at djweaves@earthlink.net. You can also contact her directly if you prefer to mail a check or pay by Zelle.

Join the Class Your Way!
You're welcome to join the Zoom class with or without purchasing the Cram Session Napkin Kit. 

Skill Level: beginner