Weaving Looms

Weaving Looms & Weaving Supplies

Are you interested in buying a loom? There are many considerations:

• What do you want to weave?
• How big of a piece do you intend to weave?
• How much space do you have?
• What is your level of weaving knowledge, skill and interest?
• What weaving supplies and loom accessories do you need?
• Is the loom for you or someone else?
• What is your budget?

Our friendly and knowledgeable Customer Service Team is standing by to help you answer these and any other questions that you may have about selected a loom.

The Woolery carries the widest selection of weaving looms for sale from all the major manufacturers.

Ashford Handicrafts – Based in New Zealand, the Ashford family has been supplying the fiber arts community since 1934. The Ashford product line includes hand looms, rigid heddle looms, inkle looms, tapestry looms, table looms and floor looms. They also offer a full line of weaving supplies, loom accessories and weaving kits.

Glimakra – With a history that dates to 1926, Glimakra has been producing looms in Sweden since 1950. The Glimakra product line includes band looms, rigid heddle looms, table looms and floor looms. They also offer a full line of weaving supplies, loom accessories and weaving kits.

Kromski and Sons – The Kromski family traces its history in the fiber arts to 1918. Their rigid heddle looms are produced in Poland. They also offer a full line of rigid heddle weaving supplies and loom accessories.

Leclerc Looms – Tracing its history to 1874, Leclerc produces weaving looms in Canada. Their extensive product line includes rigid heddle looms, table looms, floor looms and a several specialty looms. They also offer a full line of weaving supplies and loom accessories.

Louet – Established in 1974 and based in The Netherlands, the Louet product line includes tapestry looms, table looms, and floor looms. They also offer a full line of weaving supplies and loom accessories.

Mirrix – This mother /daughter run company produces a line of specialty tapestry and bead looms produced in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

Schacht Spindle Company – Established in 1969, Schacht produces looms in Boulder, Colorado. The Schacht product line includes hand looms, rigid heddle looms, inkle looms, tapestry looms, table looms and floor looms. They also offer a full line of weaving supplies and loom accessories.

More information on loom selection.

What is a Loom?

A loom can be defined as any device used to weave thread or yarn into cloth, a rug or a tapestry. At its core, a loom holds one group of parallel threads under tension (the warp) while enabling the weaving of another set of parallel threads (the weft) perpendicular to the threads under tension. The pattern of the weave is typically determined by the manipulation or movement (up or down) of the warp threads.

Dating back to 6000BC, weaving is one of the world's oldest and continuously practiced crafts. In fact, weaving is mentioned some nine times in the Old Testament.

By most accounts, flax was one of the popular weaving fibers in ancient Egypt, producing linen.

Complex weaving looms were widespread across Europe, Africa and Asia by the middle ages.

The development of the flying shuttle 1733 helped to automate the weaving process.

Wool, Linen and Hemp were the dominant yarns of choice until the advent of the cotton gin in 1793 which greatly reduced the cost and increased the availability of cotton fiber.

In 1801, Joseph Marie Jacquard invented a system using punched wooden cards to control the design of a loom. Jacquard based his system on the earlier loom automation work of Jacques de Vaucansan some 60 years earlier. In addition to playing an important role in the Industrial Revolution, the Jacquard Loom is credited as a precursor to the punch card systems used by early mainframe computers.

There are several types of looms that vary in both size and function.

• Floor Loom - Floor looms are best used for producing longer lengths of fabric, for production work, designs that are more complex and for carpets and rugs. The loom must be solid and stable to accommodate the increased warp tension required for rug weaving.
• Table Loom - These smaller, less expensive, portable looms are usually rising shed looms. Sometimes they have springs under the shafts to hold them down. Table looms are ideal for learning as they are portable enough to put into a car or even on a plane to take to a workshop.
• Rigid Heddle Loom - Provide the equivalent of two-shaft weaving and can be adapted to function as a four-shaft loom by adding a second heddle set. 
• Tapestry or Frame Loom - The tapestry frame loom is the simplest form of a weaving loom. The Navajo loom is a style of frame loom.
• Inkle Loom – Typically a frame with a number of pegs, these looms are ideal for weaving belts, bands and straps.
• Back Strap Loom - A simple loom comprising two sticks between which the warps are stretched. One bar is attached to a fixed object and the other to the weaver usually by means of a strap around the back.
• Triangle Loom - As the name implies, this uniquely shaped loom uses a continuous weaving technique combining the warp and weft into a single, long strand.

Today, weaving looms can be found in all sizes, designs and configurations. For example, one of the largest looms can be found in Iran, producing 50m wide rugs. From the mountains of Afghanistan to the factories in Asia, weaving and weaving looms continue to play an important role in our daily lives.

Choose from our selection of small, medium and large weaving looms for sale!

If you don't find exactly what you want, or would like a product recommendation, please call the shop directly at 800-441-9665 or contact us for assistance.