As you probably already know, I’m a big fan of Ashford looms, I have four of them myself. I have found their looms to be reliable, easy to obtain, excellent learning tools and affordably priced.
Ashford make a variety of looms including the rigid heddle, knitter’s loom, inkle looms, table looms and floor looms. They also make a big range of weaving tools, yarns and accessories, as well as all their other supplies for fibre artists.
*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details.
I also love that the Ashford factory is based in New Zealand, my second favourite country (after Australia, of course!) and all the wood used is sourced from there too.
But today I want to focus on two of their looms that are very popular but also cause some confusion among new weavers – the knitter’s loom and the rigid heddle loom.
If you’re interested in knowing more about looms prior to purchasing, or just out of interest, I have a list of articles and videos that will be a big help to you.
Having never actually used a knitter’s loom myself, I knew it was time to call in some expert knowledge on the subject, and who better to answer my questions than Kate Sherratt from Ashford.
Kate was very generous in not only answering my questions but in giving me extra information for all of us to learn from. Let’s start with a little history of the rigid heddle and knitter’s looms:
Ashford’s have been making Rigid Heddle looms for over 70 years. Pictured below is Richard Ashford’s mother, Joy with one of their early looms.
The Knitters looms are a more recent addition and were introduced in 2005. These looms are a type of rigid heddle loom but with some differences.
One of the aims of the knitters loom was to change the mindset that you can only weave with weaving specific yarns. It paved the way for knitters, who already had a healthy stash of knitting yarn, to ease seamlessly into weaving and continue to utilise the yarn they already knew and loved.
The release of the knitter’s loom brought a whole new wave of crafters and fibre artists into the weaving world. It had features that were very attractive to the brand new weaver who wanted to get up and weaving really fast.
It folded with weaving in place, it was lighter and more compact than previous rigid heddle looms, it had the factory lacquer finish and it was assembled.
So, which loom is the right one for you?
Ashford now make three types of rigid heddle looms – The Standard Rigid Heddle looms (RH), the Knitters looms (KL) and the SampleIt looms (SL).
Kate points our that all these looms are exactly the same in the way they function – you warp and weave on them in the same way.
The difference comes down to personal preference:
What size do you prefer? What do you intend to weave the most?
How much money do you want to spend?
How much space do you have?
Will you want your loom to be as portable as possible?
Let’s take a look at the differences between the three types:
RH come in four weaving widths 40cm (16″), 60cm (24″), 80cm (32″) and 120cm (48″).
KL come in three weaving widths 30cm (12″), 50cm (20″) and 70cm (28″)
SL come in two weaving widths 25cm (10″) and 40cm (16)
KL come assembled and have a factory lacquered finish and include a carry bag, making it very convenient to take to a class or outing.
RH come kitset and unfinished timber. This means you need to do your own lacquering, painting or waxing and assembling.
SL come kitset and unfinished.
KL fold in half for storage and transportation, can fold with weaving in place. Are made of the lighter timber.
RH are made of thicker more solid timber and do not fold.
SL are smaller, lighter and more compact – the most prominent difference is the depth of the loom – which will only effect the weaving when using non elastic yarns like cotton.
RH have more accessories available – the freedom roller, the table stand, and the warping pegs are exclusive for the standard rigid heddle looms.
What these three looms have in common:
6 different dpi reeds are available for all.
Vari dent reeds are available for all.
Stands are available for all.
They all can be warped the same.
They all can be woven on the same ways.
They all are affordable.
They all work extremely well, are well designed and do what they are supposed to do.
I also had some specific questions for Kate. These are things I am often asked by students.
*Can you use two heddles on a knitter’s loom?
All our rigid heddle looms come standard with the double heddle sideposts – as far as using three heddles go, I cannot personally comment as I have not tried it myself but I have seen people using three heddles on all our rigid heddle looms – including the SampleIts (see Amy McKnight’s recent posts).
I will also add here that I have several classes available on using more than one heddle. The most popular classes are Three Heddle Adventures and Weaving with Two Heddles
* Students have told me they have trouble when weaving the down shed on their knitter’s loom. They say that the heddle slips out of place.
On the Knitters loom the reed is held in the bottom position by the warp tension. It does not click into place or stay there when there is no warp on it, it is not supposed to. (the standard rigid heddle reed does not either, it only hangs from the upper rail, and as the KL has to fold the rails needed to be different).
*Students have also mentioned that they need to angle the back of the knitter’s loom in order to weave. Can you explain this?
See the attached snippet from the Learn to Weave on the Knitters loom booklet (that comes with the loom) – the design of the loom, so it could fold etc, requires the back half of the loom to be angled up when weaving. This is probably the number one issue people have when starting out “help I have no shed” – to which the simple answer is lift the back up into the correct position.
*Are the heddle positions the same on each loom?
The heddle position are actually the same on all the looms – the distance is the same from the top to the bottom and to the neutral positions – it has to be the same as our reeds (the distance from the top rail to the eye and to the bottom rail) are all the same. And the sheds are the same…..
*How long a warp can you fit on each of these looms?
This does depend on a few things – yarn type, sett, warp separators etc. The limiting factor is the distance the cross rails are from the rollers – which varies from 7cm to 10cm. So you can fit quite a length!
*Is there anything else you think is important that people know about the looms?
You can do the same things on all the looms – there is not one that performs better technically – it really does come down to personal preference – and my personal preference is the good old work horse – the standard rigid heddle.
The question when buying a rigid heddle loom should not be “what can I do on a rigid heddle loom?” it should be what can’t you do! And although I do have Jack and Katie (and a couple of table looms) – my Rigid heddle looms (of course there are several) hold a special place in my heart – my love of weaving came not only from being taught to weave on a rigid heddle loom but more from all the possibilities there was from a simple piece of equipment – I know it sounds corny but there really are unlimited possibilities!
I get a little cranky when I here people say “oh you are limited on what you can do on a rigid heddle” – because really when you control the type of yarn (or fibre) you use, the colour you use, the texture you use, the sett you use, the patterns you create – the limits don’t really come from the loom they come for your imagination. And as 75% of the woven fabric in the world is plain weave – do you really need something else?
Wise words, thank you Kate!
One more thing I want to clear up is how to clamp the knitter’s loom to a table. This can confuse new weavers, because although clamps do come with the knitter’s loom, there are no holes present to insert the clamps into, like there are with other RH looms.
The answer is very simple, as you can see here:
I hope this post has helped to clear up any confusion and answer some of your burning questions. Of course, you are welcome to leave any additional questions in the comments.
Do you own a knitter’s loom? A rigid heddle loom? A Sampleit? Was it a difficult decision for you? What helped you decide? Let’s keep the conversation going!
Until next time…
Happy Weaving!
Love my 20 inch knitters loom. It goes everywhere with me. I had a 24 in table loom and gave to a niece. Had a 36 Jack loom and sold it for a 24 wolf. Older arms did not like to stretch the full 36. I spend more time on my KL. I have made hundreds of items on it and if it broke, I would purchase again. Ashford is a fine product.
Thanks Kelly for this article and all of your videos! You rock and think you are a great teacher❤️🧶
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Rachel!
I have a 16 inch Sampleit, a 20 inch KL and a 24 inch Rigid Heddle, plus a 24 inch 4 Shaft Table Loom all by Ashford. Both my spininng wheels are Ashford as well, the Kiwi 3 and the Joy 2. I am extremely with all my equipment and I also have the Inklette and the Inkle Loom by Ashford as well. Their products are well made and sujpported by easily obtainable replacement parts. Love all of them!
Another factor to consider is space: how much space do you have for the loom when in use, and where will it be kept when not in use? I live in a small apartment. I have one dining table that I use for meals, crafts, as a desk, etc. And I don’t have a lot of spare open floor space for loom stands. So it’s important to me to be able to move my looms about, and to put them away in a closet when they are not in use.
The Ashford Knitters’ Looms are perfect for my situation. The fact that they fold means I can stow them in closets when they are not in use.
I have a 12” and a 20.” I bought the smaller one used, and it’s always been a little fussy/slippy, but the 20” is a later model with better gears, and it works great. I always put a sturdy wooden pickup stick into the down shed and push it to the back beam. That ensures that the down shed is well-opened, and I can pull it forward to the back of the heddle when it’s in the down position, if necessary to further open the shed.
I also have a 36” Kromski Harp. It’s so large that I don’t keep it in my apartment; the loom, stand and heddles are in storage. So I don’t use it as often as I should. In fact, I’m planning to haul it out and try one project, then decide whether to sell it. I’m not sure it’s worth keeping it.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Karen 😊
Thanks for this article, Kelly, I’m going to try Alison’s suggestion with the washers and see if that helps shim it up. Thanks for being so fast responding to my email about the heddle problem, appreciate it! I do love my KL.
-Susan
Susan, I find that owners of knitter’s looms do love them, once they get used to the small differences 😊
Good information. Lucky me I discovered your blog by accident (stumbleupon).
I have bookmarked it for later!
I had a similar problem with my knitters’ looms that some have described. I redid the washers on the folding part following instructions from Ravelry. Closesttotheloom. A fender washer, then a couple of regular washers and a lock washer. Then the Ashford knob. Other than that, I love these looms, and the bag is the best I have seen.
Yes, the bag is a nice little bonus, it was be great to have them available for the RH looms as well.
Alison, this may be the answer to my problem with my knitter’s loom, thank you! My husband is checking it out now, sounds like this my solve the falling lower shed heddle. THANKS!
I really enjoyed reading through this write-up! I most certainly will be coming back to read some more intriguing ideas! Thank you!
Hi Kelly, thank you for your response and all the information contained within. I started U3A tapestry weaving course about 3 years ago and have made quite a few small tapestries since. I love the feel of yarns in my fingers , but I also feel the need to just step aside occasionally from the intensive tapestry, I have been researching Ashford looms. A friend loaned me her large knitters loom to ‘play’ with, but I realise that a Samplet might be the way to go, as I still want to continue my tapestry weaving as the main focus of my creativity at the moment. I have watched quite a few of your excellent videos and look forward to taking some classes when I make my final purchase of a weaving loom. ( ps you are talking with Noël not John, my husband who has made a few small tapestry weaving looms for me.)
My husband bought me a 48″ RH a few years back. I don’t use it as much as my other looms (a smaller RH and a smaller 4 shaft floor loom) but it is fabulous for whipping out a good sized baby blanket or throw. Cotton throws make wonderful gifts. One day, I will improve my double weave enough to make blankets for our beds without needing seams.
A great article, thank you, as I’ve often wondered about the Knitter’s loom. I have three Ashford RH looms and love them all. I enjoyed waxing the pieces and assembling each one. I’m in Australia so love that these looms are made not too far from home. I will never own a floor loom, but if a table loom is in my future, I know it will be from Ashford!
Started 2 years ago with an 80cm RH. No stand, just prop it against the veranda bench. Often only use 30cm of it for beanies [100’s of those] and scarves, but do use up to full width for wraps. About to explore double heddle for a blanket width. All with my homespun yarn. Takes 6 to 7 days of raw fleece yarn making for I day of weaving, a work ratio that I understand hasn’t changed for centuries. Still have the romantic notion, while working daily, of using basic timber tools to turn fleece to yarn to cloth to clothes. Of course there is really a lot of technology in these basic Ashford wooden tools.
Very interesting article Kelly, I have a 32 inches RH and was not clear about the differences with the other 2 types of looms!!! Thank you
Thank you for the comparison – In trying to decide on which RH to purchase, many time I’ve attempted to make a chart of the different brands and sizes, etc. There are just too many!! I have noticed other brands of RH looms that have front and back beams above the warp & cloth beams. Can you please comment on those differences? Is it helpful to have those or does it really matter?
thank you
I’m sorry, I’m not much help with your question as I’ve only used Ashford rigid heddle looms.
What a great post Kelly! How I wish this had been available 2 1/2 years ago when I was looking. I just could not understand the difference between them and there are no other side by side comparisons online that I could find. Having said that, I got an Ashford 24″ RH and I’ve been very happy with it, and have since got an Ashford table loom too!
I’m sure many confused new weavers will be glad of this information. (And I learned a bit more about the KL too!)
I have the 16 inch Samplit which I selected for its price, in hindsight I would buy the standard RH loom and pay a bit more but I was grateful to find an Ashford loom at 16 inch width that was within my budget. I have had 2 Ashford spinning wheels soI love and trust the brand. I would really like to upgrade to the standard RH loom in 24 or 32 inch width ( not sure yet!) and I would prefer this deeper RH loom so I am not constantly rolling the textile to keep my tiny shed open for the shuttle. The only other thing which really annoys me is that the front and back knobs fly-off all the time. Very small things that would definitely not stop me from buying my looms from Ashford. They have the most to offer in reed sizes and their products are simple and beautiful, I really appreciate their simple beauty.
I started with a 10in SampleIt because it was the only one available locally. I love it to do quick projects ans samples. Then I got a table loom, which I LOVE. But since my favorite weave is plain weave and wanted to have something to weave bigger project as well as carry with me, I got a 20in KL. I love it! My only regret is not getting the 28in…
This is a great article, and I wish the information would have been presented when I bought my first RH back in 2012.
I only own one 10-inch SampleIt from Ashford. Truthfully, the only reason I don’t own any other Ashford looms is that they aren’t pre-finished (I’m a bit lazy and left my SL unfinished)! That said, my SL works great–my 11 year old grandson has made a scarf for himself, and I’m getting ready to thread it up to make a set (or two) of coasters for my niece. I’ve done some transparencies, clasped weft, tapestry, a pick-up stick sampler, and quite a few scarves on this little loom–and I’m really happy about its capabilities!
I own 2 rigid heddle looms, one is a 12″ KL, I use it frequently, I only regret not getting a 20″ one. I do like the portability of a folding loom and an additional feature of a rigid heddle that has been important to me is to be able to weave standing up, due to hip and back issues.
I have a 16” rigid heddle loom and a 10” Sampleit.
I have stands for both. My Sampleit it is my Scarf by the TV and portable loom. I love doing small projects on it. My only regret is I didn’t go up to the 24” when I bought the 16” RH. I didn’t think it would fit comfortably in the dedicated space in my sewing room once it was on the stand. It seems I have more space than I thought.
The one suggestion I have for Ashford is –
I love the way the RH stands are designed with the side strays. Very handy. Could this be done for the Sampleit looms at some point?
Interesting article! About a month prior to the lock down I purchased a KL for travel. Thus far it has traveled from my craft room to the sun room. Ha ha. It’s a fun and relaxing loom to whip out small projects. My question is for Kate. Is there a pattern for your lovely top? Tis gorgeous!
I’m not sure about the top pattern, but there is some project information here- http://www.ashford.co.nz/images/Fragments.pdf
There is an article with more information on this top on the Ashford blog. http://www.ashford.co.nz/blog/fragments
I have a 20” Knitters loom which I love. However it does have some issues which drive me mad. Whilst on it’s stand, the knobs loosen over time and will not stay tight. I have replaced the washers which fell apart due to constant tightening and loosening and I have replaced it with industrial grade fine neoprene, but it still slips. It slipped yesterday, the L clamps came out and while I was fixing, the 15 dent heddle crashed to the floor and I had to rethread laceweight again. I was not a happy bunny!
I think if there was a clasp or catch which would take the weight of the back section whilst it was engaged, this wouldn’t put so much pressure on the cogs and washers.
I don’t take it out as much as I thought I would and making the choice again I would go for the 24” RH
I have the same problem with the KL. Mine won’t stay in place with the back tilted up, and all the knobs on the stand slip too. Love Ashford but not my KL.
I bought my KL from a friend at the Guild – and being a total novice, I did not know there was a Rigid Heddle Loom and a Knitters Loom. (I thought they were the same and kept calling my KL and RL!). I have enjoyed using and learning weaving, but …. I have had the same problem with my loom and the knobs needing tightening and loosening – my husband changed different washers, etc, etc. I thought I had bought a dud loom,
A few months ago I saw an advert for a new KL with. braces holding up the front part of the loom. I bought this “Knitters Loom Stands Support Brace Kit” and it has worked! No more frustrations with tightening knobs, washers, etc etc. 5 minutes to put on! Frustrations, irritations, annoyance and anger now gone!
I hope that helps answer your problem.
Is there such a thing as a tray or something like that to attach to the side of the loom where I can put my scissors, tape measure, etc etc? That would really be a huge plus!
I have two Knitters looms a 12 and a 20 . I love them both . I love that you can pop them in their bags and take them with you. Very happy weaving with a RH x
As a beginnet I purchased a 40cm Sampleit loom due to size and costs. I can’t comment on other looms as I haven’t tried them but I’m very happy with my Sampleit. Have lots to learn.
The Sampleit looms are wonderful 😊
I started with a Sampleit loom and I love that but then got a knitters loom because I wanted to create wider fabric but unfortunately chose very fine cotton for my first project and yes I had trouble with tensions and sheds. I was so disappointed as I thought it was the loom. I’m now realising that it was likely the yarn. So I’m hoping my second project will be better. Having said that I love the finished result of cotton weave in spite of the challenges. I just have to get better at working with it.
All part of the learning journey 😊
My first loom was the knitters loom. I chose it because it folds and I thought it would be easier to travel with it between Michigan and Arizona. I really enjoy it. I find it easy to warp. And I find it relaxing to weave on it. Now I am trying to learn to use a table loom. I am struggling a little bit with warping the table loom. But once it is warped I am enjoying weaving on it also.
That’s great Nancy, it sound like you’ve made the right choices for you 😊
I have a 10″ Sampleit, a 16″, 24″ & 32″ Rigid Heddle Loom. I used to have a 20″ Knitters Loom. Yes, I too,love Ashford products. I also have had 2 different Ashford Spinning Wheels, a Traveller and a Traditional and now have an Ashford e-spinner!
I recently sold my Knitters Loom mostly because I has issues with tension when using smaller, thinner, finer yarns. It worked great with heavier yarns from dk weight to bulky yarn. Aka knitting weight yarns, which the knitters loom was originally intended for 😉