Data as of Aug 25, 2026 · Based on 330 AI responses from ChatGPT Search and Google AI Mode · See how Parse measures this
For beginners, the best choice depends on your long-term goals. The 
Brands AI recommends here
Best for those viewing weaving as a long-term hobby. It offers durable construction and enough versatility to handle more advanced techniques as your skills grow, making it a reliable, high-quality investment.
Best for beginners needing a portable or space-saving option. It is a highly versatile rigid heddle loom preferred for its ease of use and strong support resources, making the learning process straightforward.
Ashford HandicraftsSource | Citation share |
|---|---|
 Getting Your First Loom: Choosing a Weaving Loom – Thread Collectivehttps://threadcollective.com.au/blogs/weaving-looms/how-to-choose-your-first-weaving-loom | 7.2% |
 Best Weaving Looms For Beginners - Warped Fibershttps://warpedfibers.com/best-weaving-looms-for-beginners/ | 6.3% |
 What Type of Loom Should I Buy? - Gist Yarnhttps://www.gistyarn.com/blogs/how-to-weave/choosing-a-loom | 4.2% |
 Best First Loom? : r/weaving - Reddithttps://www.reddit.com/r/weaving/comments/zj5kcj/best_first_loom/ | 2.8% |
 Weaving Loom FAQ's for Beginners - The Good Yarnhttps://thegoodyarn.com.au/weaving-loom-faqs-for-beginners/ | 2.7% |
Weaving Loom Types Explained - Your Ultimate Guide – Thread Collectivehttps://threadcollective.com.au/blogs/weaving-looms/weaving-loom-types-explained | 2.6% |
 Which loom for a beginner weaver? Rigid heddle and table ...https://www.youtube.com/watch | 2.6% |
 Types of Weaving Looms | Handwovenhttps://handwovenmagazine.com/weaving-looms-types/ | 2.5% |
 Choosing A Weaving Loom – Weft Blownhttps://www.weftblown.com/pages/choosing-a-weaving-loom | 2.5% |
 Weaving Looms for Sale - The Wooleryhttps://woolery.com/collections/weaving-looms | 2.3% |
When starting out, the "best" loom depends heavily on what type of weaving you want to do (wall hangings/tapestry vs. actual cloth/scarves/fabric). Most fiber arts instructors recommend starting with one of two styles: a rigid heddle loom for wearable cloth, or a frame/tapestry loom for decorative art.
The top beginner-friendly options categorized by weaving style include:
To help narrow down the best choice for you, tell me:
If you’re a complete beginner, I’d recommend a rigid-heddle loom, rather than jumping straight to a floor or multi-shaft loom. It’s relatively simple to warp, easy to understand, and lets you make useful projects such as scarves, towels, and table runners.
The 15-inch Schacht Cricket is my top choice for most beginners. Current weaving guides consistently put it among the strongest beginner options, and its size is a particularly good compromise: large enough for a scarf or towel, but still compact enough for a table.
Why I like it:
I'd choose the Ashford SampleIt 16" if you prefer Ashford's design or want a little more width. The SampleIt is specifically designed as an approachable entry-level rigid-heddle loom, and the 16" size is large enough for substantial projects while remaining table-friendly.
I wouldn't start with a 24–32" loom simply because it's "more loom." A larger loom takes up more space and can make the first learning experience more cumbersome. Likewise, a floor loom or 4/8-shaft table loom makes sense after you know you enjoy weaving and want more complex patterns.
My recommendation: get the Schacht Cricket 15", an 8-dent reed, and some smooth worsted/DK yarn. Your first project should be something small and straightforward—I'd suggest a dish towel or scarf in plain weave. A first scarf on a 15" Cricket typically uses roughly 200 yards of warp and 300 yards of weft.
If you tell me your budget and what you'd like to weave (scarves, blankets, rugs, wall hangings, etc.), I can narrow it down to the best loom for you.
If you're a complete beginner and want to learn actual cloth weaving, I'd strongly recommend starting with a rigid-heddle loom, rather than a simple tapestry/frame loom. They're relatively easy to warp, teach the fundamentals of tension, shed, weft, and beat, and can make useful things like scarves, towels, and runners.
The Schacht Cricket 15" is probably the best all-around first loom. It's compact enough for a table but large enough to make a proper scarf or table runner. It comes with an 8-dent reed, two shuttles, and the basic tools you'll need to get started. Current sources put it around $245–$265.
Why I like it for a beginner:
I'd choose the Ashford SampleIt 16" if you prefer Ashford or want that extra inch of weaving width. It's specifically designed as a compact, approachable rigid-heddle loom and has a built-in option for adding a second heddle later.
In fact, the SampleIt and Cricket are close enough that either is an excellent first loom. The current comparison puts the 16" SampleIt around $255 and the 15" Cricket around $246, so price isn't really the deciding factor.
I wouldn't start with a large 24–48" rigid-heddle loom unless you already know you want to weave large pieces. They're wonderful, but a 15–16" loom is much less intimidating and easier to manage while you're learning.
And if you're mainly interested in wall hangings, tapestry, or small decorative pieces, then a simple frame/tapestry loom is actually a better and cheaper starting point.
My recommendation: If your goal is to learn weaving as a craft and eventually make scarves, towels, clothing fabric, etc., get the Schacht Cricket 15". If you find a good deal on the Ashford SampleIt 16", I'd be equally happy recommending that.
If you tell me your budget (e.g. under $100, $200, $300) and whether you want to make tapestries, scarves, blankets, or clothing, I can narrow it down to the best specific loom for you.
For a beginner, the "best" loom depends entirely on what you want to make (tapestries and wall hangings vs. scarves, blankets, and garments) and your initial budget.
The top choices for beginners break down into two main categories:
To help narrow down the exact right choice for you, tell me:
The "best" loom for a beginner depends heavily on what you want to weave . Weaving spans everything from artistic wall hangings to functional scarves and cloth yardage.
The top recommendations for beginners are categorized below by type and project goals:
If you can tell me what type of items you are most excited to make (e.g., wall hangings, scarves, rugs, or decorative straps) and your rough budget , I can recommend a specific model and starter kit to get you going!
For most beginners, the best first loom is a rigid heddle loom. It’s simple enough to learn the basics (warp, weft, tension, beating, selvedges) but capable of making real projects like scarves, towels, placemats, and yardage.
My top picks:
Consider a 24" rigid heddle loom (such as an Ashford or similar). It costs more and takes more space, but it gives you more project options.
A few things I’d avoid as a first loom:
My recommendation:
If you tell me whether you want to weave scarves/clothing, rugs, wall hangings, or just experiment, and your budget, I can narrow it to one loom.
If you’re a complete beginner, I’d strongly recommend starting with a rigid-heddle loom rather than a floor loom. They’re relatively simple to warp, easy to understand, and versatile enough to make scarves, towels, table runners, bags, and more.
$255.00
The 16-inch Ashford SampleIt is probably the sweet spot for a new weaver:
$261.98
I'd choose the 15-inch Schacht Cricket if you particularly value beginner tutorials and a very established weaving community. It's compact, straightforward, and specifically designed as an introductory rigid-heddle loom.
The Cricket also has an interesting upgrade path: the Cricket Quartet can turn it into a four-shaft loom later.
| Loom | Best for |
|---|---|
| 10" SampleIt/Cricket | Small projects, limited space, portability |
| 15–16" SampleIt/Cricket | ⭐ Best all-around beginner choice |
| 24"+ rigid heddle | Bigger projects, blankets, wider fabric |
I would not buy a tiny 8–10" loom just because you're a beginner. The 15–16" size gives you considerably more room to grow without becoming intimidating.
My recommendation: Get the Ashford SampleIt 16", a second-hand or new one depending on your budget, and start with a smooth DK or worsted-weight yarn and plain weave. A first scarf is a very manageable project; one current beginner guide estimates roughly 200 yards of warp and 300 yards of weft.
If you tell me your budget (e.g. under $150, $250, $400) and whether you want to make scarves, blankets, rugs, or clothing, I can narrow it down to the best loom for you.
Getting started with weaving is an exciting journey, and choosing the right loom makes all the difference. For a beginner, the best loom balances ease of use, affordability, and versatility without being overwhelmingly complex.
Top Beginner Looms
Recommendation Summary
To help narrow down the best choice for you, tell me:
For most beginners, the absolute best place to start is a rigid-heddle loom . It strikes the ideal balance between simplicity and capability, letting you weave actual yardage (like scarves, runners, and towels) quickly without the massive learning curve or cost of a floor loom.
Top-recommended starter looms fall into a few clear categories depending on what you want to make:
Ashford SampleIt Loom is a fantastic, highly portable rigid-heddle loom made from strong silver beech hardwood. Available in widths like 16'', it comes with all essential starter accessories (shuttles, warping peg, clamp, and a step-by-step booklet) and has a built-in second heddle option if you want to expand your pattern skills later.
Schacht Cricket Loom is a beloved, lightweight rigid-heddle loom known for being exceptionally sturdy, smooth to warp, and very friendly for absolute beginners. It’s easy to pack up and has wonderful community support and project books available.
Simple Wooden Frame Loom (such as those from Fūnem Studio or Olikraft ) is the best choice if your goal is strictly tapestry weaving and expressive wall hangings rather than continuous fabric. They are intuitive, highly affordable, and let you jump straight into playing with textures and colors.
Ashford Inklette is a miniature, highly portable inkle loom tailored specifically for weaving narrow, ultra-strong bands, straps, and belts. If you are enticed by geometric patterns and decorative trims rather than wide cloth, this is a fun, low-cost entry point.
If you can tell me what you are hoping to make first (e.g., wall hangings, scarves/fabric , or small decorative bands ), I can help you pick the exact loom type and list out what accessories and yarn you'll need to begin.
For most beginners, the best first loom is a rigid heddle loom. It’s simple enough to learn the basics (warping, tension, plain weave, finishing) but versatile enough to make real projects like scarves, towels, placemats, and small blankets. Rigid heddle looms are widely recommended as an entry point because they combine several functions into one easy-to-use component and are much less intimidating than floor looms.
My top beginner picks:
A good starting size is usually 15–20 inches wide:
If you tell me your goals (scarves, clothing fabric, rugs, tapestry, gifts, etc.), your budget, and how much space you have, I can narrow it down to one or two specific looms.
