Choosing a First Loom: Frame, Band, Rigid-Heddle, Table and Floor

Every loom does the same basic job. What changes between them is how wide you can weave, how many structures you can make and how much room the thing takes up in your house.

What every loom does

A loom holds a set of parallel threads under tension so that a second set can be woven across them. The tensioned threads are the warp; the crossing thread is the weft. Everything else on a loom, from the frame to the pedals, exists to make that crossing faster, more even or more varied.

The key action is opening a shed: lifting some warp threads and leaving others down, so the weft can pass through the gap in one movement instead of being darned over and under by hand. How a loom opens its sheds is the main thing that separates one type from another.

Frame and tapestry looms

The simplest option is a rigid frame with the warp wound around it. Sheds are opened by hand or with a simple stick, which is slow, but nothing can go wrong mechanically. Frame looms are good for small tapestry pieces, wall hangings and for understanding, in your hands, how cloth is built. Many weavers keep one even after they buy something larger.

Band looms and backstrap looms

Narrow fabric such as straps, belts and trims is its own tradition, and band weaving can be done on several kinds of loom. A backstrap loom uses the weaver's own body to tension the warp: one end is tied to a fixed point and the other to a strap around the weaver's back. Band looms are compact and portable, and the work is often warp-faced, so the colours of the warp carry the pattern.

Rigid-heddle looms

A rigid heddle is a single bar with alternating slots and holes. Threads in the holes stay put while threads in the slots are free, so raising or lowering the bar opens the two sheds needed for plain weave. The same bar also spaces the warp and beats the weft into place. This is why rigid-heddle looms are such a common first loom: there are few parts to learn, warping is quick, and you are weaving cloth the same afternoon. The limit is structure. With one heddle you are mostly weaving plain weave and its variations, with pick-up sticks for extra texture.

Shaft looms: table and floor

On a shaft loom each warp thread passes through its own heddle, an eye of wire or cord hung on a shaft. Threads on the same shaft lift together. With four shafts you can weave twills and many other structures; with more shafts, more again. A table loom raises shafts with levers by hand. A floor loom uses foot pedals, called treadles, so your hands stay free to throw the shuttle, which makes longer lengths of cloth much faster to weave.

Questions to ask yourself before buying

• What do you want to make? Scarves and tea towels need very different widths from rugs or blankets.
• Where will it live? Measure the space with the loom open and with room for you to sit at it. Some looms fold; many do not.
• Do you want structure or speed? A rigid heddle gets you weaving quickly. Shafts give you twill, overshot-style patterns and drafts.
• Can you try one first? Weaving guilds, classes and friends with looms let you find out what you enjoy before you spend.

There is no wrong first loom, only one that does not fit what you want to make. Whichever you choose, the three basic weave structures are what you will be making on it.

Revised 2026-11-09 · Margit Halloway