Rigid heddle looms are ideal for all skill levels. You can sample hand-spun yarns or weave something fabulous and unique for yourself or a friend – without the hassle of setting up a large complicated loom.
When it comes to choosing the best rigid heddle loom, there are two brands that really stand out as being the gold standard. So here we will focus on the Schacht and Ashford rigid heddle loom.
And just so you know, you really can’t go wrong with either of them, but there are some important differences between the two that you absolutely should know about before you buy.
| Type | Brand | |
| For Beginners | Schacht Cricket Loom Available as in 10″ wide or 15″ wide. Lowest Price: Blick Art Materials |
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| Our Runner Up/Alternative Pick for Beginners | Ashford SampleIt Weaving Loom 10″ or the SampleIt Weaving Loom 16″ From Amazon |
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| Foldable Weaving loom | Schacht Flip Rigid Heddle Loom 15″ or the Schacht Flip Rigid Heddle Loom 25″ From Amazon |
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| Foldable Weaving Loom/Alternative Pick | Ashford Knitter’s 12 ” Loom or the Ashford Knitter’s Loom 20″ From Amazon |
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| Larger Looms | Ashford Weaving Rigid Heddle Loom 48″ From Amazon |
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Below is the number of rigid heddle dent sizes available for each brand. The larger the number the finer the yarn and vice versa. For example, 5 dent is perfect for bulky yarns, 8-dent for worsted yarns, and 12-dent for lace-weight yarns.
| Brand | Available Dent Sizes. | Dent Included |
| Schacht Cricket | 8, 10, 12, and 15 dpi | 8 dpi |
| Ashford SampleIt | 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15 dpi | 7.5 dpi |
| The Schacht Flip | 5, 8, 10 and 12 dpi | 10 dpi |
| Ashford Knitter’s Loom | 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15 dpi | 7.5 dpi |
For Beginners: Schacht Cricket Loom
Schacht Cricket Loom (10″ or 15″)
The Schacht Cricket Loom is the perfect choice for beginners.
Easy to warp and very simple to use, it’s also a very affordable loom to learn on. But don’t worry, you won’t outgrow its capabilities any time soon.
In fact, this loom is also a firm favorite of experienced weavers simply because it’s so much more portable and convenient to set up than going through the lengthy process of warping the more complex table loom, especially for smaller projects like scarves, wraps, etc.
Both the Schacht Cricket loom and the Ashford loom are very similar – and to be perfectly honest, they are both excellent choices.
The Schacht loom stands out in a couple of areas that give it the edge over the Ashford for most people. But you may disagree, if, for instance, you are keen to work with bulky yarns. As you can see from the table above, there is a wider range of optional extra dent sizes available for the Ashford than for the Cricket, allowing you to work with bulky yarns if you wish.
One area where the Schacht Cricket rigid heddle loom stands out is that the ABS plastic teeth of the heddles are a little sturdier, and therefore more durable than the nylon teeth of the Ashford so are less likely to bend or break over time.
The Cricket comes with an 8-dent rigid heddle (or reed as it is sometimes referred to). The Ashford comes with a 7.5 dent but they are pretty much the same given that the US-made Cricket has imperial measurements and the New Zeland-made Ashford loom is metric. This means they are both ideal for the most commonly used, worsted yarns.
But most significantly, this loom has front and back beams.
These front and back beams are a feature the Ashford doesn’t have. They hold the woven cloth to the front of the loom, and warp threads to the back of the loom, up, and over the front cloth beam and the back warp beam. You can see this in the photo below.
This means the cloth won’t build up and become bulky on the cloth beam so you can basically weave much longer lengths of fabric while still maintaining a nice even shed (the area where the shuttle passes back and forth).
And it’s this design feature that for us, wins the day.
The frame is made from high-quality maple (apple ply and hard maple) and comes, as most of them do, unfinished so you may want to apply a coat of Danish oil or a gel stain to condition and treat the wood for longevity.
Included in the box are a threading hook, warping peg, table clamps, two shuttles, and a couple of balls of yarn to get you started. There are also comprehensive instructions as well as copious youtube video tutorials so if you are learning to weave don’t worry, you’ll never be on your own.
The Schacht Cricket Loom is available in either a 10-inch or 15-inch width. The size you choose will depend on what types of projects you want to make.
You’ll ideally need a good size table to warp the loom as you’ll need some distance to create a good warp length – which will mean clamping your warping peg to the far end of the table. Once your loom has been warped, however, either the 10″ or the 15″ loom can be worked on a tabletop or even balance on your knee.
What We Like:
- Rigid Heddle | The reeds are more sturdy than those of the Ashford.
- Front and Back Beams | These are a great design feature in that they hold the woven cloth and warp threads up, over the front cloth beam and the back warp beam. This prevents the cloth from building up on the cloth beam so you get a consistently more even shed and you can work much longer pieces of cloth.
Buying Factors to Consider:
Unlike the Ashford Samplit we’ll be looking at next, there isn’t a slot to add another heddle. If you’d prefer to have the option to add a second heddle you may prefer to go for the Schacht Flip Rigid Heddle Loom we’ll be looking at later, alternatively, there are ways to get around this with this loom as shown in this youtube video, meaning you can, in theory, add another heddle if you wish.
I want to add here, that although it might seem that you could just buy an Ashford heddle, it won’t fit the Cricket loom but could, with a bit of DIY, be adapted.
Lastly only the foldable looms come fully assembled so you will need to put this one together, it is very easy though.
Check the price for the Schacht Cricket Loom 10″ or 15″ at Blick Art Materials.
Check the latest price for the Schacht Cricket Loom 10″ or the Schacht Cricket Loom 15″ on Amazon.
If you’re in the UK, the Schacht Cricket Loom is available on Etsy here.
Our Runner Up / Alternative Pick for Beginners: Ashford SampleIt Weaving Loom 10″ or the SampleIt Weaving Loom 16″
Designed to “sample” new techniques and weaving patterns and try out different types of yarn and color combinations, the Ashford Sampleit loom is the ideal weaving loom for beginners to learn the craft.
Like the Cricket loom this one is also capable of more complex weave patterns and so would make a great second loom for advanced weavers, for working on projects that don’t warrant the lengthy and more complex warping process that a table loom or floor loom involves.
A couple of features that stand out for us about SampleIt loom are first, the number of extra dent sizes available, as you can see in the table above. That means if you wish, you can work with much thicker yarns than you could with the Schacht Cricket loom.
And secondly, the Sample It loom, also has a built-in second heddle option. That means you don’t need any hacks or DIY to add a second heddle. The slot is already there for you.
The only feature that this loom doesn’t have and the Schacht loom does is the addition of the front and back beam.
With the Ashford Samplit loom, the cloth winds straight onto the cloth beam- which is fine – there’s no problem with that, except if you want to work on very long pieces. In which case the cloth would build up and add an increasing amount of bulk to the cloth beam. This could start to reduce your shed.
One thing I especially like is the design of the rachet gear. When you turn the gear to advance your fabric the gear doesn’t require tension to lock so there’s no chance the rachet dog or pawl will jump out of the gear. With the Cricket you’d feel safer placing a finger on the dog while you turn the gear.
The loom itself is made from solid natural silver beech timber, and like the Cricket loom would just need a little Danish oil or a gel stain to finish it.
The Sampleit is available either in a 10-inch width or a 16-inch width depending on the types of projects you want to make.
What We Like:
- Wider Number of Rigid Heddle Dent Sizes Available | There are more dent sizes available for the Ashford SampleIt than the Schacht loom meaning you can use extra bulky yarns if you wish.
- Built-in Slot for a Second Rigid Heddle | This means you can easily add a second reed if you want to without any hacks or DIY skills.
- Sturdier Ratchet Gear | This means that there’s no chance the rachet pawl will jump out of the gear while you are advancing your cloth.
Buying Factors to Consider:
This is an amazing loom, it’s lightweight, easy to warp, easy to use, and capable of so much more than it’s simple design would have you believe.
If you want to create very long pieces, however, you may find the design of the Schacht Cricket or Flip loom works better for you, as it has front and back beams that prevent the cloth from building up on the cloth beam narrowing your shed size.
Lastly as previously mentioned, only the foldable looms come fully assembled so you will need to put this one together, but it’s easy so a degree in physics is not required.
Foldable Rigid Heddle Looms: Schacht Flip Rigid Heddle Loom 15″ or the Schacht Flip Rigid Heddle Loom 25″
There’s a bit of a jump in price for a folding rigid heddle loom but you can’t fault this design and the ability to fold the loom for travel or just store it away – even mid-project, in my opinion, is worth the extra investment.
There are other advantages too. Unlike the Cricket loom the Flip loom comes with built-in blocks or slots for multiple heddles – making it easy to add an extra heddle if you want to. There are a few different sizes of the Flip loom to choose from depending on how wide you’d like your loom to be. You can choose between a 15โ, 20โ, 25โ, and 30″ weaving width. The 15″ and the 25″ featured here differ only in that there is just one single rachet gear on one side of the 15″ (and also the 20″) loom and there are two, (one on each side) on the 25″ (and also the 30″) loom.
Instead of the front and back beams, which are a feature of the Cricket loom, Schacht’s Flip heddle loom has a top cross brace which means you can weave long warps, up to a whopping 15 to 18 feet without any reduction in the size of the shed.
The frame is made in the US from high-quality maple and hand-rubbed with a Danish oil finish and whichever size you choose, each includes a 10 dent reed, a warping peg, two shuttles, and two clamps, a threading hook, and comprehensive warping and weaving instructions.
What We Like:
- Portable and Foldable | Perfect for folding away either between or mid-project. The back leg allows you to hook it onto a table or you can install it on a trestle stand.
- Built-In Blocks for Multiple Heddles | This is a handy feature that the Cricket range doesn’t have.
- It Has a Top Cross Brace | This means you can weave long warps, up to a whopping 15 to 18 feet without any reduction in the size of the shed.
- No Finishing Required | It’s made from high-quality maple and is already hand-rubbed with a Danish oil finish so no finishing is required.
- Fully Assembled | Most looms require assembly, though this is generally easy, if you are really not into DIY, this foldable loom is the way to go.
Buying Factors to Consider:
This is a great weaving loom, there are no downsides except for the fact that we should mention that a folding loom does cost more than a same-sized non-folding rigid heddle loom. But this one is very similar in price to its nearest foldable rival next.
Check the latest price on Amazon:
Schacht Flip Rigid Heddle Loom 15″
Schacht Flip Rigid Heddle Loom 20″
Schacht Flip Rigid Heddle Loom 25″
Schacht Flip Rigid Heddle Loom 30″
A Foldable/Alternative Pick: Ashford Knitter’s Loom 20″
The Knitter’s Loom is my alternative choice to the Schacht Flip. It’s lightweight, easily foldable for travel or storing away, and even comes with its own padded carry bag with front and side pockets to store shuttles.
It’s available in three different sizes 12″, 20″ and a larger 28″ width.
Though very similar to the Flip there are a couple of differences I want to point out. The first is that the ratchet gear is superior to that of the Flip, it doesn’t require any warp tension. You can hear it clicking into place when you turn it – even with no warp on the loom. That means the dog or pawl won’t jump out while you are advancing your work.
Secondly, and this is not exactly a plus point, it doesn’t have a top cross brace so the cloth winds straight onto the cloth beam. This, as with the SampleIt loom, means the cloth will build up and become bulky after a certain point, reducing your shed size. That said, weavers have reported completing a 9 feet long project without any problems.
The loom comes ready assembled and finished. Included is a 7.5 dent heddle, two stick shuttles, a warping peg and a clamp, a double-ended threading hook and easy-to-follow instructions.
What We Like:
- Portable and Foldable | Perfect for storing away either between project or mid-project.
- Built-In Blocks for Multiple Heddles | This is a handy feature meaning you can easily add a second heddle for more complex weave patterns.
- Superior Ratchet Gear | The gear is, in our opinion, superior to that of the Flip, it doesn’t require any tension. You can hear the pawl clicking into place when you turn it even with no warp on the loom.
Check the latest price on Amazon:
Larger Looms: Ashford Weaving Rigid Heddle Loom 48″ or the Ashford Weaving Rigid Heddle loom 32″
Often thought of as a small loom or a sample loom, the 32 inches wide or the even bigger 48 inches wide rigid heddle looms are as big as you could possibly want. But much less bulky, as well as, so much easier to warp than a table or floor loom.
It’s suitable for making wall hangings, full garments, rugs, throws, home furnishings and so much more.
So if you’re interested in making large pieces, this is the loom for you.
The simplicity of a rigid heddle loom makes it an ideal choice for beginners but with the addition of pick-up sticks and extra reeds, the loom is capable of more advanced and complex weaving techniques so this is not a loom you’ll outgrow.
Like all Ashford looms, this one is well made with a sturdy self-locking ratchet gear that doesn’t require the tension of the warp to set it, so the pawl won’t jump off the gear while you are advancing your work.
The loom comes with a 7.5 ” dent but has a built-in double heddle block so you can add additional heddles if you wish. It also comes with one 22″ natural shuttle and one 30″ natural shuttle.
Made from unfinished silver beech hardwood you can easily finish it by applying a little Danish oil or a gel stain.
What We Like:
- Built-In Double Heddle Block | This loom has a built-in double heddle block so you can add additional heddles if you wish.
- Superior Ratchet Gear | The gear doesn’t require any warp tension to set it. You can hear the pawl clicking into place when you turn it even with no warp on the loom.
Buying Factors to Consider:
None – if you want a loom with extra width to complete large weaving projects this is the loom for you.
This is a great article. Useful and clearly written with terrific illustrations.
Thank you.
Thank you, I’m so pleased you found it helpful.