The Zoom Loom is a pin loom, used to needle weave 4" x 4" (10 cm x 10 cm) squares.

All the tools you need come with the Zoom Loom.

Weaving cards create warp-faced bands. They can be used alone or on a loom.

Essential

• a belt shuttle

Nice to have

• backstrap loom, inkle loom, or rigid heddle loom to tension the warp

Inkle looms create warp-faced bands, with or without weaving cards.

Essential

• belt shuttle—included with Schacht and Louët products
• string heddles made with strong cotton yarn or buy 150 mm/5-7/8" Texsolv heddles here or here for the Schacht Inkle Loom or Louët Standard inkle only

Nice to have

• pick up stick for advanced pattern techniques
• weaving cards for advanced pattern techniques

These looms create weft-faced fabrics. They are specially designed for tight tension on the warp ends. The weaver can see most or all of the weaving area at one time, and uses hand-held tools or heddle bars to lift warp threads. 

Frame looms are great for beginners and younger weavers: they come in a variety of sizes, include some weaving tools (as shown below), and have teeth to space the warp. Most tools and books listed below are suitable for frame loom weaving.

Tapestry looms allow the weaver more control over warp spacing (sett). Heddle bars on the loom speed up weaving. There are more loom accessories available for these products.

Essential

• a tool to hold weft yarn, such as a weaving needle, shuttle, or tapestry bobbin
• a tool to open the shed, such as a pick-up stick (frame looms only)
• a beater to pack in weft yarn—you can use a fork or a tapestry beater

Nice to have

• loom stand (not available for all products)
• additional Texsolv heddles (tapestry looms only)
• loom accessories for the Arras

These looms create lengths of fabric. A rigid heddle reed with slots and holes makes the sheds—it's the equivalent of a two-shaft loom. Our Cricket and Flip rigid heddle looms can sit on a tabletop or on a floor stand.

Short version:

• The Cricket is smaller and simpler. You can add a Cricket Quartet to the 15" loom for shaft weaving.
• The Flip is bigger, foldable, and has more options. You can easily weave with two heddles.

See more details below.

These looms create lengths of fabric. Heddles on shafts (harnesses) make a shed. The more shafts on a loom, the more weave structures it can create.

• Table looms sit on a tabletop or a floor stand. The weaver uses levers to raise or lower shafts. They are generally the smallest and least expensive.
• Floor looms sit on the floor. The weaver uses multiple treadles to raise or lower shafts. They are generally in the middle in size and price.
• Dobby looms sit on the floor and require a dobby system (a mechanical or computer device). The weaver uses a single treadle, along with the dobby system, to raise or lower shafts. They are generally the largest and most expensive.

It's complicated, because there are many options! Start by narrowing down all the possibilities.

• Decide between table, floor, or dobby looms.
• Choose a weaving width.
• Choose the number of shafts.
• For floor looms, choose between jack or parallel countermarche styles.
• For dobby looms, choose the dobby style.

The comparison tables below show prices, weaving widths, and features.

Need to start at the very beginning? See our General Weaving FAQs for basic info that every weaver has to learn.

Loom designers at Schacht and Louët consider many factors as they develop their products. Among these factors, a warping style lays the foundation for any shaft loom's design.

Louët looms work well for back to front warping, more commonly used in Europe. Their designs allow you to get closer to the shafts from the front to thread the heddles.

• All Louët shaft looms shown here have built-in raddles.
• Texsolv cords or hardware hold lease sticks in place as you warp.
• You can swing the beater out of the way or remove it entirely.
• On some floor looms, you can remove the front beam (breast beam) and cloth beam.

Schacht looms work well for front to back warping, more commonly used in North America. Their features let you get closer to the shafts from the back for threading heddles.

• Wolf looms have removable back beams. On Standard Floor Looms, you can remove the back beam and the front beam (breast beam).
• Wolf and Standard Floor Looms have beater pins that hold the beater in place for sleying the reed.
• You can add a raddle to any Wolf loom or Standard Floor Loom if you want to warp back to front.

The shuttle race is a small shelf at the bottom of the beater, in front of the reed. It provides a support for boat shuttles, ski shuttles, or rug shuttles to zoom across the loom without falling through the warp.

If a loom doesn't have a shuttle race, you have to pass the shuttle from one hand to the other. Usually stick shuttles work better in this situation, unless you're weaving a narrow project.

The wider the loom or the weaving project, the more you'll want a shuttle race. A very long stick shuttle requires more space around your loom.

Of the table looms on this page, only the Jane loom has a shuttle race. All floor looms and dobby looms shown here have shuttle races.

Learn more about choosing shuttles here.