Welcome!

Welcome to Loom Knitting Help, a site dedicated to the fiber art of loom knitting. Loom knitting is an ancient art that has recently seen a resurgence with the Knifty Knitter and In the Attic Looms. It has been known by many names throughout history: frame knitting, rake knitting, ring knitting, box knitting, bung knitting, spool knitting, reel knitting, french knitting, loom knitting, knitting in the round, knitting board. Perhaps even Penelope knit the Shroud of Laertes on a knitting loom!

Looms were used during the Middle Ages in France, Britain, Germany and other parts of Europe to knit tasseled caps, shawls, petticoats, blankets, stockings, bags, purses, sacks, nets, hammocks and curtains. It's believed that the apprentices of Guilds knit the carpet required for their Master on frames (knitting boards) as well.

Something similar to knitting looms were used by the Amerindian tribe, Taulipang, of the Roraima Mountains (between Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil). They used a separate rod for each horizontal band of the fabric — — essentially a knitting frame without a base! Other Amerindian tribes which knitted with rods include the Arecuna, Macushi, Patamona, the Palikur, Uaça and Warrau. It’ is believed that these tribes' discovery of knitting was not connected with the Eurasian tradition.

Why is loom knitting becoming popular again? It could be because it's a fast and easy way for someone to get into knitting. The stitches come out even your first try. It's also a way for knitters who have mobility issues such as arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome to continue with the craft. Loom knitting and needle knitting both have their strengths — there's no reason why you can't do both!

While political lines are often drawn as to the "right" way to knit, this site doesn't. It does its best to present information to you and let you decide which way is best. If several techniques are known, they are shown. What it does do, though, is try to teach good loom knitting habits and practices. So, if you're looking to expand your knowledge beyond the basic e-wrap stitch, you've come to the right place. Keep us bookmarked and come back often because we're continually growing with more hints, tips and techniques.


I'd like to thank everyone in the knitting community — from the Arabs who started it all to today's needle, loom and machine knitters — for the work you've done in advancing the art of knitting and for your guidance and inspiration in creating this website. I hope to pass on the same guidance and inspiration to others.

Types of Looms

There are three basic types of looms covered on this website:
  • The Round Loom. While the loom is called "round" it can be a circle, triangle, oval, square, heart, etc. The actual shape is not important, what is important is that all of the pegs be continuous with no starting or stopping point. The gauge of a round loom is determined by the distance between the pegs so that the further apart the pegs are, the larger the gauge. For more information on round looms, see Round Looms & Rakes.

  • The Rake. The way that you knit on a rake is the same as the way that you knit on a round loom. The difference between the two is that a rake is a single line and the pegs do have a starting and stopping point. You can only do flat knitting on a rake. Like a round loom, the gauge is determined by the distance between the pegs.

  • The Knitting Board. A knitting board is two parallel rakes used together to knit across. Double-knit fabric is created with a knitting board. The gauge is determined by two different factors:

    • The distance between the pegs
    • The distance between the two rakes

    The greater the distance between either creates a larger gauge.
Because round looms and rakes share much in common, they will be discussed together on this site.

This Site

The site is broken down into different sections by the menus at the top. Along the right side are the topics for each of those sections. Please visit back often as new information is added all of the time.

List of projects
Linking to us
Support
Classes

The list of projects you can do on a loom is endless. Here are some suggestions:

  • Hats
  • Bags/Purses
  • Scarves (tubes or flat)
  • Cozies
  • Skirts
  • Soap mitts
  • Socks/stockings/slippers
  • Leg warmers
  • Mittens
  • Muffs
  • Scrunchies
  • Balls
  • Pillows
  • Cowls
  • Holiday decorations
  • Blankets/afgans
  • Shawls
  • Ponchos
  • Ruanas
  • Dishclothes
  • Sweaters
  • Belts

Please pass our URL on to anyone you think might be interested. If you like the site and want to stick a banner on your website or blog, wonderful! Please link to the banner from our server. From time to time, we'll update the graphic.

Loom Knitting Help

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Thanks again for dropping by!

This site is offered at no charge to the Internet community and there are no plans to change this. Financial support to run Loom Knitting Help comes from Rebecca Novelli of bexnartistry and contributions from individual members of the loom knitting community.



Please help keep this site going!




Very little is made from the Google Ads or book referrals on this site. Any that has been made has gone back into the maintenance of the website. As such, this website is run on a loss and iis Rebecca's way of giving back to a supportive community and honoring those who came before. Rebecca will continue to do this for as long as she is able.

The banner ads you see in the left sidebar are not sponsors but main loom & needle knitting organizations which offer high quality patterns and instruction. Loom Knitting Help would like to encourage all loom knitters to become familiar with them.

Individual, group and party lessons as well as correspondence courses are offered through contact form for more information about scheduling and fees.

Seattle Area Classes & Workshops

There are currently no classes or workshops scheduled in the Seattle area. Check back often for updates.