Jewelry-Making Articles

Beginner's Guide to Loomwork - Part 1: Selecting a Loom

by Dan Day, Exclusively for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®

The first important step in your entry into the world of loomwork is selecting a loom. We sell two types of looms:

Weaving loom: used to weave designs from 22 to 40 inches in length
Beading loom: smaller than weaving loom, it's used to weave beaded designs less than 10 inches in length--especially suited for seed bead patterns

In this article, we'll discuss the beading loom, because it costs less and is easier to learn on than a weaving loom.

A beading loom is used to interlace threads to create a design element such as a square made of seed beads in bracelets, neckties and much more.

Selecting a Loom Using the Comparison Chart

The Beading Loom Comparison Chart shows side-by-side the important features of each beading loom:

Size - beading looms have a smaller footprint than weaving looms, typically about a foot in length and several inches wide. They offer varying degrees of portability.

Construction - wood, plastic or metal frames along with metal or plastic parts such as screws and thread stoppers (pegs)

Weaving Surface - the maximum length and width you'll be able to use for weaving

Maximum Weaving Width - the number of slots available to hold lengthwise threads

Benefit - the feature or features that tell what each loom has to offer and distinguish one beading loom from another.

Price - Not included in the chart because it can vary depending on your total order. For beading looms, prices range from under $10 to just over $50. On many of the looms you can get a lower price by using All Assortable Pricing. Adding beads, beading needles and other loomwork products--books for example--will help achieve our lowest price. We'll learn which products you'll need in Part 2.

Options for other bead sizes - On each loom, the intervals between threads can be adjusted to accommodate other bead sizes. Most beading looms can accommodate seed bead sizes from 11 to 6. Some can fit a size 15 seed bead.

Beading Loom Comparison Chart

Loom	Size	Construction Bold = primary material	Weaving surface	Maximum weave width	Benefit
Wood frame loom	12-1/2 x 5 inches	Wood	7-3/4 inches L 4 inches W	45 slots for lengthwise thread	• Lightweight • Widest weaving surface
Jewel Loom	11-1/4 x 3 inches	Plastic and steel	10-1/2 inches L 2-3/4 inches W	25 thread slots	• Portable • Longest weaving surface • Lowest price
Clover loom	Adjustable length: 8-1/2 to 11-3/4 inches 4-1/4 inches W	Plastic steel/iron/aluminum	Adjustable length: 5 to 8 inches Selectable width: 2.48 or 2.56 inches	Two lengthwise thread options: 44 threads slots or 40 threads slots	• Adjustable weaving length • 2 sets of lengthwise thread slots • Good thread grip • Thread stoppers (pegs) for easy thread removal • 26-pc set includes needles
Metal frame loom	12-1/2 x 2 inches	Metal and wood	5-3/4 inches L 2-1/2 inches W	32 thread slots	• Portable • Easy to use/Low learning curve • Low price