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Loom Knitting: An Alternative to Needle Knitting

I don't know why I just can't focus on one thing at a time. But I was inspired to learn another thing because I was tempted by a Circular Sock Machine. I saw the loom as a more economical option and realized, I had fallen down another rabbit hole. 

What is it?


Spot my knitting in the clutter!

Loom knitting is still knitting, but the yarn is wrapped around pegs arranged on a board. Using a hook pick, yarn is manipulated on the pegs to form a knitted piece comparable to something knit with needles. It's like the love child of crochet and knitting. 

What I like about 'em

I find it's a little easier in some cases than needle knitting. At the very least, the concept is easy to grasp for the most part. 

I can keep better track of how many stitches I knit because I can count pegs. Very useful for furry or dark yarn. 

My gauge has been more consistent with looms than with needles. 

Sock knitting seems easier. 

It can do most things knitting needles can do. (but not everything. I'll explain.) 

It's faster for me. I'm easily able to knit 10 or more rows a day. 

The Drawbacks

Needle knitting and Loom knitting share a common drawback in that you need the right size tool to get the right gauge for your pattern. There's much to choose from. 

Looms can be more expensive than a pair of knitting needles.

You cannot increase in the round more than twice per round. For example, if the pattern has a row where you Knit 2, then Make 1 and repeat that sequence for the whole row; you can't do that in Loom knitting. I've searched! (There are some looms that can increase more, but it's limited to 8 increases at most. 

Looms have a peg limit which means you have a cast-on limit. Too bad if you want a sock with 64 stitches around if you have a 60-peg Loom. 

Looms are usually a set size, and the big ones take up a lot of storage space (when compared to knitting needles.) 

I get the same cramps I get when I crochet too much. 

How to pick the Right Loom

Keep 3 things in mind:

  1. Gauge
  2. Peg Numbers
  3. Shape 

Looms are gauged by how far apart the pegs are from each other. That usually means you have a set gauge for that loom. It's usually built to use certain types of yarn weights for certain types of projects. There are looms for chunky yarns and looms for fine yarns. 

Peg numbers in most looms are fixed. Some are adjustable or more customizable, but they all have a limit! (Except for the Flexee loom, where you can make things as big as you want so long as you buy multiple kits.) 

Looms also come in certain shape configurations to cater to a particular type of knitting project. 

  • Line or Flat (Rake)
  • Elliptical/Round
  • Rectangular 
  • S-Curve
  • X Shaped

Looms that I Use: 



Boye Rectangular Sock loom (broken already) - I got this on Amazon, and I thought that the metal pegs would be tougher...nope. Don't know how but one of 'em broke off the loom and in a spot that's really unfortunate. It basically renders the loom useless (if I can't glue it back on somehow). 



KB Flexee Loom Skinny (2 kits) and Chunky - I'm glad I learned about these looms early, because the flexibility is perfect for the variety of knitting projects I tend to tackle. They are also very convenient to store since it's just basically lego pieces, and the less-than-rigid shape means that my tension isn't impossibly tight.

Would like to try the CinDWood Universal X loom. 

Coming up I'm going to be sharing some tutorial-esque posts about knitting with looms for some of the knitting patterns I've suggested. That means Tabi socks, leg warmers, and a sweater! 

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