Begin with the cloth, not the loom

Most people buy a loom first and then wonder what to weave on it. It works far better the other way round. Before you look at a single piece of equipment, decide what you actually want to come off the front beam in the next year. A rigid heddle loom that weaves a 40cm-wide scarf beautifully will frustrate you the moment you want curtains or a blanket. A floor loom that handles a nine-metre warp will sit idle if all you make is the odd cushion cover.

Three questions will narrow the field faster than anything else:

• Width: a 25cm loom suits scarves, samples and narrow trims; 40cm to 60cm covers cushions, bags, runners and simple garments; 80cm and above is where blankets, wraps and full-width cloth begin.
• Pattern: plain weave, stripes and simple pick-up work need very little machinery. Twills, houndstooth, block weaves and anything with real structure want shafts.
• Frequency: a project every few months suits a portable loom. Weekly weaving, or selling your work, justifies something sturdier and faster.

Rigid heddle looms: the sensible first step

A rigid heddle does the work of shafts with a single slotted and holed frame — usually 7.5, 10 or 12.5 dents per inch, roughly 3, 4 or 5 ends per centimetre. You warp directly at the back of the loom using a peg or clamp, which means you can be weaving within an hour of opening the box. That short learning curve is the whole point.

They fold, they travel, and many fit on a shelf. Widths commonly run from 25cm up to 60cm, with a few at 80cm. Expect to pay somewhere between £150 and £450 new, depending on width and whether the frame folds. Two things are worth paying extra for: a proper stand, because clamping to a kitchen table becomes genuinely tiring after an hour, and a reliable tensioning system, because sagging warp is the single most common reason beginners abandon a project halfway.

Table looms: when you want shafts and patterning

A table loom uses four or eight shafts to lift groups of threads, which opens up twill, monks belt, summer and winter, and all the block structures that make weaving endlessly interesting. The trade-off is speed: you change sheds by hand with levers or a dobby, so you weave noticeably more slowly than on a treadled loom.

Weaving widths generally run from 40cm to 80cm, and prices sit around £400 to £1,000. Levers feel slower at first, but they force you to understand what each shaft is doing, which pays dividends later. If you can find one that stands on a treadle unit, or that can be upgraded, so much the better. A table loom is also the natural home for anyone in a flat who wants structure without dedicating a room to it.

Floor looms: a workshop commitment

Treadles free both hands, the shed is larger and cleaner, and long sessions become comfortable rather than punishing. Floor looms come with four, eight or sixteen shafts, in jack, counterbalance and countermarche actions, and they are built to be warped again and again for years.

They are also a serious purchase. Secondhand prices run from roughly £500 for a modest four-shaft model to £2,500 or more for a well-equipped eight-shaft loom, with new ones starting around £1,500. You will need a footprint of about a metre by a metre and a half, plus clear space behind to walk round and beam the warp. If you have only been weaving a few months, resist. Buy a floor loom after a year, when you know your habits.

Space, budget and the honest arithmetic

The loom is rarely the biggest cost. Budget for the kit that comes with it:

• a warping board or frame, a raddle, and a warping peg
• shuttles, bobbins, a bobbin winder, a reed hook and a threading hook
• a fringe twister, scissors, a tape measure and a hemstitching needle
• yarn — and somewhere dry, dark and tidy to keep it

Add it all up and the accessories often match the price of a modest loom. Factor in noise as well, particularly if you share walls, and think about pets and small children, both of whom find hanging warp irresistible.

Trying before you buy

Local guilds, adult education classes and evening courses are the cheapest way to test a rigid heddle and a table loom in the same afternoon, and most weavers are delighted to talk about their equipment. The secondhand market is excellent — looms are durable and hold their value — but inspect carefully for rust, cracked or missing heddles, warped beams and parts you cannot replace. Take a weaver with you if you can.

Buy the loom that fits the cloth you want to make and the room you actually have. A modest loom used weekly will teach you far more than an ambitious one gathering dust.