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

• 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.

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