LAVIEVERT Wooden Multi-Craft Weaving Loom DIY Hand-Knitting Weaving Machine Intellectual Toys for Kids

This is quite a serviceable loom, and its simplicity makes it easy to upgrade. My review is based on its usability and price--the nitpicks and proposed solutions below would only count against it if the price were significantly higher--at which point I may as well just buy a full size table loom (lightly used is significantly cheaper than new). This loom is unfinished. It is surprisingly smooth in most places and obviously sanded, but there are a few rough areas and small spots that get crushed when folding (see detail photo). At some point I will want to take it apart to sand and apply a protective coating. It also started squeaking halfway through the practice materials, so I'll take that opportunity to oil the moving parts as well. I like that this loom folds up neatly even with a project in progress, making it portable and space efficient. It is pretty sturdy, so I would be comfortable stuffing it in a canvas tote and not worry about bumping it a little. The practice materials it comes with are very basic, and almost certainly synthetic. It amused me to see that the empty shuttle had a longer curved slot than the ones the three solid colors were loaded on. The shuttles can be more efficiently loaded using a figure 8 on each side (see the yellow shuttle in my photos demonstrating this), as well as the center winding shown in the listing. Make sure to even out the warp tension before you begin (you can look it up on the internet). I used some thick paper in between layers to keep the outer threads from sneaking in between the inner threads and making it wonky. When finished with the practice material, make sure to look for a paperclip and a pair of pliers: unless you plan to tie the next warps to the existing ones and pull them through, you'll need a hook to warp your next project. The weaving width on this loom is 6" and its reed (beater bar) is 4.25 dpi (dents per inch--I measured exactly 17 dents across 4 inches), which is better for bulkier warps. It has two shafts with offset heddles of the same dpi, secured with the same twine as the preloaded warp thread. These could probably be upgraded/improved by anyone who can drill even holes and glue small sticks to two horizontal bars. I plan to use skinny craft sticks and some wooden dowels for mine. The gears that secure the warp and cloth winding bars are on opposite sides, which means that the working width was decreased by almost an inch on each side. When I take it apart to sand and finish, I plan to flip one over to get an inch back, for a total weaving width of 7". The reed (beater bar) is pressed into the cloth at an angle that makes it hard to see where the pick (weft thread) will go, and thus makes it hard to control your ppi (picks per inch). This one might be hard to fix, but I think it is doable: change the angle that the reed rests in the arms so that it faces up higher, or mount the arms at the top instead of the bottom of the loom. I'll have to experiment and see what works for this. Finally, about weaving knowledge: weaving is a skill. The preloaded warp and simple design make it easy to use, but don't expect an item so cheap to teach you all setup and finishing steps of a notoriously complicated hobby. That manual in itself would be a book (in fact, there are many). If you're able to access Amazon shopping and reviewing, chances are you're connected to the internet. On the internet, one can find a variety of different perspectives, which makes it a good starting place to learn. If you want better guidance, there are plenty of weaving guilds that offer classes--ask around your area.

It was easy to assemble. I had seen a review of it by Kelly Casanova on YouTube. So I knew that I would probably have warp tension issues and I did. I took the tension off and removed the front tie on rod. I then removed the warp threads and cut the loops. This way I was able to tie the warp and even the tension. As you can see from the pictures, I have good tension and able to get a decent shed in either heddle. I have a couple of Rigid Heddle looms. After seeing Kelly’s review I thought it might be fun to have this little loom as a sampler to practice, experiment. I’d recommend this loom . It’s actually well built and I love the design. Be sure to watch Kelly Casanova on YouTube. It will help you learn how to weave and how to re-warp this loom. Have fun!

I was happy with the quick assembly of this loom. It came with the warp already on it. There are NO directions with this kit so take some pictures of how the warp is on if you will want to use it over and over. My daughter picked it up very quickly. It also doesn’t come with very much yarn, not a big deal though as any yarn will work I think it is work what I paid but do wish there were some institutions with it.

It has issues, but if you're just learning and testing out whether you like weaving or not, this is the best price point! Everything else is way too much money just to test it out. The issues: the heddles (blue pieces that move the yarn up and down) are wonky and assembled unevenly. It's easily fixed, but a tedious job. It comes pre-warped, but very poorly done. Again, easily fixed and tedious. Watch some YouTube videos if you don't know anything about weaving. And then watch some more. The more you watch, the more familiar you get with the weaving vocabulary and how it's supposed to work. I've never woven before, but I'm glad I started with this little loom, because I didn't have to dump a load of money on something I didn't know whether I'd like it or not. I'm really enjoying learning on this loom. And it can fold, making it portable. I replaced the two screws on the sides with bolts that have knobs so they're easily removed and allow it to fold. (Look up M6 knob screw.) This makes it easy to put away or take with you anywhere. Recommended.

The shipping box was smashed, and one end was popped open; there was no printed box within the shipping box - but the loom and all its parts and some printed instructions was all stuffed inside. I even got the large ball of variegated blue and white yarn, as well as four shuttles, 3 having each red, blue, and yellow yarn on them. Nothing was broken, nothing was missing, so I lucked up. The loom was easy to "assemble"; basically unfold it and lift the two angled side bars into place, insert one screw in each, and tighten the warp threads already on it. It works nicely, and can easily be folded for storage when not in use, even with a project on it. I had a very similar loom like this decades ago, but the rigid heddles on that one broke - and I couldn't find any replacements back then. Now, I can order replacement rigid heddles in metal when the plastic ones break or wear out - meaning I can get the metal ones from another company when the time comes. Yes, this is listed as a toy - but it is sturdy enough to make actual fabric on it - and can create fabric pieces yards long, despite the narrow weaving width. I just join pieces together by sewing the selvage edges together to make wider fabric. I love how this loom doesn't take much space, but is a fully-functional loom, with TWO rigid heddles, and a reed. The design is simple, making it easier to fix, and sturdy, but light and small enough to take along. I suppose I will use it as a guide to "scale up" and create a slightly larger version for my own use eventually. If the company ever makes a larger version of this loom, PLEASE let me know.... I'd buy it if the quality is on par, and the pricing as economical as this one's.

I like the heddle loom itself, it is fairly well made for a "toy" but after weaving the 3 colors of yarn already wrapped on 3 of the 4 shuttles I had no idea how to tie the different colored yarns together so chose to use a slip knot whiich wasn't ideal but allowed me to continue. But when I finished with them I had no idea how to use the skein of yarn included in the kit since it doesn't tell you how to wind a shuttle with it or how much. Also, there is absolutely NO INSTRUCTIONS AS TO HOW TO FINISH THE PROJECT, AND BEGIN A NEW ONE, NOR HOW TO START A BRAND NEW PROJECT FROM SCRATCH (how to re-thread the loom itself)!!!! I like the loom well enough to search for a book on how to do all of that here on Amazon ["Learning to Weave" by Debrah Chandler] which I will purchase in order to make use of this loom. One of this product's "bullet" points said it "Comes with a menu for easy installations and operations.." and I thought there would be a link to go online to get further instructions but there is nothing but the small blue colored pamphlet which another customer had posted a photo of. A bit disappointing. As my photos show, I have woven the 3 colors. I do like that this loom has the "comb" as an integral part of the loom rather than having it as a separate piece, makes it a bit easier for a true novice to not have too many pieces to keep track of. I did find that winding and unwinding the front and back rods where the woven part and excess yarn are wound up on to be a little difficult without an outside winding mechanism; the front rod did not want to turn more than a half turn either way so finally decided to really force it (one must turn the rods with the "gear-wheel") and hope I didn't break anything! It finally let go, not sure if there was a little bit of glue that got on it within the recessed hole or a burr of un-smooth wood since the rods are held into the frame with a permanent rivet and not removable. I would recommend this loom IF the one who is going to use it either has the basic knowledge of how to use a loom and weave or has access to someone who does who may help them.

This is a good toy level of heddle loom for a child or a beginning weaver. It comes pre-warped, so one of the biggest issues is going to be the warp not being tight or uniform enough. I made a few adjustments for my niece so that she could get the stick shuttle through as it was loose on the ends. The dual heddle is connected via strings which are going to loosen relatively quickly, but since it's held together with string, it'll allow me to fix it relatively easily, I might use some stronger cord to fix that in the longer run. It also comes with some Red Yellow and Blue Yarn. Mine did not have the ball of yarn which was unfortunate but my niece is in love and that yarn is pretty standard cheap yarn so even tho the yarn is missing, I'm not holding it against this product. However, if you don't have a hoard of yarn, the yarn on the sticks won't last. You cannot remove the Red Piece. I myself am a beginner weaver and I haven't really tried the loom out but I suspect this would be a good toy for someone to play around with before investing in an expensive loom and associated heddles and try out some basic heddle weaving and or some patterns you might want to visualize.

This is a fun toy loom but the learning curve and setup can be a bit steep for beginners. I took a basic weaving class in college 20 years ago so I understood the concept and basic operation so I have an advantage. Yes, the warp threads on this do not have even tension which will be a problem to weave on. Through trial and error, I ended up unwinding everything and making knots on the ends of the loose ones to even them out. I will fix it better when I rewarp it. It is very fun to use once it's set up properly and works similar to how a floor one would. I am a Scouting Textiles Merit Badge Counselor and this was a very good loom to explain the different parts and terminology and show how it works. At the end of the session I taught, the Scouts had fun playing with the loom and trying their hand at weaving.