Which Ashford rigid heddle loom should a beginner buy?

The 16-inch SampleIt is the right first loom for most beginners. At $255, it weaves scarves, table runners, and towels comfortably, costs less than the Rigid Heddle Loom or Knitters Loom, and fits on any table. The 10-inch SampleIt at $225 suits very tight spaces or travel only. Step up to the full Rigid Heddle Loom at 24 inches or wider if you already know you want to weave blanket panels or wider yardage.

What is the difference between the Ashford SampleIt and the Rigid Heddle Loom?

The SampleIt (10" and 16") is lighter, simpler, and cheaper. It comes with a 7.5-dent heddle, two stick shuttles, clamps, and a warping peg. The Rigid Heddle Loom ($315 in all four widths: 16", 24", 32", 48") adds double heddle blocks with notches for a second-heddle setup and an instructional booklet, and it covers much wider weaving widths. Both are New Zealand Silver Beech.

Is the Ashford Knitters Loom worth the extra cost?

If you need a loom that folds for travel and comes with a padded carry bag, yes. The Knitters Loom ships fully assembled, includes 10 warping sticks, and folds to a compact package at a premium of roughly $84 over the SampleIt 16-inch. If you weave at home and never carry the loom anywhere, the SampleIt or Rigid Heddle Loom gives you the same cloth at a lower price.

How does the Ashford 7.5-dent reed compare to the Schacht 8-dent?

Very little difference in practice. An 8-dent reed spaces 8 warp threads per inch; a 7.5-dent spaces 7.5. Both work well for worsted-weight wool and DK, the typical beginner yarn. The 8-dent is marginally better for medium-fine yarns; the 7.5-dent is marginally more forgiving for bulky. Neither will stop you from learning, and both manufacturers sell alternative reeds in other dents.

Can the Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom use two heddles?

Yes. The full Rigid Heddle Loom has built-in double heddle blocks with notches that hold a second heddle in position for more complex sheds. The SampleIt also supports a second heddle but with a separate heddle block accessory. The Knitters Loom includes a set of second heddle blocks in the box.

Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom Review: The Full Family Decoded

Item: Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom
Author: The Wool Hall Team

The Ashford rigid heddle family runs three models: the SampleIt, the full Rigid Heddle Loom, and the Knitters Loom. They cover 10 to 48 inches of weaving width at $225 to $399, all in New Zealand Silver Beech. For most weavers the right first loom is the 16-inch SampleIt, wide enough for a real scarf and priced below the competition.

The rest of the family decodes from there, with specs verified in June 2026 on Gist Yarn and The Woolery, owner reports from Ravelry and retailer reviews, and the width-per-dollar comparison against the Schacht Cricket that every new weaver eventually runs.

What are the three Ashford rigid heddle looms?

The three are the SampleIt (entry-level), the full Rigid Heddle Loom (the wide-width step up), and the Knitters Loom (the fold-and-travel model). The names do not make the differences obvious, so here is what each one is.

The SampleIt ($225 for the 10-inch, $255 for the 16-inch) is Ashford’s entry-level rigid heddle, described by the manufacturer as “inexpensive, compact and cute without sacrificing function.” It comes with a 7.5-dent heddle, two stick shuttles, clamps, a double-end threading hook, a weaving peg, and a warping guide. The frame is Silver Beech with ratchets and clicker pawls that prevent the warp from unwinding accidentally. Assembly required. The second-heddle option is built in (available with a separate heddle block). This is the loom most Ashford weavers buy first.

The Rigid Heddle Loom (all four widths at $315: 16-inch, 24-inch, 32-inch, and 48-inch) is the step up. What you get for the extra money over the SampleIt 16-inch is width: 16”, 24”, 32”, and 48” weaving widths all priced identically at $315. At 24 inches you can weave a kitchen towel in one pass. At 48 inches you can weave blanket yardage. The Rigid Heddle Loom adds double heddle blocks with notches (proper two-heddle setup without a separate accessory), an instructional booklet, and the same Silver Beech construction. The SampleIt 16-inch and Rigid Heddle 16-inch sit $60 apart; that $60 mostly buys the two-heddle hardware and the wider options available in the same model family.

The Knitters Loom ($399 in 12-inch, 20-inch, and 28-inch widths) is the travel model. It ships fully assembled with a lacquered finish, includes 10 warping sticks, a padded carry bag, locking tension pawls, and second heddle blocks. It adjusts to multiple working angles. The 12x16-inch unfolded footprint on the 12-inch model, 24x24-inch on the 28-inch, makes it genuinely portable in a way the other models are not. You pay the premium for the bag and the fold, not for better weaving.

A weaver passing a stick shuttle through the open shed on a rigid heddle loom — Shuttling through the open shed: the heddle up, the warp divided, the shuttle carrying the weft through in one pass. This is how every yard of cloth on an Ashford starts. *Karola G (kaboompics.com) via Pexels. Pexels License.*

Weighed and Judged

Prices and specs verified June 2026 at Gist Yarn (SampleIt) and The Woolery (Rigid Heddle Loom, Knitters Loom).

Model	Widths	Price	Included	Material
SampleIt	10”, 16”	$225 / $255	7.5-dent heddle, 2 shuttles, clamps, threading hook, warping peg, warping guide	Silver Beech
Rigid Heddle Loom	16”, 24”, 32”, 48”	$315 (all widths)	7.5-dent heddle, 2 shuttles, threading hook, clamps, warping peg + clamp, instructional booklet, double heddle blocks	Silver Beech
Knitters Loom	12”, 20”, 28”	$399 (all widths)	7.5-dent heddle, 2 shuttles, warping peg + clamp, locking tension pawls, 2nd heddle blocks, threading hook, 10 warping sticks, padded carry bag, instructions	Silver Beech, lacquered

The Rigid Heddle Loom’s flat pricing is the detail that matters. Ashford charges the same $315 whether you buy 16 inches or 48 inches of weaving width. That means the 24-inch is an almost identical deal to the 16-inch, and the 48-inch is genuinely remarkable value per inch if width is your goal. The SampleIt uses the same flat-price logic within its two widths: $225 and $255 with only a $30 gap for an extra 6 inches.

What do Ashford owners consistently report?

Owners consistently praise two things: the deep accessory ecosystem and the solid Silver Beech frame. Across Ravelry’s weaving groups and retailer review threads, the Ashford rigid heddle family draws that reliable band of praise alongside a consistent pair of complaints.

The praise centers on the accessory ecosystem. Ashford sells more heddle dents (5, 7.5, 10, and 12.5), more stands, more rigid heddle kits, and more compatible accessories than any other rigid-heddle maker. If you want to swap reeds mid-project, add a floor stand, or rig up a two-heddle setup, Ashford has a part for it. This matters more than beginners expect: a 7.5-dent reed is a fine default, but worsted-weight knitting yarn often looks better at 8 or 10 epi, and a different sett is all that separates a sloppy weave from a clean one.

The Silver Beech construction also draws consistent approval. Beech is a denser, harder wood than the maple and MDF mix used on cheaper looms, and owners who have used both comment on the smooth action of the pawls and the fact that the frame does not flex under tension the way a lighter loom does.

The complaints are two. First: the included 7.5-dent reed is the only one in the box, and a first project that calls for a different sett requires a second purchase. Second: the ratchet-and-pawl mechanism is good but not as refined as the Schacht Cricket’s, and a small number of Ravelry forum members mention the pawl slipping on longer warps. Both are minor, real, and easily managed.

Weighed and Judged scorecard for the Ashford full Rigid Heddle Loom: weaving widths 16 to 48 inches, one included 7.5-dent reed, New Zealand Silver Beech, two-heddle blocks built in, $315 flat across every width, cost per inch falling from $19.69 to $6.56 — The full Rigid Heddle Loom on one ledger: the flat $315 price means the wider you buy, the lower the cost per inch falls, from $19.69 at 16 inches to $6.56 at 48 inches. *Wool Hall original diagram.*

How does Ashford compare to the Schacht Cricket on price?

At 10 and 15 to 16 inches the two are within a few dollars; from 24 inches up, Ashford wins decisively on cost per inch. Here is the full Ashford family alongside the Schacht Cricket, with prices verified June 2026.

Loom	Weaving width	Price	Cost per inch
Ashford SampleIt	10”	$225	$22.50
Schacht Cricket	10”	~$229	$22.90
Ashford SampleIt	16”	$255	$15.94
Schacht Cricket	15”	~$246	$16.40
Ashford Rigid Heddle	16”	$315	$19.69
Ashford Rigid Heddle	24”	$315	$13.13
Ashford Rigid Heddle	32”	$315	$9.84
Ashford Rigid Heddle	48”	$315	$6.56

Two things fall out of that table clearly. At 10 inches and 15–16 inches, the SampleIt and the Cricket sit within a few dollars and a dent-and-a-half of each other. The choice between them at that price point comes down to feel, wood preference, and which ecosystem you want to grow into. At 24 inches and wider, Ashford wins on cost per inch and it isn’t close: $13.13 per inch at 24 inches and $6.56 at 48 inches. A 48-inch Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom at $315 is the cheapest wide-weaving loom in the class.

The SampleIt 16-inch is also the narrowest-gap entry on this table: $255 for 16 inches at $15.94 per inch beats the Schacht Cricket 15-inch at $16.40. If your goal is the widest weave for the least money, the 16-inch SampleIt is the right buy.

Historical photograph of a woman weaving at a floor loom, hands at the beater, cloth building on the breast beam — Weaving is the same action on a rigid heddle and a floor loom: warp under tension, shuttle passing through the shed, beater pressing each pick into the cloth. The Ashford handles everything up to the complexity a rigid heddle allows. *Elna M. de Neergaard weaving via Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.*

What can the Ashford rigid heddle weave?

It weaves plain-weave cloth by default, with a pick-up stick or second heddle expanding the structure vocabulary, the same as any rigid heddle. A 16-inch loom weaves scarves, kitchen towels (cut and hem), table runners, and narrow yardage. A 24-inch loom weaves standard towels, placemats, and wider cloth you’d actually use as fabric. A 48-inch loom weaves blanket yardage in a single pass, which no rigid heddle loom in this family could do at the SampleIt’s width.

The two-heddle setup, available on all three models, adds simple twill-like structures and double-width weaving (weave a doubled-width cloth, unfold it to double the finished width). It is not 4-shaft twill, but it is substantially more than plain weave with a single heddle.

What it cannot do, as with any rigid heddle: independent shaft weaving, complex overshot, anything requiring more than two sheds in the base structure. That is floor-loom territory. The Ashford rigid heddle family is the right tool for cloth you actually use, at a table, without a dedicated studio.

Young women weaving at looms in a school workshop, each working at a separate loom with colorful yarns strung as warp — Weaving as practice: the school workshop and the home rigid heddle share the same core mechanics: warp under tension, heddle creating the shed, shuttle carrying the weft. The Ashford's Silver Beech construction is built for that same consistent, repeatable use. *Girls Weaving at the School of Arts via Wikimedia Commons. CC0.*

What do used Ashford rigid heddle looms cost?

Used SampleIt looms run roughly $100 to $175, and wider full Rigid Heddle Looms list around $150 to $250 against $315 new. The used Ashford market is more active than the Cricket’s, partly because the wider models are more expensive and partly because Ashford has been in production long enough that older versions circulate. The format has barely changed, so a five-year-old Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom is functionally the same as a new one.

Those SampleIt figures swing with width and which accessories come along, and the saving on the wider full Rigid Heddle Looms (the $150 to $250 band against $315 new) is the meaningful one. Check the heddle carefully on any used Ashford: the 7.5-dent polycarbonate heddle is the most likely part to be warped or cracked from overtightening. A replacement runs around $35 to $50 depending on width.

Choose the Cricket instead if…

The Ashford is our recommendation for wide weaving on a budget. Choose the Schacht Cricket if:

You want the best-supported beginner ecosystem. The Cricket has more tutorials, more YouTube walkthroughs, and more Ravelry posts than any other rigid heddle loom. The learning curve is the same, but more people have walked it on a Cricket.
You want a 4-shaft upgrade path. The Cricket Quartet ($497) converts the 15-inch Cricket into a 4-shaft loom. Ashford has no comparable add-on.
You prefer 8-dent as the default. The Cricket’s 8-dent reed handles a slightly broader worsted/DK weight range than the Ashford’s 7.5-dent. One dent is not a deal-breaker, but if you’re buying extra reeds anyway, it’s worth noting.

For the full head-to-head with spec tables and a verdict by buyer type, see Schacht Cricket vs Ashford rigid heddle. To start weaving on whichever loom you choose, the rigid heddle first project walks through a first warp with real yarn quantities. When you’re ready for the full field ranked by width and budget, best rigid heddle loom is the next door.