How much does the Schacht Baby Wolf cost?

The Schacht Baby Wolf starts at approximately $2,386 for the 26-inch 4-shaft model, based on The Woolery's pricing verified June 2026. The 36-inch model runs higher, and the 45-inch wider. Schacht sells through authorized dealers, not direct and not Amazon. Prices vary slightly by dealer; the figures above are retail, not sale.

What is the difference between the Baby Wolf and the Wolf Pup?

The Wolf Pup LT is a compact 18-inch entry floor loom at a lower price; the Baby Wolf starts at 26 inches and is the full-size compact model. The Wolf Pup LT is designed for narrower work like scarves, kitchen towels, and samplers; the Baby Wolf is designed for production weaving: towels, yardage, clothing, blanket panels. Both are 4-shaft. Most weavers who outgrow rigid heddle skip the Wolf Pup and buy a Baby Wolf directly.

Does the Schacht Baby Wolf fold for storage?

Yes. The Baby Wolf folds to move through a standard 30-inch doorway: the breast beam folds down, the beater lifts off, and the treadles fold up. It does not fold for compact daily storage the way a Cricket folds; it folds to relocate between rooms or apartments. Most owners set it up and leave it set up.

Is the Schacht Baby Wolf good for a beginner to floor looms?

Yes. The Baby Wolf is one of the most-recommended first floor looms because the tie-up system is straightforward, the treadles have a predictable action, and Schacht's customer service and tutorial support is excellent. Beginners who move to floor looms from rigid heddle typically buy a Baby Wolf or a Leclerc Nilus, both the same class of recommendation.

Can I buy a Schacht Baby Wolf on Amazon?

No. Schacht sells exclusively through authorized dealers. Floor looms in this class (Schacht, Leclerc, Macomber) do not sell via Amazon or general online retail. You buy through a dealer: The Woolery, Halcyon Yarn, Gist Yarn, or a local weaving shop. This is standard for all floor looms above $1,500.

Schacht Baby Wolf Review: The Institutional Floor Loom

The Schacht Baby Wolf is the most-recommended first floor loom in US weaving, and the reputation is earned. It starts at $2,386 for the 26-inch 4-shaft model, weighs 68 pounds, folds to pass through a 30-inch doorway, and has been built in hard maple since 1976. The one caveat is what it is not.

Weighed & Judged

Spec	Baby Wolf (4-shaft, 26”)	Baby Wolf (4-shaft, 36”)
Weaving width	26”	36”
Weaving depth	54”	54”
Folded dimensions	~48” × 32”	~48” × 40”
Weight (assembled)	~68 lbs	~75 lbs
Number of shafts	4	4
Number of treadles	6	6
Tie-up method	Schacht direct tie-up	Schacht direct tie-up
Reed type	Inserted reed	Inserted reed
Beam type	Sectional or plain	Sectional or plain
Folding	Yes (doorway-ready)	Yes (doorway-ready)
Construction	Hard maple	Hard maple
Price (new, 2026)	From $2,386	Higher
Dealer-only	Yes	Yes

The 6 treadles on a 4-shaft loom is a considered design. Six treadles allow a direct tie-up that covers the most common 4-shaft structures (twills, plain weave, and most overshot treadlings) without re-tying between projects. Weavers doing multi-block patterns that need more than six treadle combinations will re-tie for specific projects; for everyday weaving, six is the right number.

The hard maple construction is the same material as the Cricket and the Wolf Pup. Schacht’s quality control on maple selection and joint fitting is consistent across the line, which is why Schacht floor looms have a long useful life and hold resale value better than comparable-price competitors.

A traditional manual handloom with beater, heddle, warp beam, and cloth beam showing the complete structure of a floor loom — The structural logic of any floor loom: warp beam at the back, heddles controlling shaft lifts, beater pressing picks into the cloth, cloth beam advancing at the front. The Baby Wolf uses the same architecture in a compact hard-maple frame that fits through a standard doorway. *Papari Bara via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.*

What do owners say about the Baby Wolf?

Owners consistently describe it as forgiving and well-supported: assembly takes about a day, warping is straightforward, and the treadle action is light and predictable. Ravelry’s equipment forums carry several hundred posts on Baby Wolf experience across the 2023 to 2025 period. The consistent themes:

Assembly takes a day. Most owners report 4 to 8 hours for first assembly, working from Schacht’s written and video instructions. The instructions are accurate. The joints are wood-on-wood and fit precisely; the most common delay is hesitating at the treadle tie-up rather than a mechanical problem. Second and third assembly (after moving) typically runs 2 to 3 hours.

Warp chains are easy. The back beam, tensioning system, and lease sticks work straightforwardly. Direct-from-hand-warping is possible; most Baby Wolf owners learn the warping-board method within the first few warps.

Treadle action is light. A common comparison from weavers who have used other brands: the Baby Wolf’s treadle feel is lighter than a Macomber or Nilus, heavier than a Toika or Glimakra. Most weavers describe it as “predictable” without strong positive or negative valence.

The folding works. The complaint that occasionally surfaces in forums is not that folding is hard, but that it is slightly time-consuming (perhaps 15 minutes) compared to leaving the loom in place. Weavers who fold frequently (apartment dwellers, those with shared studio space) report this is fine. Weavers who assumed the loom would fold to a small closet footprint are sometimes surprised; the folded dimensions are still substantial.

Spec scorecard for the Schacht Baby Wolf 4-shaft floor loom: weaving widths 26, 36, and 45 inches, 6 treadles, hard maple, in production since 1976, from $2,386, about 68 to 75 pounds, folds to clear a 30-inch doorway, dealer-only — The Baby Wolf weighed and judged: a 4-shaft, 6-treadle compact floor loom in hard maple, from $2,386, that folds to clear a standard 30-inch doorway. *Wool Hall original diagram.*

Is the Baby Wolf worth its price per inch?

Measured against other floor looms it is, but never against a rigid heddle: the floor loom buys structure, not width. At $2,386 for 26 inches, the Baby Wolf costs $91.77 per inch of weaving width. At the 36-inch model, the math improves. For comparison, the Ashford 24-inch Rigid Heddle Loom is $13.13 per inch, but that comparison is the wrong one. A rigid heddle makes plain weave and simple float patterns. A floor loom makes twills, overshot, deflected doubleweave, and anything else 4-shaft weaving can produce. The comparison that matters is Baby Wolf against other floor looms in the same class.

Floor loom	Weaving width	Approx. price (new)	Notes
Schacht Wolf Pup LT	18”	$1,963	Entry; narrower projects, folds to 16” depth
Schacht Baby Wolf	26”	~$2,386	Standard 4-shaft compact
Schacht Baby Wolf	36”	Higher	Wider yardage
Leclerc Nilus II	36”	~$2,000–$2,500	Common alternative; Canadian manufacture
Macomber Add-a-Harness	36”	~$3,000+	Robust; expandable to 8 shafts

The Baby Wolf and Nilus II are the two most-recommended entry floor looms in the US and Canadian market. Schacht and Leclerc both have strong dealer networks, good support, and long production histories. The choice often comes down to aesthetic preference (the Baby Wolf’s maple vs. the Nilus’s oak finish) and dealer proximity for assembly help or follow-up service.

Historical photograph of a woman weaving at a loom, cloth building on the breast beam in an even, consistent weave structure — The floor loom in use: the weaver at the treadles, cloth advancing on the breast beam. The Baby Wolf produces this same steady output: consistent structure, even tension, cloth that comes off the loom ready to wet-finish into a usable textile. *Elna M. de Neergaard weaving via Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.*

Hall Records: how much do used Baby Wolf looms cost?

Complete 26-inch Baby Wolves typically sell used for $900 to $1,400 (full figures below), and the loom holds resale value unusually well for studio equipment. Reasons: it is in continuous production (not discontinued, not “vintage”), demand consistently outpaces supply on the used market, and the hard maple construction means a well-kept 20-year-old Baby Wolf is mechanically equivalent to a new one.

Typical used prices observed 2024–2025:

26” 4-shaft, complete with reed and accessories: $900 to $1,400
36” 4-shaft, complete: $1,200 to $1,800
Incomplete sets or project looms: $500 to $900

The used market for Baby Wolves is active primarily through Ravelry’s For Sale forums, estate sales listed through local weaving guilds, and Facebook Marketplace listings in fiber-arts groups. Craig’s List finds are rarer but exist, usually priced at the lower end by sellers who are not weavers.

A used Baby Wolf at $900 to $1,100 complete is one of the best values in weaving equipment if the condition is sound. What to inspect: warping beam and front beam for cracks at the tenon joints, treadle bar connection points for wear, and the reed (if included) for bent dents. A Baby Wolf with sound maple and a worn reed is a straightforward buy; reeds are sold separately by Schacht dealers for under $100.

Hands working yarn at a weaving setup, fiber and textile tools visible on the work surface — The used Baby Wolf market means most buyers in this class are buying a 15 to 20-year-old loom in full working order for 40 to 60 cents on the dollar. The hard maple holds its alignment; the cloth it produces is identical to a new one off the dealer floor. *Karola G (kaboompics.com) via Pexels. Pexels License.*

Choose the Baby Wolf instead of the Nilus if…

You want direct buy-in to the Schacht accessory ecosystem (the Baby Wolf and Cricket share compatible accessories), you prefer the folding design for a shared-space studio, your dealer is Schacht-primary, or you simply prefer maple to the Nilus’s construction style.

Choose the Nilus instead of the Baby Wolf if…

Your local dealer is Leclerc-primary (service and parts proximity matters more than brand), you want slightly lower new price at comparable widths, or you prefer the Nilus’s wider treadle spacing.

Choose something other than either if…

You want 8-shaft weaving from the start. The Baby Wolf is a 4-shaft loom (an 8-shaft version exists but is less common and not the entry model). If you already know you want double-weave, network drafts, or advanced overshot, look at the Macomber Add-a-Harness or a direct 8-shaft loom like the Schacht Cranbrook.

You want to weave blankets wider than 45 inches in a single pass. The Baby Wolf’s widest model is 45 inches, which handles most yardage. For wide blankets and doubleweave open cloth, you want a wider loom than the Baby Wolf offers.

For the entry-level rigid heddle context this loom steps up from, see the Schacht Cricket review or the best rigid heddle loom guide. The Cricket Quartet add-on is the intermediate stop between rigid heddle and the Baby Wolf for weavers who are not ready to commit to a floor loom.