CinDwood Looms What’s Good and What’s Not
I want to give you the information necessary to know if a CinDWood Looms are right for you. There are some GREAT things about this line of knitting loom and some that you may not like. I will break it down in this terms; construction and materials, availability, options (like size and type), price, customer service, the negative issues and when is it not a good idea to buy a CinDWood Looms.
It was difficult for me to decide if to start with what is best or what is wrong because my aim is that you stay with me til the end on this review because it’s only fair to me and to CinDwood Crafts that you hear me out completely. So, if you don’t want to read there is always the video you can quickly watch. But even there I hope you will watch it from beginning to the end.
Let’s Start with what I like.
All Image Credit: CinDWood Crafts
Pros of CinDwood Looms
The Construction / Materials:
The full company name is CindWood Crafts Premium Knitting Looms. The name fits them to the T. These really are premium looms. High-end, high quality, hand-made looms. They look good and they’re good looms. I am proud to say they are American Made.
The base of the loom is made of MDF ( Medium Density Fiberboard) which is basically compressed wood and glue. This was used for smoothness and to avoid slivers.
The Pegs:
The pegs are key to whether the loom is usable or not and these are among the best without a doubt. A lot of thought was put into the design and the material. I would NEVER recommend the Boye loom, and that is because of their pegs. If you want to see my review on those looms, Click HERE. On the other hand CinDwood looms pegs are perfect.
Made of a Nylon material they’re strong but flexible. You need that when you’re doing cables and other tight designs.
The shaping is ideal. It has grooves that are deep enough to get your hook tip correctly situated. The head shape allows you to pull your loops off when you want them off but it’s wide enough to keep them on the loom when you want them to stay.
By-the-way, you can buy these pegs separately for $0.15 which is crazy cheap. The odds of you needing these to replace on your loom are little to none. I personally don’t know of anyone who has ever broken one of these pegs. But this is super cool if you want to make your own loom.
Variety in Size and Type : These folks have gotten busy making a lot of sizes and shapes available to their customers. Round, long, S and others.
They have the KK Purple Loom Twin: So lately I’ve seen the Knfity Knitter purple loom sell for as much as $100. If you don’t believe me, well a picture is worth a thousand words. Click HERE. You can now get one for $22.00 and it’s by far a better loom.
The Website: They have a great website. Nice layout, easy navigation and the search button really does work. You can find what you need without needing a IT degree. Ordering is smooth and flawless. I was very impressed.
International Shipping: They ship internationally which was surprising to me considering their small size. It takes a bit longer but for folks in certain areas of the world this is Huge. Contact their customer service for more exact information.
The People: I’m going to try to make this short which will be VERY difficult for me. If you ever have to communicate with anyone in this company you’ll understand why some folks are such loyalist when it comes to this brand. These folks care – they will make it right. You Will be happy with your customer service experience. Please read the short bios on the site, they are super cute. My Favorite is Wendy, she has 7 kids, foster kids and exchange students but she still gets your looms out on time. Hello !
Here is my one sentence attempt to describe them, It’s a Product with a Heart – A Good Heart.
Cons of CinDWood Looms
Yes I do have some Cons – hopefully no one from my Ravelry group will read this because some might hate me for life. They are Hard Core – I call them CinDnites.
I do want to say that even the few areas where I seem to be complaining – they are issues that are either temporary or not necessarily major. I only have one issue where I can not budge. I feel strongly about that one and it’s the reason I put it at the end. Some will disagree with me and I have no problem with that. It can’t be help and it’s just the nature of this product. Some times a good thing is not the right thing. Frosting on cupcakes is delicious but on a grilled steak it’s nasty. That does not make the frosting bad or not worth your money it’s just not the right call for certain scenarios. So let’s start with those Cons.
Price: So even though I don’t consider this a fair comparison, I have to use it because this is the comparison the average consumer is going to use. If I go online and enter the words “knitting looms” or if I go into my local craft store in the US, I will find that the average cost for a set of 4 knitting looms is $14.00 to $18.00. A set of 4 CinDwood looms is $60.00 – $64.00.
Availability: Currently you can only get CinDwood Looms from them. It is not at any local brick and mortar store near you or any other online outlet. They are it – unless someone is selling their used looms on say eBay. I have to warn you that is a rarity most owners are NOT going to sell these once they own them.
Patterns: Pattern are not in abundance. Most designers make their patterns to be used with the mass marketed plastic knitting looms like the Knifty Knitter. But that is changing. The folks at CinDCrafts are working hard to get us designers to do more patterns using their product. Did I tell you these folks are very smart?
NOT Right for Beginners: I don’t have a lot of wiggle room here. I just don’t like high count, small gauge, expense looms for beginners and especially not for kids. I teach loom knitting to beginners and I feel strongly about this one. Some people will not agree with me and I’m OK with that. To read more on this Click HERE
My Conclusion
CinDWood Looms are superbly made with ideal materials for the purpose. Outstanding craftsmanship. There is a large enough selection for what ever your knitting needs. A big plus is their Customer service which is unbelievably awesome. It’s so rare to encounter a manufacturer that truly cares about not just their product but the people who buy them.
Your knitted items will look amazing. A tight beautiful stitch is 99.9% guaranteed. I don’t say 100% because there are folks that can make a Cherib ugly if they just touch the little guy.
They are Pricey but Quality is Priceless.
GREAT looms. Period
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Video: CinDWood Looms Product Review
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Tagged: knitting looms, loom, looms
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I have tried to make purchase, having trouble with pay pal, is there another way that I can order?
Hi Joe – I don’t sell looms – I only reviewed the product. Here is a link to CinDwood Looms: Click HERE
I have a question. I’ve some older looms made by C.A. Bounce of Washington. These looms look like the CinDwood looms. Are they an older version. The pegs are 1/2 inch apart.
Hi Amy – sorry – I don’t know – but I would think not. CinDwood had never been in Washington and they never bought-out another loom distributor but your looms may be comparable depending on the size of the base.
Could I use these cind looms with one of your tutorials?
Yes – which loom do you have – they should all work – it’s more about the diameter of the loom then the peg count
Hi Denise,
Any thoughts on their picks? I need a new loom knitting and I like that theirs looks like its solid metal.
I prefer the KB hook to use with their looms – the Knifty Knitter with a grip for all others: Click HERE
Hi!
I own more than ten CindWood looms (I prefer not to know the exact number) and really love them all.
My main concern when purchasing them is postage fees as I live in France. The best to do is buynig many looms together because of high postage fee (it quickly reaches $ 60). But an intersting thing when you buy a lot of looms together is that you get some free extras in your parcel. In my last order, I got an extra big loom (long adult hat loom) plus a pattern book. I bought for a little over $ 200 of looms. I really love knitting on these looms. I started to plan my third order because they started making looms with smaller gauge. I am making a list of all sizes and gauges I could enjoy working with. I need to take my time and think well because I cannot afford to order often.
What I love with CindWood business is their ability to listen to their customers and how they end up making their wishes true. See, it started with customers saying that they would enjoy peg number one being in a contrasting colour (they used to just colour the top of the peg with black marker and colour fades fast). And here came black pegs. Later, some customers asked whether they could make other colours of pegs and then came purple pegs. Later, more colours appeared : red, green and now pink. People wanted all pegs with coloured pegs and they did it!
People kept asking whether it would be possible for them to make smaller gauge and they found a way to make them! they initially only made 1/2 inch gauge, then added 3/4 inch, then 5/8, and recently started with 3/8 and 1/4 (only on a few looms). They will soon have the small gauges on all sizes and shapes.
Thanks for you good review about CindWood looms. And thanks for reading me. Sorry about the length of my comment…
I have the cindiwood 48 peg and I have only used it once. I did not knit really tight but I struggled to knit the yarn over the pegs. It was so tight I thought the pegs would break. There was no way I could decrease the crown of my hat because i could not move the yarn over. Do you have to knit extra loose on these looms.
Not “extra”loose but yes bit loose.
Sometimes we think we need to knit tight for the stitches to look right – but that’s not necessary. With this loom your stitches always look nice.
Hope that helps
While I enjoy knitting on a variety looms, CinDWood looms are a solid quality product per your review. As for your cons … being able to order a loom 24/7 is hardly a downside. As a small artisan-business owner, I can tell you that when you find my products in a brick & mortar store, you will be paying more for them due to the overhead associated with doing so. There are over 2,000 loom-knitting patterns on Ravelry alone and many are written (or adaptable) to the gauges that CinDWood sells. As for price, these looms are comparable with other looms of the same quality.
Thanks for getting the loom-knitting word out there!
Hi , I must say – CinDwood has a lot of admires and I promise that I am one of them. Folks totally misunderstood me when I said the price was a problem. This is NOT a problem for me. It is a problem for the average consumer. When I teach a loom knitting class of 15 – 25 people not one of them walks in with a Cindwood loom nor would I recommend them to my beginners. Would I once I know that they’re all in – YES ! They are AWESOME looms.
As far as the Ravelry patterns – yes they are adjustable but the average beginner is having trouble just reading the pattern much less adjusting.
So, did you read my conclusion? I think they are more then worth the price. I’m just glad I didn’t buy one for my daughter who loom knit one hat and then never picked it up again. I’m still hoping she will change her mind and then guess what I would be getting her for Christmas – Oh Yeah! – Her own CinDwood Looms !
Hi Denise,
First of all, I would like to say Thank You for all your efforts. Your website and You Tube channel have been a huge help to me! I appreciate all of the knowledge you share, and I love your personality. 🙂
Now for my question…I am new to loom knitting, and I have made several hats/scarves with larger gauge looms (Loops & Threads brand). I have been thinking about purchasing a smaller gauge loom to try, but I’m not sure about spending a lot of money just yet. Would you recommend I invest in the KB Adjustable Hat Loom as a beginner?
Thank you again for all your help!
I like it a lot Christine – I would however suggest that you use a coupon – even if you order it online. I found that Joanns was my best bet: Click Here
You can also try eBay
– Amazon seems to be the most expensive but I believe they almost always have it in stock
I do think this is a fair review and I can agree with concerns about the price but your price quote is misleading. One loom is much less than a combo set. I also don’t agree that they’re not good for beginners. I would say for “tryers” to buy the plastic craft store brand and for those who become loom knitters and are beginners to try *one* Cindwood whiich could be had for under $25. Once your hooked on the brand it’s a choice to purchase more.
Unfortunately it’s becoming harder and harder to buy looms individually. Since CinDwood is only available on-line when you do the product search you will find mostly sets and even individually you will still spend about $10.00 ( without including the shipping cost ) more for 1 CinDwood as oppose to $14-$16 for the 4 piece set for say Darice. I do consider beginners “tryers”. I have had a few of them in my loom knitting classes – especially kids. They like things for like 1 minute. If they like looming with the set the can try lots of patterns – you can make A LOT of things with a 4 pcs set of round plastic $14 looms – once you are ready for advanced patterns I would say don’t bother with the individual CinDwood – the shipping will eat you up – just go for the set. It’s a GREAT product with a fair price – that doesn’t keep it from being expensive. A Lexus is a great car at a fair price – I won’t buy one for my 18 year old – he gets the old Ford Truck until he’s a better driver.
I hear what you’re saying. And I consider all kids tryers until they’re interested in intermediate projects. It just in the nature of kids to have shorter lengths of attention with different crafting projects. I’m more thinking of adult tryers and beginners. I’ve met quite a few adults that knew within a project or two that they were into loom knitting for the long haul. I’m one. If it’s a hobby then better tools are are just part of it. I do understand that Cindwoods are not for everyone and that there are other knitting looms out there. I also like buying from good people so Cindwood and Cottage are always at the top of my list, along with some small indie loom makers.
I will venture to say that we agree WAY way …more then we disagree. Re-read my conclusion.
Yes, you are quite right and like I said, a completely fair review.
I love my CinDwood looms, I am a newbie at looming, but I have learned so many new stitches from video’s. I only own 5 Cindwood looms so far.. I do own a lot of KK, bought way back from Provo Craft, I also love my purple one. The one thing I prefer the pegs on KK, only because the slit goes to the top of the peg. The CinDwood premie and newborn hat loom is my most used, I have made over 200 hats for charity. Does anyone know of some great needs for me to start sending these off.
Hello Pepper, THANK YOU for asking about donating…. I LOVE GIVERS !!! … here is a link: Click HERE
I love, love, love CinDWood Looms! I own over 50 I think! There are awesome independent designers working hard to increase the number of patterns available on their looms! I’m proud to be one of them and work with such awesome people! Patterns can be found here and more are being added on a very frequent basis! http://premiumknittinglooms.com/product-category/ebooks-and-epatterns/
Thanks for the honest review. You are a trusted source for many of us loomers.
Thank YOU Renee ! … Just always remember I’m human. One day we won’t agree but if you stick with me there will come another day when we do. That’s life with flawed people like me.. you gotta give us grace 🙂
Big Hugs and again Thanks for the Thanks !
I LOVE these looms! Bought some for baby booties and new born hats for my preemie niece and they are great! Wish I could afford the S loom! My husband will let me some day as soon as he sees me selling my stuff paid off the other looms we have.which is a lot. Lol
Oh I have to add another con. My looms came with pegs glued down. I think this is a con since if I ever break one I can not replace it easiely. One more, I didn’t know what the gauge sizes meant when I bought and bought too close together. Maybe they can explain how to measure? I measured my current looms from end of peg to beginning of next but the loom they sent it is middle of one to middle of next. So I ended up with a tighter loom than I wanted originally. I like bulky yarn and this makes it hard to use without super right knits. Just my thoughts though. Maybe it was due to my being a beginner. ?
Another beginner made this same comment on the Facebook page. I had not even thought of this. As far as the peg breaking – very unlikely – but if it does you can contact them – they have EXCELLENT customer service.
Congrats on selling your stuff !
Wonderful review Denise- love that you were fair and balanced. I myself do not like Boye’s looms either, as they are not user friendly. Have always wanted the KK purple loom so may check it out if I can get past the cost (what a shame they have to be so expensive). Love, love your reviews- keep up the great work.
Hi Denise, so glad you did a review! I thought it was very fair and very honest. I have been looking at their looms for a while now. I do have a question about peg height. Are they tall enough to handle a #6 bulky yarn? I gave all my Boyd looms away after I was more comfortable and not losing stitches when flipping them over. But, on the new long looms I bought the pegs are very short. Chunky yarn takes patience otherwise I split yarn every inch or so. I want to do some double knits in super chunky because I hate the cold. You rock! Thanks! Your friend, Teresa Matson
Yes Teresa, they sure are long enough.
HI Denise, I thought you gave a very concise, fair review of the CinDwood looms. I had never heard of these looms before and I am very happy to hear an account of them. I will probably be looking into buying them soon. Thank you and as always I enjoyed listening, and this time watching, you. I learn something new from you with each video I watch. Have a wonderful day.
Thank you for this review. I was just getting ready to buy one of the 60″ wide Afghan Loom knitting Loom. How does it compare to this one?
Thank you for your time.
To me they are very similar and both get the job done. CinDwood is higher quality – but more expensive. The Afghan loom is a tiny bit lighter but the Pegs are not as good as CinDwood.
I agree with your review! I am from Australia and it is really hard to get looms here. I have purchased from authentic knitting boards and they are great too but they recently stopped shipping overseas, pretty much making cindwood looms one of the only companies to do so. I purchased some of their looms a few years back and they are really well made and have been able to withstand my rough kids learning to knit on them also.
The first time I see the products I don’t know nothing about that thank Denise to take time make the review
Excellent review! I only own one, currently, but I’m sure that will change. Price keeps me from having them all, but the quality is what I love. I don’t ever want them to cheapen their product to get the price down. I’ll just keep saving and it will mean that much more when I get them. Very fair and well-said review! Thank you!
THANK You -Thank YOU Lisa – for taking the time to leave me this comment. I especially appreciate that you felt it was fair.