Knifty Knitter
Knifty Knitter products are getting harder to find. My local Wal-Mart and my favorite craft store no longer stock them. It would seem a waste of time to do a product review. But it isn’t, by a long shot. If you loom knit for ANY amount of time you will encounter the name Knifty Knitter again and again in books, magazines and of course YouTube and I promise you that will want these looms sooner or later.
Luckily, if you have a computer and access to the internet your marketplace is global. Amazon and eBay give you a huge variety of GREAT deals. I say luckily because I believe these looms to be superior to most of the commercially available and reasonably priced looms. You do, however have to compare apples with apples. So when I say other looms I am comparing them to mass made plastic products like Darice, Boye and Martha Stewart and not say Cottage Looms, CinDCraft Looms or KissLooms.
Knifty Knitter – Name Recognition is Valuable
The name Knifty Knitter is almost synonymous with loom knitting. Some people don’t even know that there are more loom manufacturers or that in some countries people make their own out of materials such as wood and styrofoam.
This product is well-known and loved. There are even die-hard knitters that refuse to use any other brand. Owning a product that a lot of people like and use means that information is easy to find and it’s in great abundance worldwide and in many languages. I myself have a Spanish language loom knitting blog called , ComoTelar.com and a sister vlog on YouTube with the same user name where I almost exclusively use the Knifty Knitter brand of looms. People from as close as Mexico to as far as Spain, the Netherlands and Asia are using them. I would say Mars but we haven’t made contact with them yet.
Social media is full of Knifty Knitter users, me included, that are more than happy to tell you all they know about knitting without needles thanks to this great product.
NOT Just Hats and Scarves and NOT Just for Winter
To many people have the misconception that these looms are only good for making hats and scarves. Not true at all. The possibilities are endless. Enough to make your head spin.
Let me introduce you to Sonia. She makes BEAUTIFUL shirts and sweaters. Note that not all of it is winter wear. There are great look summer and beach blouses and skirts. The material used to make the yarn can make you creations soft and a lacing stitch can make it breathable enough for even high tropical temperatures. Notice she has added ribbons and flowers to embellish her one tone shirt and skirt. I love it!
On an average she uses two different sizes of looms. One for the collar and another for the body of the sweater. I asked her about her looms when I interviewed for LoomaHat.com. She uses Knifty Knittter almost exclusively. Her other brand of choice is the Darice Looms. I must say that I agree with both of her choices.
To Read more about Sonia and her designs and her somewhat patterns: Click Here
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Would you believe that you can make stuffed animals. Cats, foxes and elephants just to name a few.
Let me introduce you to Scarlett Royal. I solid loom knitter with exceptional skills. I love her work which she happily makes on her Knifty Knitter Looms.
She loom knits beautiful fingerless gloves, hats and scarves but I am always fascinated with her stuffed animals.
So enamored am I of her creators that I did a whole article to feature and give links to her free patterns. Yes I said FREE patterns and even better many include video tutorials
For More Information: Click Here
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The Construction – Best of All
Of all the looms that I mentioned above, the Knifty Knitter has the best plastic. It is heavier and more solid. I have a loom that has been in use for over four years and I haven’t broken a peg yet. I make many different projects with very tight wrapping and still those little soldiers stand tall and never bend nor break. I have great appreciation for that fact.
But if one ever happens to break would you believe these folks also have replacement parts.
I actually got these to use with patterns that have more than one stitch. Like high-end stitch markers. For example if I have to knit and purl within the same row I will use the original color to knit and replace the pegs where I have to purl with these white pegs. Helps to keep me on track…. Love these guys. Note: I have only bought the large and they fit ALL my looms.
For a Complete Product Review : Click Here
One Downside: The Large Gauge – But EvenThat can be a Good Thing
The gauge is the spacing between pegs. Some of the other looms do better in this area. The Darice brand of looms is just a bit smaller and even that slightly smaller gauge creates a better looking stitch pattern. Martha Stewart allows you to customize your gauge which is great just not a deal breaker for me.
Why is gauge important? It’s the difference between a nice tight stitch and holes in your project if you mostly use the e-wrap stitch.But you must consider the fact that this is not a major issue because there are ways around that problem.The large gauge in the Knifty Knitter is why I use two strands of worsted weight yarn when knitting most but not all of my projects. To Learn More: Click Here
The Upside to the large gauge issue: There is this is consider, t helps you move quicker with your project. The smaller the gauge well then the smaller the knitting. Consequently, it will take you longer to knit 1 inch on the smaller gauge loom then on your large gauge Knifty Knitter especially if like I said before you use two strands of yarn as one.
So even the so called downside has it’s good features.
For Exact Gauge Information for the Knifty Knitter and other Brands: Click Here
The Variety of Looms and Other Merchandise
Aside from the most common round looms you will find other specialized looms that are useful in unique projects. Like the flower loom used for exactly what the name saws, to make flowers. You have the VERY cool spool loom. This is one of my favorites you would not believe what you can make with this little fella. To make you head spin just put the words Spool Loom in a google image search. All of the looms come with the yarn needle and yarn hook included when you buy them.
A lot of the other brands don’t offer the variety I can’t explain why. I do know that Boye brand, which for some time labeled itself as Knifty Knitter, has almost the same list of styles but I must admit that I am NOT a fan of this brand at all. I did a review and explain my reasons. If you would like to read this review: Click Here . They do have a really nice Sock Loom.
By the way, regardless of the shape or use of the loom most have removable pegs. This is a blessing and a curse depending on the project and yarn. What ever you do PLEASE if the pegs on your loom are removable, do not glue the pegs in permanently because regardless of the style the day will come when you will discover why they made them removable.
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Lots of Books with a Focus on Knifty Knitter Looms
There is a healthy library of Loom knitting books with a focus on the Knifty Knitter. As I said before, you won’t find that abundance for the Authentic Knitting Board Loom or the Martha Stewart Looms.
In fact with the latter you can not use these books or the thousands of Free Patterns on the web.The gauge is different. Unless you have been loom knitting for a long time it’s hard for you compensate for this difficulty. What makes it a uniquely cool and flexible loom is what makes it a troublesome product.
Some of My Favorite Loom Books
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Knifty Knitter – The FREE Patterns
In March of 2013 I embarked on journey to find 100 FREE round loom patterns for my fellow loom knitters by the end of that year. Yes, I found OVER 100 FREE patterns for the round looms for January 1, 2014 and I would say that if not 90% then over 80% of the patterns listed on this page were made by designers that use Knifty Knitter.
Again, almost everyone, if not every single person who loom knits knows Knifty Knitter and has designed a pattern that works with this product.
That means that for those folks that bought Martha Stewart the waterfall of patterns available for Knifty Knitter don’t work well. There is a lot of tweaking going on in order get the gauge somewhat right especially when it comes to the Martha Stewart brand.
This issue alone is why I keep spares of these looms. FREE Patterns is a great phrase for any form of knitting.
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For a List of FREE Patterns: Click Here
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There are so many FREE loom knitting tutorials on YouTube where the instructor uses the Knifty Knitter brand or one that is VERY compatible. It’s with an almost 99% certainty that most projects and patterns you find online can be made with this brand of looms.
It’s the easiest method of learning new techniques, stitches and cool and unique patterns. Like a personal at home teacher for loom knitting. I love YouTube and use it regularly. You should too.
For My YouTube Loom Knitting Channel: Click Here
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In Conclusion – 5 Star Ratting !
I love these looms. I prefer a finer gauge but that’s not major deal for me because I have learned how to work around it. I wish I could find them at the corner store but there’s always Amazon.
Bottom-line is they help get the job done for a good price and for a long time.
Loom Size / Hat Size
Size Chart is based on Averages. The information is only a recommendation. Please use your own judgement in the final decision.Note: Rows are based on 1 strand of thick yarn or 2 strands of light or medium weight yarn, e-Wrap Stitch and No Brim.
Chart Update: 10/2014
For a Folded Brim you may need 6 - 18 rows depending on the recipient. Note that to make the brim you fold the knitting in half.
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
Hat Recipient | Avg Head Circumference | Loom Size | Hat Length | Number of Rows |
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AG Doll | 11 in / 27 cm | Sm 24 Pegs | 4 in | 20 |
Preemie | 12 in / 30 cm | Sm 24 Pegs | 4 - 5 in | 20-25 |
Newborn | 14 in / 36 cm | Sm 24 Pegs | 5 - 6 1/2 in | 25-30 |
Baby - 1 yr. | 18 in / 46 cm | Md 31 Pegs | 7 in | 25-30 |
Toddler | 21 in / 53 cm | Lrg 36 Pegs | 7 in | 25-30 |
Tweens & Teens | 22 in / 56 cm | Lrg 36 Pegs | 8 in | 30-34 |
Women & Lean Men | 22 in / 56 cm | Lrg 36 Pegs | 8 - 9 in | 32-40 |
Lrg Women & Men | 24 in / 61 cm | X-Lrg 41 Pegs | 9 -10 in | 38-45 |
If You Lost Your Instructions : Click Here
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Tagged: knifty knitter, looms
I began loom knitting in 1982 when I found the book Rake Knitting and Its Special Adaptation to Invalid Workers by Susan Edith Tracy (get it through interlibrary loan at your local library or even Amazon). My father made a 40 peg loom for me with wooden dowels. It was not until 2006 that I discovered the KniftyKnitter loom sets, and I could not be even more happy! Among other projects, I now make hats for people who have lost their hair because of chemotherapy, and for sale to raise money for a local senior center. I have tried other loom sets (including those horrors from Boye with the v-notch at the top), and still I come back to the KniftyKnitter. NOTE: The wooden loom has been retired, finally,.
Cherryl – I went looking for some info on the loom knitting book – WOW it was first published in 1916 – super interesting.
Can I just say how much I love this site?! It literally covers every single question and subject matter I’ve ever wondered about loom knitting. The patterns are amazing, the video’s are so helpful. I’m thrilled to find out how much you can do on the looms!!!
Yes you can ! You can even repeat yourself – cause I soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo appreciate it ! 🙂 Thank you Liz – you are Super sweet.
Which looms have removeable pegs? Other than the M. Stewart loom. I’m looking for a round adult hat size loom, preferably with finer gauge, which I can use different colored pegs to mark for decrease bind off.
Lauren – there is a set that comes from Spain which does everything you’re asking for: http://www.ebay.com/usr/bufandastoreonline?_trksid=p2047675.l2559 – They do ship to the US.
I purchased a Boye long 15 inche loom
#1615991101213. I have been unable to find the instructions & when I go to the above mentioned Web sites, the instructions are only for a round loom. My granddaughter is staying with me a few days only & is very anxious to use & learn how to make at least a scarf on her loom. Can you PLEASE help us ASAP? Route me to whatever site I must go to for some instructions.
Thank you in advance. God Bless you and Happy New Year!
Betty Mc Martin/951-809-7887
Boye and Knifty Knitter are VERY similar and the instructions are interchangeable. To get the KK instruction PDF : Click HERE
Hi, I have a set of knifty knitter looms, and I am looking for another loom (or loom set) with finer gauge to add to my collection. I’d like to make hat, scarves, socks and gloves/mittens. Is there a loom you would recommend?
Thank you so much,
Denise
Hi – you can go for the KB Adjustable loom or the Cindiwood . I use both of these and I REALLY like them both. I know that a lot of designers use the All in One.
Do you know of a pattern for a breast hat? The kind the baby wears while nursing? A friend of mine wants me to make her one but I don’t have a pattern.
No, I don’t know of any on a loom. I did a quick search and there is a crochet pattern on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzW9c0qNcF4
I have a few of the “slim jim” booklets, in the Knifty Knitter Adult hat loom patterns there is a pattern for a “Flat Topped Hat” page 12-13. It is done on a round loom and I want to do it but there are no videos on this particular hat, and my question is will there ever be one. It is an interesting weaving technique to it and it is not like any other I have seen. Please let me know as soon as possible if there is a video I can watch.
Hi Denise, I’m not sure if I’m thinking of the same technique you are but if so – I did see a video in Spanish – but the video creatator is not even speaking so it doesn’t matter – it’s not to great but it gives you a concept:Click HERE
That is the hat I was referring to but to bad it isnt complete, you can not see how to do the complete top as she cuts off to another section. At least there is an idea of how to do it, so thank you I appreciate your help very much.
I suggest trying it out on a really small loom with yarn you don’t like.. Let me know how it goes
I would like to get a print of the hat sizes. Can you email them to me in the format here? I tried to print them but it wont let me.
Thanks,
nancy
Hi Nancy, there is no right click option to this table. It is a plug-in and I have the same limitations you have.
Sorry
Congratulations for your Jobs. Tanto for sharing.
I am a lefty. All of my work ends up with a raised diagonal line in it? Is it because I’m a lefty or am I turning yarn some how. I have the looms for years and I love them. The looms are the best. If I do a flat panel it doesn’t happen??? Please post on my email if you have an answer. Thanks!!!!
Hi Ilene, I can’t promise that will be able to post to the email as well. I get asked that often and unfortunately not always possible with the little bit of free time that I have to respond to questions. The diagonal line is caused when you knit in the round as you add rows to your project. The direction of your knitting doesn’t matter.
Ilene, my sister is also a lefty and gets a raised diagonal line. We can’t figure out how to fix this. We do the same thing, except I am a righ-handed. It just may be a lefty thing for the two of you. Keep on knitting! Lisa
How do I practice stitches on the small loom (green/blue) only using 8-10 pegs, saving yarn. If I ewrap to peg 10, then how do I get back to the 1st peg?
Please send a response to my email address too – you have so many pages that I get lost in finding my posts and never get to your answers.
Blessing and keep up the great videos 🙂
Seebee – watch the new video so you can see how to loom knit a flat panel ( knitting back and forth ). For a quick link: Click HERE
I am new to the knifty knitter. Mom my was going to teach me to knit but her and my Granny were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s before Christmas. I need help flattening my scarves after making them. I also wanted to tell you that when my mom sees a scarf I made she get so happy because she believes she taught me to knit. What a gift to see her touch it and rub it on her skin. I think God wouldn’t mind that little white lie.
Adrienne, your comments warm my heart… THANK YOU for sharing…. and I know God is smiling that you’ve givin the little white lie a second thought. You’re Beautiful Sister !
Many hugs for you and mom,
denise
I just have a question. I have a 50 peg long loom & want to transfer the stitches to reg knitting double pointed needles so I can add ribbing to the pattern. What size do I need?
Sorry – I don’t knit with needles
Dear
how can i buy Knifty Knitter Product Review, Size Guide and Free Patterns ?
house # xxxxxx xxxxxx,xxxxx xxxxt,Bangladesh
B.Reg
Jewel
M.M
Bappy Apparels Ltd
Dhaka.Bangladesh
xxxxxx@gmail.com
8801711465487
Hi, I do not sell looms, but you might be able to get through Amazon, eBay in India. To sell try the manufacture Provocraft or Alibaba.
Hope that helps
hi, do you know what the largest yellow loom could be used for?
Wow Isabelle, the number of things that can be made with this loom are crazy… Slouchy hats : Click HERE , Shawls, Sweaters, Cowls, Vest …. I hope to have a post just about this loom – I get asked this same question quite often. In the mean time…
Hope that helps,
denise
If you use it flat you can use it for anything, but here is a site that has patterns for free for it: http://hsschulte.hubpages.com/hub/yellow-round-knifty-knitter-loom-patterns. Things like a Pom-Pom Cowl, Wool Cowl, Backpack, Simple Beginner Sweater, and more. Plus at the bottom are videos for a Neck Warmer and and how to knit a rectangle using the yellow loom. I found this and more by typing “what can the largest round yellow knifty knitter be used for” in google. Or go to YouTube.com and type in “yellow knifty knitter”. You will have to go thru all the ones that are NOT yellow, but you will find some that do use the yellow loom (Mesh bag, Neck Warmer). And it can be used for a Men’s hat for yarn that does not have very much give.
Hello Denise,
Thank you so much for your reviews!! I had bought a different brand of knitting looms and after seeing your review I starting looking on eBay and got a huge set of Knifty Knitter looms for $30.00. Six different sizes of round looms and one long loom, 3 extra booklets, set of 3 weaving tools and the specialty loom for pompoms and tassels. All brand new in the package. Now I just have to find the long looms. And what a difference in the Knifty Knitters. I can actually use those, I couldn’t use the others. I’m a beginner and I need all the help I can get. Thank you so much again for your wonderful site!!
Hi I’m new to knifty knitter
I broght the looms I lost the instructions . How can I replace them?
Helen, sorry for the delay in responding I’ve been ill for a bit. Just trying to catch up.
Not sure if you still need the instructions. I can scan my copy and email it to you. Let me know if you still need it.
denise
want is a KISS LOOM? i have a pattern that calls for a kiss loom set up with 4×9’s on the first setting (+5washers for small child) (+8 washers for adult)
Sheila, first sorry for the delay in responding – the KissLoom is a very cool and VERY different loom. The benefits are a nice tight BEAUTIFUL stitch , some models are modular looms and you can add and remove racks, great customer service, a friendly community of KissLoom users. The downside: expensive- very different – not very many patterns,a learning curve. Here is the website which includes a page of patterns : Click Here
[…] For a Review of the Knifty Knitter Looms: Click Here […]
Hello there!
I’m a great fan of your website. I really love your tabel for makin hats. But I wondered if you could maybe make a tabel for socks? How many rows for a grown men and women? I want to make socks for my dad, but I can’t find anywhere how many rows I have to knit! I’m from The Netherlands and loom knitting is here a bit uncommon, there’s only one book in dutch for loom knitting, so I can use all the help I can get with patterns! Maybe you have patters, I can translate to dutch!
Greetings from The Netherlands, Rianne
Hi Rianne, .. here is a link: http://isela.typepad.com/loomknitting/page/11/
Hope that helps 🙂
denise