To choose the best flower loom, look for thick, rather than thin, plastic in sizes to make the size of cloth flowers you want. The loom should be rigid rather than flexible so it will hold its shape as you wrap yarn, metal, twine, cord or other materials around the pegs to create the flower shapes. The pegs should also be thick to withstand the pressure of wrapping as well as tall enough to hold thicker materials.
If you’re a beginner at flower loom weaving, you may want to start with looms in two sizes that both feature numbered pegs. The numbers, along with instructions, can help you remember weaving patterns to use in your flower making. Rather than begin the craft with many different looms, starting with only two in small and large sizes can allow you to still experiment with various flower looks without becoming overwhelmed. It’s probably best to begin with worsted weight yarn, as this tends to be easier to manage than twine, wire, silk or plastic cord.
There are both round and square looms available. You may eventually want to add one or two square flower looms to your round ones. These create a small square border around the round flower shape. A round flower loom is usually more popular though, as most of these may also be used for French knitting.
French knitting isn’t done on long needles, but rather on the loom pegs in a circular motion. The resulting knitted work is a long tube that forms inside the hole of a round loom. If you’d like to do French knitting as well as create flower-like shapes, then a round flower loom would the best choice.
When you are more experienced in loom weaving and French knitting techniques, you may want to buy a kit. Flower loom kits often include many different sizes and shapes of the product. Some of these loom kits also come with crafting ideas that include flower projects. Most kits allow you to use interesting materials on the looms such as wire, leather cords and textured yarn.
Vintage flower looms from when the craft was first popular in the 1950s and 1960s are available at secondhand stores and flea markets. When buying a vintage flower loom, watch out for cracked pegs or plastic construction that has thinned over time. If the condition is good, choosing vintage flower looms can be a real bargain.