Ultimate Oval Loom Knitting Set – Product Review

I have received a sample of the “Ultimate Oval Loom Knitting Set” for review from Leisure Arts. I am not financially compensated for my blog post and am under no obligation to give a favorable review. Any conclusions and statements about the set are my own. If you do choose to purchase the loom, I receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you), and you are helping support Goddess Crochet, allowing me to create more free patterns. It’s a win-win!

Always up for trying new things, I was excited to have the chance to try the “Ultimate Oval Loom Knitting Set” from Leisure Arts. Upon opening the box I found two sturdy plastic looms, a loom tool with rubber grip handle, and a beginners guide book. Having only tried loom knitting once before, I was relieved to find the beginners guide, complete with pictures to help you complete all the needed stitches for the projects included in the book. The book is a great resource, especially for beginners. The instructions are written clearly, and the quality, close-up photos are a savior for us visual learners. Projects included in the book are “Basic Beanie”, “Striped Beanie”, “Fingerless Mitts”, “Family Tube Socks”, “Twisted Garter Hat”, “Twisted Garter Scarf”, and “Lace Cowl”.

The oval looms are very comfortable to hold. I found it easiest to hold the loom in my left hand while resting it on my lap or between my knees. You’ll want to try out different positions until you find what works best for you. Most looms are large gauge and require you to use a bulky yarn or two strands held together. These oval looms are smaller gauge, and work great with worsted weight or even lightweight yarn. The loom tool included is quality and did not bend, no matter how hard I was on it.

Since I was pretty much a beginner, I decided to make the first project in the book, a loom knit hat. The book tells you to use the large 70-peg loom for an adult hat, and the smaller loom (54 peg) for a child size hat. I made a hat with the child size loom and it fits me (adult small). I did make a cowl with the 70-peg loom (Loom Knit Cowl – Free Pattern), and it worked great for that, however, it came out MUCH too large to be an adult size hat. Hopefully they will come out with an “in-between” size to rectify that issue.

To keep the hat from rolling up I went ahead and made a roll over brim. This is SUPER easy for a loom knit hat. When your fabric is twice as long as you want your brim to be, fold the fabric up inside the loom and place the first loop up and over the peg above it. Then pull all the bottom loops over the top loop, just as you would if knitting them. Then e-wrap and continue knitting. Your brim will look seamless and gives the hat a really nice touch. For the pink hat pictured, I made the folded brim when the fabric reached a little over 3″.

I continued to knit the hat using the e-wrap (twisted knit stitch), until it was about 10″ long, then started with the “gathered removal” technique, which is super easy and requires no decreasing (and no binding off). Instructions (complete with photos) are included in the book.

Who would most benefit from using a loom? Loom knitting is a fun way to introduce knitting to children. My guess is around 5 would be a good age to try. Heck, my 3-yr old sits next to me and sometimes she would hold the tool and “helps” me pull the loops over while I hold it too. Loom knitting would also be a great tool for someone who wants to knit, but cannot work with knitting needles for whatever reason. Since you can hold these looms in your lap, a person with limited mobility or even one hand could knit a hat if they want to. That’s pretty fabulous!

Have you bought/tried out the new Ultimate Oval Loom Knitting Set? I’d love to hear what your opinions are about it! Leave a comment below.