 In the early 1930s, Donald Simonds of Winchester, Massachusetts designed a small square loom with the goal of "providing an improved handloom which produced a woven square of material in compact form." By 1935 he received a patent for his loom and it was first manufactured by "Kiddie-Crafters" of Medford, Massachusetts (with some looms stamped "Patent Applied For" as early as 1934). The "Weave-It," as it came to be known, had a signature steel pin placement for threading yarn around a wooden frame in a 4-inch square size. (See our "Looms Through The Years Slide Show")
The second manufacturer was Donar Products Corporation, also of Medford, Massachusetts. From 1936 to the late 1940s, Donar expanded the "Weave-It" product line by adding a "Junior Weave-It" (2-inch square loom) and a "Rug Weave-It" (5-inch square loom for heavy rug yarns). They offered a "Deluxe Weave-It" out of Bakelite and designed a "Bias Weave-It" by engineering a different pin configuration around the wooden frame. Their designers wrote many instruction booklets to provide inspiration for creating garments, household decorations and toys. The "Weave-It" loom proved to be very popular with weavers and knitters because it was a simple, beautifully crafted framework for making swatch patterns and finished woven pieces; but above all, it was so portable.
 Meanwhile, competitors were introducing their own versions of similarly-styled looms. The "Loomette" by Cartercraft Studios, Jiffy-Loom by Calcraft Co., and the Bucilla Magic-Loom by Bernhard Ulmann Co. were crowding the small loom marketplace between 1938 and 1945.
Production of the "Weave-It" was taken over by Hero Manufacturing Co. of Middleboro, Massachusetts in the early 1950s, where it seemed to be a perfect fit in a long line of knitting tools and accessories. A molded plastic version was introduced to replace the more costly original materials and labor-intensive construction. Through the 1950s and 1960s Hero Manufacturing continued to promote the little loom's versatility in additional pattern instruction booklets. Afghans, rugs, baby clothes, pillows and scarves were just a few of the endless woven possibilities.
But after Scovill Manufacturing Corp. acquired the "Weave-It," the little loom's promotion changed forever. Scovill's product line was devoted to home sewing and the "Weave-It" became part of its Sewing Notions Division. Marketed among sewing notions, the "Weave-It" was displaced and its popularity dwindled. By the 1970s the next generation of weavers and knitters were seeking careers and joining the workplace in larger numbers. In 1975, the company decided not to continue producing the loom.
Buxton Brook Designs brought the looms back in 1998 as "Weavettes," for all of its original intention: to weave in the palm of your hand. Made again in hardwood frames with stainless steel pins, the original 2-inch and 4-inch square sizes were remanufactured and new loom shapes were introduced (2" x 4", 2" x 6", 4" x 6" and 6" x 6") to provide more modular design possibilities.
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