If you’re keen to learn which are the best craft lights, you’re in the right place. The best lamps for crafting are great for aiding concentration, enabling you to see more clearly and throwing more light into your crafting station, so that you can work comfortably at any time of day or night. 

When it comes to deciding on the best crafting lamp for you, your crafting, art or studio set-up will be a determining factor – do you have lots of space to afford a multi-function floor lamp or do you need a slim and adjustable desk light? Your own sight and the nature of your craft will determine if you need a magnifying lamp and your own taste will mean finding a lamp you like the look off. 

The best craft lights available now

Obviously, the nature of your craft or design work will be a major factor in which type of craft light will be best for you – whether you need a powerful magnifying lamp or a wide lamp to illuminate a huge workstation, for example. Anyone looking for a lamp to use with their Cricut machine should also check out these guides to the best Cricut machines. Likewise you’ll need one of these best craft lights for using our pick of the best sewing machines.

Investing in a good crafting light really pays off – many crafters and artists find that a good lamp stops them from staining their eyes and results in fewer headaches. Here, we’ve compiled the ten best lamps for crafting, so you can easily identify how best to get some direct light on your next project.

The best craft lights: US

ARSUK’s Floor Magnifier LED Lamp is a great choice of floor lamp for crafters with precise work as it features diopter glass magnifying lens with x5 magnification and 220mm focal length, so you can get supremely close and avoid eye strain. 

The magnifier itself is huge – A4 size – which will appeal to crafters of many disciplines as it won’t need constant adjustment, which is a real plus of this model. The light itself comes courtesy of no less than twelve LED lights and the gooseneck bends in all directions, so you can position it how you need it. 

This is a well made lamp for crafting that comes with a heavy base so you won’t find it wobbling. The magnifying glass is a nice option and sewists will certainly find the ability to illuminate and highlight small areas of a project very useful.

The Daylight Company Duo lamp for crafting ticks all the boxes for an all-round great craft light. The tall stand ensures it can reach above even the largest table or sit behind and over an easel. What’s nice is the two light heads can be independently moved and lit – you can have one dimmer than the other, which can handily be experimented with to disperse shadows.

Being separately lit can highlight one problem: the colour temperature switch needs to be clicked through each setting to reach the one you want. It’s a small issue but can take longer to set up than some craft lights.

This is the only quibble we’ve found in an elegantly designed craft light that is suitable for all craft and art projects. It can be turned up to an impressive 6000K for true daylight quality, it looks great, and it’s size is perfect. If you do find the floor standing style too large, The Daylight Company offers the same Duo style in a clamp lamp and table lamp style.

The Native Lighting Onyx Black Task Lamp is another offering from Native Lighting to make our best craft light guide. This high-powered LED professional lamp features a premium metal design and looks very sleek. 

This lamp for crafting can be positioned on any flat workspace and it’s designed to light up wide areas, which sets it apart from other craft lights and lends itself to large workstations, drawing boards and wide paintings. 

The durable metal arm allows you to position the lamp head at your desired height. There’s also a large shade, which can be smoothly adjusted vertically, horizontally, and laterally to any desired position, so that daylight is always where you want it. There is a retro-feeling design to this craft light too, which we love.

This little craft lamp, the Purelite Handy Rechargeable LED Lamp, also has a small price point. It also comes from one of the best brands in the business, which gives it a decent pedigree. Whether you’re using it for crafting or as a makeshift travel light, it’s a great little lamp for crafting or reading.

This is a good second lamp for crafters to use while on holiday and for an inexpensive first craft light, if you’re just starting out. It is rechargeable via its USB Socket and, with low energy usage, can be used for up to three hours with the built-in battery, or left plugged in a permanent place. 

You can adjust the angle and make the most of the three colour temperatures, to get a decent angle and the correct tone of light for your work. It has a sleek modern look too, and all round, for the price is a nice if limited craft light.

The Ominilight Gooseneck Desk Lamp is a nicely designed and stylish desk light that can also double as a decent craft light. In its favour this lamp can be adjusted in many ways, its gooseneck design is flexible and well made. Above all, it looks great sitting on your desk and comes in a swathe of colours, including red, bronze, grey and white.

What stands against the Ominilight Gooseneck Desk Lamp is it’s lack of high-end colour temperature. While most of the craft lights on our list reach levels of 6000K this lamp only manages 4000K. It’s still bright but when you need the power to pull contrast from a sewing project it will be lacking.

Yet, this is a nice lamp that can be used for crafting. Its design ensures it a more multi-functional use outside of the craft room or art room. It does also offer a large lit area and the 16 LED beads manage to spread the light nicely.

The Glocusent Round Neck Light is an unusual design but it serves a purpose. If you’re always crafting on the go, this light from Glocusent will be a handy craft light to keep in your bag – just put it around your neck and carry-on crafting. 

This craft light features multi-Settings for colour temperature and brightness and its rechargeable 1000mAh built-in battery is good for up to 80 hours. While it’s not an alternative to a floor or desk crafting lamp due to the obvious restricted lighting area, it’s worth its weight in gold for train travel, camping etc. 

The practicality of being able to craft anywhere and have both hands free is offset slightly by the lack of spread the light offers – the Glocusent Round Neck Light serves a particular purpose and so is perhaps not for everyone. If you are planning a long journey and really need to keep crafting, or reading, this is a good option.

The best craft lights: UK

The Daylight Company Gemini Floor Lamp is a professional craft light from the Daylight Company, a highly regarded UK brand that is part of the Lighting Industry Association, where flexibility meets stability and portability. 

The Gemini delivers high contrast and accurate colour matching and features a dual shade flex to wherever you need them to shine. It has a slim structure and high-quality design – lightweight yet stable, flexible yet holds any position. Best of all it weighs just 2.4g and neatly folds and packs into its carry-bag.

Despite its size and flexibility this craft light delivers the 6000K you need from a good quality lamp for crafting. The Gemini is great for pulling in close and lighting areas of a project, but its flexibility means you can keep it at arm’s length too.

The Daylight Company MAG Lamp S is one of the company’s most popular craft lights. This lamp for crafting is the newer version of Daylight Company’s best-selling magnifying lamp Dn1020 – it’s a great modern looking craft lamp with an attractive slim design, perfect for detailed projects and at a modest price point too. 

The MAG Lamp S features two brightness levels and a 12.7cm diameter, 3 diopter (1.75x) glass lens and it’s also touch sensitive. Thanks to the adjustable spring arm you can position the magnifier exactly where you need it. It can suffer from a very sensitive on switch, but this can also be a good thing when you’re in the middle of a project and need the light on quickly.

Scandinavian inspired lamp manufacturer, Native Lighting, creates their products with a minimalist approach, and the Lumina Desk Lamp has all the hallmarks of its design outlook. This is easily one of the best lamps for crafting around, but it comes at a price. 

Encouraging simplicity and ease of use, the Lumina Desk Lamp is one of our favourite craft lights – we love the flexible gooseneck that clamps to the edge of a desk or other flat surface, enabling you to position the light exactly where you want it and providing a long reach when required. 

The Lumina Desk Lamp has three brightness levels on three different colour settings (2800K, 4000K and 6500K) making it perfect for a wide range of crafts. It even comes with its own remote control! 

The YOUKOYI LED Desk Lamp in black is one of the best all-round craft lights for those who love to work at a desk. It’s worth noting this is the aluminium black version and is a stronger and more reliable craft lamp than the same model in white plastic. Naturally it comes at a higher price, but is worth it.

The lamp for crafting features a large LED head that can be positioned in 360 degrees, and is flexible enough to enable all desktop crafters to light and de-shadow their workspace. A highlight of the YOUKOYI LED Desk Lamp is its smooth dimming feature that can adjust the strength of light through 10 to 100% with no ‘steps’.

Like many of the best craft lights on our list the YOUKOYI LED Desk Lamp features three colour temperatures, from warm to bright daylight – this can reduce shadows in your workspace but also help with SAD (seasonal affective disorder).

In action the clamp could be a little stronger, meaning you need to hold the base as you move the arm. This is better than the plastic white version, and overall the quality is improved.

If you’re new to craft lamps and you want a lot for not a lot of cash, the Grelae Dimmable Desk Light is well worth a look and carries a 30-day money-back guarantee and one year warranty too. This craft light has a gooseneck design that enables you to point the lamp, which mimics natural light, in any direction. 

This lamp for crafting features sensitive touch control and allows you to change brightness from 5% to 100%, as well as offering three colour temperatures. Using the advanced memory function, it can even remember the last setting of brightness to save your time! 

This craft light has a compact design, with space for desk essentials and a built-in 6000mAh rechargeable lithium battery – charge for six hours and use wirelessly for 10 to 30 hours. You can even recharge your smartphone via the built-in 5V/1A USB output while using the lamp.

This is a solid desk light that has good functionality for crafting, the pen pot design is a mixed bag, however. It’s nicely done and can store a couple of pens and bits, but it can also get in the way – the sleek design of The Daylight Company’s craft lights is perhaps better. The Grelae Dimmable Desk Light is something of a beginner’s lamp for crafting.

The best craft lights: frequent questions

Lumens or Kelvins, what am I looking for?

Lumens is a measurement of the brightness of the light, or how much light is being generated. For crafting and sewing you want a light that is around 2000-2500 Lumens. Kelvins is the temperature of the light being produced, a yellow dim light is around 3000K, a bright white light, useful for dispersing shadows, is 6000K. Good craft lights will offer settings for both and temperatures in-between.

Are LED lights the best for crafting and art?

High wattage LED light bulbs are the best for craft lights and lamps for artists. These can come in various watt strengths and produce a range of colour temperatures. It’s good to consider how you will use the light; will it be at a distance for an art easel or closer in for working with Cricut machines and sewing machines.

What is a craft light?

Good craft lights are able to illuminate a space and disperse shadows. Most are LED and reach 6000K, these have largely no heat but are very bright. The best craft lights will lift the contrast on anything being lit, which is why a good reading light can also be a good lamp for crafting.

What are the best brands of craft lights?

If budget is no barrier, you can’t go wrong with a high-quality lamp from The Daylight Company, Purelite or Native Lighting. There are less expensive options too. Regardless of cost you need to look for a large and movable light head and ideally with colour temperature control to adjust through the day. 

Does a craft light need to be moveable?

Ideally, yes. You need to be able to position a craft light so it can disperse shadows and pull the contrast out of the fabric, paper or craft project being worked on. For this reason you need to be able to move the lamp as the light in a room changes.