A good craft light is essential for any creative who draws, crafts or paints their projects. Properly illuminating your worksurface will reduce shadows, which assists with the accuracy of your work, and will ease eye strain if you are devoting hour upon hour to your creation.
Good craft lamps are available in many sizes and forms, from multi-function floor lamps for your studio space to slim and adjustable desk lights for your work area. In the guide below, we’ve evaluated the best craft lights we’ve found across different categories, testing each for its performance, versatility, practicality, special features such as dimmers or magnifying lenses, and value.
Best desktop craft lights
Best craft light for desks and small easels
Size: 50 x 43.5 x 30cm, 1.4kg
Colour temp: 1000-6000 Kelvin
This smart brushed steel craft lamp easily attaches to a desk, easel or drawing board to light your work area and packs aways neatly. It's sturdy and won't mark, and the lamp's gooseneck head can be adjusted through 360 degrees. There are three colour temperature settings enabling from 1000 to daylight-quality 6000 degrees Kelvin, which is ideal in a lamp for crafting.
Best craft light for designer looks
Size: 59 x 22 x 62.5cm, 4.8kg
Colour temp: 3000-5700 Kelvin
Don't be confused by the name, this is a bright, clean lamp intended for crafts as much as reading. It's designed to light wide areas thanks to the curved mount. There are some unique features, apt for a tech brand, including automatic ambient light detection, the option to cycle through 13 levels of colour temperatures and 23 levels of brightness.
Best craft light for Cricut
Size: 22 x 79–99 x 42–69cm, 2.4kg
Colour temp: not stated
Featuring a four-foot-square lamp head, this provides a wide lighting area and rich, accurate colours. It has adjustable brightness from warm to bright white, reaching 1500 Lux. There's a slider switch to adjust the brightness of the light. It's not the brightest light, but the flexible head is very useful.
Best floor standing craft lights
Best craft light overall
Size: 21 x 53 x 132cm, 3.5kg
Colour temp: up to 6000 Kelvin
A tall stand ensures this craft light can reach across a large work table or provide excellent lighting for an easel. The two heads can be independently adjusted and lit, so you can have one dimmer than the other (it does take some time to set the colour temp on each). It can be turned up to 6000 Kelvin for daylight illumination – great for crafts, and the size is perfect.
Best craft light for artists' studios
Size: 28 x 26 x 220cm, 2.35kg
Colour temp: up to 6500 Kelvin
We rate this as the best large craft light for artists who use easels. It has a tall stand with a sturdy tripod support and it comes with one lamp that can output 6,500 Kelvin / 1,800 Lumens. It can support up to three further lamps if needed, and they attach easily using the brand's patented 'Clamp-Lock' system, though this will reduce mobility.
Best craft light for flexibility
Size: 57 x 90 x 135cm, 2.4kg
Colour temp: up to 6000 Kelvin
Another from the same brand, this professional craft light delivers high contrast and accurate colour with dual flexes that you can point wherever they're needed. It's expensive but lightweight and portable. Its flexibility makes it great for pulling in close when you need it and then moving it to arm's length.
Best craft light for versatility
Size: 43.9 x 33.2 x 7.3cm, 4kg
Colour temp: up to 6000 Kelvin
This bright, flexible lamp features three colour temperature settings: a subtle switch raises the temperature to 6000K, or reduces it to a cool 4000K. The black satin finish and slim design stand out and make this a light that's just as well suited to the home as a reading light as it is leaning over a craft table.
Best craft light for multiple rooms
Size: 26 x 26 x 134cm, 0.28kg
Colour temp: up to 6000 Kelvin
This is another versatile option for a craft room and living room. The lightweight pole is easily assembled and can be adjusted to the height you need, and the wooden stand and casing come in several colour options. If you're being energy conscious, consider that this shines at a bright 850-950 lumens and only uses 12 watts of electricity.
Best craft light for style
Size: 10 x 49 x 134cm, 3.44kg
Colour temp: 3000 Kelvin
This beautiful looking LED floor lamp comes in black or silver. While it only has a colour temperature of 3000 Kelvin, the Leaf is well made and has a wonderful swing that makes it useful for lighting details when needed and folding away when not required. It does light at 1150 lumens, so it is bright even if the light is 'yellow' rather than bright white.
How we test craft lights
Our arts and crafts experts have many years of experience across a wide range of creative disciplines. Drawing, painting sculpting, paper engineering and even knitting fall into their expertise, and they have been able to test the craft lights and lamps in real studio conditions, assessing the practicality, flexibility and above all the light quality of each product listed in our buying guide to the best craft lights.
How to choose a craft light
Two key considerations are the area you need to illuminate and the type of creative work you will be doing. Will you be working on a desktop or worksurface and focusing on a relatively small and fixed area? Or, do you need a lamp that will move and adjust, illuminating a wider area such as a large table or a full-size easel?
If the type of projects you undertake are quickly accomplished you may not need all the power of 2500 Lumens and a 6000 Kelvin colour temperature. However, if you you spend long hours working on each piece, the higher end and higher priced craft lights in this guide will help reduce eye strain and will keep your project sharply lit as you meticulously craft each detail.
Craft light FAQ
What is a craft light?
Good craft lights are able to illuminate a space and disperse shadows. Most are LED and reach 6000 Kelvin, these have largely no heat but are very bright. The best craft lights will lift the contrast on anything being illuminated, which is why a good reading light can also be a good lamp for crafting.
What do Lumens measure in crafting lamps?
Lumens measure 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.
What does Kelvin measure in crafting lamps?
Degrees Kelvin is how the colour temperature of the light being produced is measured. A yellow dim light is around 3000 Kelvin. A bright white light, useful for dispersing shadows, is 6000 Kelvin.
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 are the best brands of craft lights?
If money is no object, 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, 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.
