The best craft lights come in all sizes and in a range of materials to ensure you're drawing, craft or painting projects are lit properly, reducing shadows and easing the strain on your eyes.
In this article, I've brought together the very best craft lights, so know your money will be spent wisely. I've included a range of light types, from multi-function floor lamps to slim and adjustable desk lights, and you'll find products here to suit a range of budgets.
Now, scroll down and see if any of my suggested best craft lights suit your needs. Be sure to check the sizes of each lamp as they vary quite a bit, and some have unique features such as special dimmers and magnifying lenses. Take a look at our guide to the best craft tables if you're keen to refresh your room. And the same goes if you're using the best sewing machines and even the best cricut machines.
The best craft lights: desktop
The Daylight Company Techne Artist Lamp is a fantastic option if you're a generally creative person who paints, draws and crafts. This smart brushed steel craft lamp can attach to a desk, easel or drawing board to light your work area and remove shadows.
The clap is easy to attach, sturdy and won't mark or ruin your desk or easel, and the lamp's head can be swivelled through 360 degrees for ease of use and flexibility. The lamp can be switched between three colour temperature settings enabling a daylight quality 6000 Kelvins or a cooler temperature (3000, 2000 or 1000 Lux).
Not only is the Daylight Company Techne Artist Lamp easy to set-up, bright and flexible it also looks stylish – the metal finish and slim design looks great in room and can also neatly fold away when not in use. Perfect
The BenQ eReading LED Desk Lamp can be positioned on any flat workspace and it’s designed to light up wide areas. Don't be confused by the name, this is a bright and clean lamp designed for craft and arts tasks as much as reading.
This is a premium lamp for crafting that features a unique curved light mount that can disperse the light to a wider area from a smaller head. BenQ is more usually associated with the best monitors, so you know the build quality here is high. Similarly, there are some unique features such as an automatic ambient light detection and the option to cycle through 13 levels of colour temperatures and 23 levels of brightness.
The only, minor, downside to the excellent BenQ eReading LED Desk Lamp is that the controls are placed above the lamp and from a seated position are a little hard to find. But this is a tiny gripe for a craft lamp that is, overall, fantastic.
If you're seeking the best craft light for Cricut projects, the Cricut Bright 360 table light is one of our top recommendations. Featuring a four-foot-square lamp head, it has a wide lighting area and can be adjusted in any direction. It can reach 95 on the Color Rendering Index (CRI) for rich, accurate colours and has an adjustable brightness from warm to bright white, reaching up to 1500 Lux.
This craft lamp features a slider switch to adjust the brightness of the light, though at 1500 Lux it's not the cleanest light on my list, though that 95 CRI makes up for some of this and the brightness is more than enough disperse most shadows. The biggest advantages of the Cricut Bright 360 is its incredibly flexible lamp head that can be manoeuvred in many directions over your art and craft projects.
The Daylight Company MAG Lamp S is one of the company's most popular craft lights. This 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.
This is one of the best lamps for crafting around, but it comes at a price. 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.
Looks-wise, Native Lighting – a Scandinavian inspired lamp manufacturer – creates its products with a minimalist approach, and the Lumina Desk Lamp has all the hallmarks of its design outlook. It's not the cheapest, though.
The best craft lights: floor standing
We'll start with the best craft light overall. The Daylight Company Duo lamp ticks all the boxes for a great all-round performer.
The tall stand ensures it can reach above even the largest table, or sit behind and over an easel. The two light heads can be independently moved and lit, which you can have one dimmer than the other. Once you've played around with it a bit, you'll find that this is a great way to disperse shadows.
Being separately lit can highlight one problem, though: 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 our only quibble, though, with what is an elegantly designed craft light that is suitable for all kinds of craft and art projects.
It can be turned up to an impressive 6000K for true daylight quality, it looks great, and its size is perfect. Note that if you find the floor lamp too large, you can also get the same Duo light in a clamp lamp and table lamp style.
The Daylight Company Artist Studio Lamp is the best large craft light for artists who use easels and need a good art lamp. This a tall stand with a tripod support and it comes with one lamp that can output 6,500K / 1,800 Lumens. If you ned to keep your easel well light and reduce shadows, this is ideal.
This craft light comes with one lamp but can also support up to four lamps and they attach easily using The Daylight Company's patented 'Clamp-Lock' system. While sturdy and the tripod design for the base offers good stability if you add more lamps it will reduce mobility.
If you need to upgrade your craft room with this lamp, take a look at my guide to the best art easels for painting.
The Daylight Company Gemini Floor Lamp is a professional craft light from a highly regarded UK brand. It delivers high contrast and accurate colour matching and features a dual shade flex to wherever you need them to shine.
The Gemini Floor Lamp has a slim structure and high-quality design. It's lightweight yet stable, and very flexible. 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. It's great for pulling in close and lighting areas of a project, while its flexibility means you can keep it at arm's length too.
The Daylight Company Electra LED lamp is a nice, if expensive, addition to any craft room. This bright and flexible floor-standing lamp features three colour temperature settings and comes in a unique black satin finish that makes it stand out in the home or the craft room.
A subtle switch enables you to raise the temperature to 6,000K, or reduce it to a cool light 4,000K or warm light 2,700K. The slim design means it's just as good used in the home as a reading light or hanging over a craft table. The size means it's perfect for lifting above a craft table – over a sewing or craft machine – and the anti-glare shade means it will remove all shadows from your workspace.
Overall The Daylight Company Electra LED lamp is a well-made, bright and versatile lamp that will come in useful around the home. The only quibble is with the temperature control button that can be a little sticky, but this is a small issue many users will not mind.
The Brightech Litespan comes with many of the features you need from a good craft lamp, including a daylight light, 6000 Kelvin LED and a touch switch for ease of use. But unlike some of the other best craft lights on my list this one is designed to sit in your craft room and your living room.
The black lightweight pole is easily assembled and can be adjusted to the height you need. The back painted pole is finished top and bottom with a wooden stand and a wooden lamp casing. It also comes in a darker Havana Brown, Jet Black and a glossy Titanium Silver.
If you're being energy conscious right now, then consider the Brightech Litespan shines at a bright 850-950 lumens and only uses 12 watts of electricity. On a personal note, the pole is attached at the very rear of the lamp's stand so it can be pushed up to a wall and save on space.
The Brightech Leaf is a beautiful looking LED floor lamp that comes in two colours, black and silver. While it only has a colour temperature of 3000 Kelvins while some on my list reach 6000 Kelvins, which is a better daylight range for crafting, the Leaf is well made and has a wonderful swing art 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. The Leaf features an energy saving mode and comes with a three-level touch sensitive switch to adjust the power and brightness. The 'pharmacy' style shade around the lamp helps the light focus on a particular area. This is a good floor lamp for multiple tasks.
The best craft lights: frequent questions
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 do Lumens measure in crafting lamps?
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.
What do Kelvins measure in crafting lamps?
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.
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.
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