Vintage 10-Hook Speedweve Loom
**NEXT SALE - Feb 2025**
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A beautiful vintage Speedweve darning loom from the 1940s/50s.
This classic darning loom will help you fix up those moth holes, repair threadbare areas or disguise a stain with some fab colourful mending! It's given me so many hours of mending joy and each time I reach for something I've repaired with it, it brings a smile to my face!
The 'Speedweve' darning machine was invented over 100 years ago to help make weaving over and under threads quicker and easier.
The loom holds the warp (vertical) threads in place over the hole in the fabric and with a simple 'swish' of the hooks, alternate warp threads are raised higher. As you slide your needle below the hook ends you can magically weave over one thread and then under the next, in a second!
You will receive:
1 x original 10-Hook Speedweve metal loom.
1 x Speedweve disk - original or replica (please see gallery for more details).
1 x stainless steel spring (custom-made in the U.K. for MM).
Our exclusive 20-page 'Loom Darning for Beginners' instructional guide.
Some looms may also come with an original Speedweve box and/or an original instruction sheet (please see gallery pics for more info).
Measurements:
Wooden disc measures approximately 68mm (2 ¾") in diameter
Warp width measures approximately 43mm (1 ⅝") wide
10 hooks spaced approx 4mm apart
A 10-hook loom will create a looser woven darn making it ideal for darning most knitwear using thicker yarn and other heavier textiles using thicker thread.
For more information then check out this blog post!
A few important points:
Each and every vintage loom I sell is a little different as they have all had a past life! Sometimes I'm lucky enough to find a loom with it's original box &/or instructions, but sadly sometimes these are missing.
They may also have spots of rust and slight damage from previous use over the years, however please rest assured that I always take apart, clean up, reassemble and test each one before I list them for sale so any damage will be cosmetic only.
Occassionally I do find looms without their original disk so I also have a stock of replica, solid oak disks* which I will pair up with the metal loom part ensuring it can have another life as a darning loom.
Due to the unique nature of each one of these looms I have taken photos and labelled each one I have for sale. Please see photos of each loom available in the gallery and choose the one you'd like from the drop down box below -each one is labelled with a number found on the photo.
*Nut Allergy Disclaimer: Please be aware replacement wooden disks are treated with a walnut oil finish. If for any reason you require a disk without an oil finish, please email me and I can easily sort this for you.
All about Darning Looms
A Speedweve darning loom has two parts: a wooden disk and a metal loom.
The wooden disk has a groove around the side so you can attach the loom to the disk using a metal spring or elastic band.
Run your fingers across the chain of hooks at the top to make the metal hooks flip one way and the other. This alternates the height of the warp/vertical threads so you can quickly and accurately weave over and under.
The Speedweve was known as 'Lancashire's Smallest Loom' and was produced by E & A Chesstok Ltd of Rusholme, Manchester in the 1940s and 1950s.
Two models were produced labelled as: Model 1 and Model 2 (this was often stamped on the back of the metal loom).
An additional fine loom with 14 hooks instead of 10 was also made for darning silk and linen.
