Speedweve

Continuing on that mending kick: I do darn socks. I know plenty of knitters who will spend hours knitting socks, then once they wear holes (as all socks inevitably will), these knitters would rather throw away a good, handmade sock than mend it. For a while, I understood!

The classic method of darning is a pain. I always felt like I needed three hands. Fortunately, I discovered a knit “darning” method that suits me well, so I put the idea of the woven darn behind me.

That is until I saw a “Speedweve” loom on Instagram. A darning mushroom with a way to attached to your fabric? Hooks that act as a harness? Sucker for tools that I am, to say I was intrigued was an understatement. I started to romanticize woven rainbow patches on all of my clothes. After a couple of days of these daydreams, I had to have one.

And I had the perfect first fix to test it out: these commercial knit boot socks that are about the same thickness of handmade socks that I have worn a little hole in. I wouldn’t have to cover much, and if it didn’t go well, it’s a commercial knit. No heartbreak over losing a handmade sock.

The loom instructions recommended embroidery floss, but since this sock was a little heavier, I went with some perle cotton 5 leftovers. They may have been a bit bulky to be completely efficient on the loom, but I really liked the finished patch.

Using it was a blast. No fiddling with the mushroom, no wrist-breaking, tedious over and under with your needles. Just shift the hooks and run your needle through. It was a little patch, but the whole thing with zero experience on this tool took less than an hour.

Finishing it off was a bit different. I just took the ends and did a running stitch back up the patch. I was a bit worried it would add too much bulk, but nope! I could hardly feel it, even in my boot.

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And sure, I still can think of plenty of people who would think this was an unnecessary investment, but it wasn’t for me. I’m so happy with it, and I’m looking forward to using it for many more repairs. If you’re looking to do some visible mending yourself, I’d highly recommend one!