Speedweve

Yesterday I posted a picture of some wooden sewing items I have inherited from my mother and mother-in-law. I thought that the round piece was some sort of spool but now, having discovered another gadget, instructions and the outer wrapping, I find that it is in fact part of a darning machine. The Speedweve is a tiny darning loom advertised as ‘Lancashire’s smallest loom’. It was manufactured by E & A Chesstok Ltd of Rusholme, Manchester in 1947/48 - a time when people still felt it worth the effort to darn socks.