samson

You can prevent it from having an open edge. When you are done weaving, you can take the metal part off and feed the weft through the loops on the warp and secure them to the fabric along the way. I am just waking up from a nap, but I hope that makes sense? This is the video tutorial I followed and around the end she shows how to secure the patch. https://youtu.be/DOmm8HL5fwY?si=1Jsiidc9rkA56CCw
I have never darned anything by hand, so I don't have a fair comparison as far as speed and look of the finished product is. However I am pretty satisfied with how these look.

I got my speedweve for less than $10. I bought this one specifically: https://a.co/d/9jGOTup
I bought both the small and medium size, but didn't actually pay attention to the listing photos. The small and medium share the same sized darning disk, but the hooks on the weaver itself are different. You don't need to use every hook for it to work, so there really isn't a need for me to have both sizes. The large size does have a different darning disk though.
I would say nab yourself a smaller, cheap one, and then you can always grab a larger sized one in the future if you need it/feel it would be worth it.

Thank you! They are fun to work with! Once you get into a rhythm with the weaving it feels pretty good.