It's cool again to repair, reclaim, repurpose!
Have you Darned before?
Here are some pictures to get you ready to jump in! After posting this photo on Facebook, I had some delightful responses from people who had darned socks, sweaters and even a towel! (I want to learn more about darning a hole in a towel!)
This was a pair of wool content socks, so they were worth the small amount of time it took to darn this hole in the area of the sock for the ball of a foot. Actually, these are Unc's socks, but I have claimed them now...as much to test the comfort of the darned area, and because most of my socks are 100 percent cotton.
I now want to perfect the art of darning. I want to learn to do a very fine darned repair! It is so much fun to write about darning because I get to say darn and darned so often. *giggle*
So briefly, here are some suggestions or tips I can share with you.
1. I did not take time to find my great grandmother's darning egg, so I used a light bulb instead. In the past, folks used a small gourd as well.
2. I used embroidery floss for this repair. If you want to make the repair disappear, try to use a thread or yarn as close as possible to the fiber content of the original garment. I separated the individual threads of the embroidery floss and used three threads in my needle.
3. Do not knot the thread you are using to make the repair. Instead, weave it into the fabric and back stitch a few times to secure the repair thread.
4. Trim around the hole if the torn parts will make the repair lumpy. I usually trim a little after I have made a few running stitch circles around the hole.
5. A running stitch circling the damaged area gives me a framework to which to anchor my repairs. I circled several times before beginning the basketweave pattern.
6. Stagger the beginning and ending points of your stitches so that the darned spot will wear more softy. I have not felt the repaired area as I have worn this sock for almost 24 hours now.
7. Stretch the area to be repaired, but don't stretch to the point that you enlarge the hole.
8. Look for areas of fiber weakness around the hole that you can also repair while you are working in that area.
9. Backstitch a few times to anchor your thread as you weave it into the fabric.
10. Don't worry about your first or even your tenth effort being perfect. On a sock, especially, the repair is going to be in your shoe, so no one will see it. The main point is that the repair is comfortable to your foot.
Don't throw away those nice wool socks or sweaters or other garments. Darn It!
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