To darn a sock, you need a darning needle, a darning egg or other smooth round object, and darning cotton or embroidery thread. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my grandmother's sewing kit included 4 balls of darning cotton. It's apparently not made anymore. I found this ceramic egg at the Habitat ReStore for $.50.
I've been carting a bag of socks around with me all week, darning when I have 1o minutes to wait here or there. It goes quite quickly once you get the hang of it. Here is a video on how to darn socks. It shows darning wool socks with wool, but the technique is the same for cotton and silk socks. Just use a matching thread, and a needle about as big as your threads.
Anyone else darn their socks?
7 comments:
Well I'll be darned, I might have to try that! I actually have some of that darning cotton. It came with the house.
I've never tried it, but my mom has some darning cotton at her house. She knows how, but I don't think she does it anymore. Mom used to own a knit shop and give knitting and crocheting lessons, so I bet she can teach me. I have a really nice pair of winter socks with a hole in the heel, too. Just right for darning.
Darn it! I have darned socks before but decided it's easier to re-use them as dust clothes or dog sweaters. Great for the guy who brought you the Make Do and Mend Challenge huh?
Great video. THanks for linking to it. I use a lightbulb for sock mending, but have no "proper" darning cotton. Could any yarn be used or is darning cotton special?
Christine~ How lucky! Funny what you can find in an old house.
Jayne~ I think nice socks are perfect for this... no sense in throwing out favorite socks!
Rob~ I have so many rags right now... and they might make a tail cover or bootie on my dogs. If I'm lucky. Plus, I'm REALLY cheap!
Chile~ I don't know what is "special" about darning cotton... it appears to be a loosely woven cotton thread, and it is four threads thick. I do know that many use embroidery thread instead. Basically, you want a thread that is approximately like the one the sock is made out of.. .so for thick wool socks, you want a nice thick wool yard... for thin socks, you want a smaller thread. I'm doing black cotton dress socks mostly, and the darning cotton/embroidery thread thickness is just perfect.
Well, I've got an assortment of materials* from yard sales and craigslist so I'll just make do with something I already have.
*Cheap imported thread, organic cotton thread, quilter's thread, blue denim thread, tailor's thread (not in spools, but in set lengths), embroidery thread, and tons of yarn even though I don't yet know how to knit or crochet. Oh yeah, we also have the waxed thread for mending camping supplies, plus the heavy duty awl-needle thing for that. Works great for mending daypacks!
I have been searching everywhere for darning cotton but cannot find it--I have diabetic socks that I really like but have holes in the heels. Good to know that it's no longer manufactured, so I won't search any longer.
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