! Quick darning - PEP BB textile.sand.darn

I'm finding it harder and harder to find "mostly" cotton socks which I use for July and August (wool the rest of the year), so this topic inspired me to darn a pair with a small hole, but a larger "worn" area which needed reinforcing. The thread was the easiest cotton thread I could find and I felt it would do the job. Any thicker and it would have been hard to pull through, but I want ed a bit of padding. I was tempted to try "patching" the heal instead of darning it - has anyone ever tried that?

I'm glad I watched a video because the way I mended socks before was bulky. The stone pestle from the kitchen made a great darning mushroom! The yarn I had was thicker than the sock, so I unwound it into two thinner strings.

I vaguely remember learning sock darning somewhere once upon a time. It wasn't a skill I put into practice, however! It's a useful skill, though, so the BB is just the thing to motivate me to put it into practice.

A pair of holes in my favorite handknit socks.

I hoped I still had some of the same yarn, but the green was the closest I could find.

First row for weaving.

Weaving the threads.

Darning from the inside.

From the outside. Not perfect, but not too bad.

Here is a darned repair!

For those interested in “pin loom” weaving here is more information.
http://www.pinloomweaving.com/p/the-story-of-pin-looms.html

Quick darning a sock. Now I wish I hadn't tossed the other holey ones...

Kevin Harbin wrote:Quick darning a sock. Now I wish I hadn't tossed the other holey ones...

Hi Kevin,
We're having trouble seeing a few things on the video.  Most specifically "are the materials appropriate for the kind of mend" and the method seems to be quite dark and hard to distinguish.  

Do you have more photos or could you tell us in words some more about your repair?  

r ranson wrote:
Hi Kevin,
We're having trouble seeing a few things on the video.  Most specifically "are the materials appropriate for the kind of mend" and the method seems to be quite dark and hard to distinguish.  

Do you have more photos or could you tell us in words some more about your repair?  

I don't have any other pictures. I meant to take a little video and then forgot. Here is the final picture in full resolution rather than compressed for the video.
I don't know what the sock is made from. I used black cotton thread with what is labeled a carpet needle. I chose that needle because slender with a pointy end and plenty long enough for the hole I was working with. I chose the black thread to match the color of the sock which has very fine material. The method I used was to weave rows across the hole, starting a couple rows before the hole and ending a couple rows past. Then, turn 90 degrees and repeat. When I was finished I wasn't happy with the density and did a final set of rows at 45 degrees.
I hope this helps explain my method.

This is the first time I have tried proper darning.  I had to improvise as I didn't have a darning egg, I used a lacrosse ball which I had for massaging after swimming. The sock actually has a whole sole that could do with darning, but I didn't want to try that first!

Apologies in advance if the black on black is hard to see - I wanted the darning to be fairly unobtrusive since I want to be able to wear the sweater to work still. I took a lot of progress pictures with the needle in it so hopefully it's more evident that I went far enough outside the boundaries of the hole.

Started with a sweater with a hole in the sleeve, some thin black yarn from my stash, and a tapestry needle inherited from my grandmother. It didn't turn out perfect by any means, but it's not too bulky and since the hole was on the underside of the sleeve it's not super noticeable and my black work sweater is wearable again just in time for fall.