! Quick darning - PEP BB textile.sand.darn

I darned a sock the other day!

Here are the latest socks that I've darned. Woollen socks seem to wear our much faster than synthetic ones, which is a real shame, but at least they are easier to repair!

Darned my first pair of socks! Looks pretty effective, but I’m curious to see how long they’ll hold up.

I used a couple methods to repair jeans recently. Here I wanted to get ahead before it got any worse.

I haven't darned anything before so I hope this will last even if it isn't very neat! If you have any tips I'd appreciate it.

Hi Anna. I would love to approve your darning ... But it's impossible for me to see it on the photo. It looks like this was for the BB of invisible mending, all I see is a black stocking (and something pink). Maybe you can try to make a new photo with better lighting?

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote: Hi Anna. I would love to approve your darning ... But it's impossible for me to see it on the photo. It looks like this was for the BB of invisible mending, all I see is a black stocking (and something pink). Maybe you can try to make a new photo with better lighting?

Inge, I think the pink is just the heel of the the sock, and she darned the thin spot in her black & pink sock. I went and pasted the picture into photoshop and adjusted the lighting.

Anna Eagle wrote: If you have any tips I'd appreciate it.

Bravo on darning your first sock! I recall my first darnings looked a lot like yours, and I've learned a lot since then that's made my darns last a bit longer, and be more comfortable!

I adjusted the lighting on your sock picture so it's a bit easier to see the actual darning. I'm thinking the darn looks like it was a little tight (notice how the pink area is a little distorted, and how the darned area looks smaller than the worn area used to be). When a darn is tight, the edges of the stitches (where you turn to stitch back the other way) can PULL on the sock fabric, and rip it. You don't want more holes!  It helps to weave a bit loosely, leaving little loops at the edges. Sticking something inside the sock like a ball, rattle, or "darning egg" is also really handy. This will help keep the darn from getting too tight, and keep the shape of the sock better.

a good illustration of leaving loose ends on the darn, and weaving back and forth

Another thing I noticed is that there aren't many stitches going up and down, and even less going back and forth. Think about darning a sock as weaving new cloth to go where the hole is. This can take some time, but it's worth it! It not only feels more comfortable, but having more stitches makes the whole darned area stronger.

Sometimes it's hard to see exactly what's happening with a darn, because you have to kind of "zoom in" with your eyes. So I zoomed in with photoshop in case it helped!

I hope this helps explain my ramblings!

Thank you Nicole for making the photo clearer. So I could approve the BB. And I agree with all advice you give on darning.

Thank you both of you! It's very well described and the diagram is very useful. I'll definitely try the above method when fixing some of my other clothes in the future. I think I'll practise a bit more before trying out some other BBs.

Well this was challenging! I think the last time I did anything like this was in cubs, 40 years ago.

I bought these trousers on Debop for 5 bucks two years ago. They were definitely well loved and are my go to summer trousers when I want long trousers to avoid mossie bites in the garden. A belt loop ripped a while back, so when I saw this badge, I thought I’d fix them.

I closed up the whole with a thin strong thread and then stitched the loop back with a much thicker thread. My fingers are tender . . . Need one of those finger guard thingies . . . Thimble! That’s the word . . . Here are the steps I took.

Just saw the previous submissions after submitting. I have a horrible feeling this will fail . . . My BBV count is already -3 . . . I’m guessing this isn’t darning . . . Oh well, I’ll just have to wait and see.