Darning (Mending) a Sock
Darning socks was once an extremely common activity. However, as socks have become cheaper and many people find it easier to simply throw them away as they become worn, many young people don't even recognize the reference in the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" to the priest darning his socks by the light of the moon (assuming they've even listened to the Beatles, that is). As the economy worsens, being able to mend a hole in a sock means freeing the money that one would have spent replacing the pair to instead buy something else.Things You Will Need:
- needle
- thread
- thimble
- darning egg*
*For those not familiar with the term, a darning egg is a small ovoid object about the size of an egg or slightly larger that is slipped into the sock to produce a firm surface. Although one can buy darning eggs made specially for the purpose (my grandmother had one with a long, slender handle), any object of the appropriate size, shape, and smoothness will do -- an ornamental wooden egg, a river stone, a light bulb (the old-fashioned incandescent kind, not a CFL), etc. Some people have even used a hard-boiled egg, since the shell will be peeled and discarded before the egg is eaten.
In a real pinch you can put your off hand (the one you don't use to sew with) inside the sock and spread your fingers to stretch the fabric. However, you have to be careful not to stick yourself, so this method is best kept for emergency repairs.
Procedure:
1. Thread your needle with a thread of similar color and texture to the fabric of the sock to be mended.
2. Slip the thimble over the middle finger of your sewing hand.
3. Slip the darning egg into the sock and center the hole over it, holding it in your off hand.
4. Beginning just below the bottom of the hole, make several stitches in the sound fabric of the sock to anchor your thread.
5. When you reach the bottom of the hole, draw the thread from one side of the hole to the other. If the hole is a simple tear (knitted athletic socks are notorious for this), you may be able to simply use the thread to pull the two sides of the tear together and close it with a number of close-spaced stitches. If the hole is the result of woven fabric wearing away, you will need to rebuild the weave. In this case, you will not want to allow the stitches to pull the sides together, but instead will need to leave them loose.
6. When you reach the other end of the hole, make several more stitches in sound fabric to anchor your repair. If you were able to simply close a tear, you can then tie off your thread. If you are rebuilding the fabric, you will then need to go back and painstakingly weave the thread through the stitches of the first pass, recreating the fabric that has worn away. When you finish doing this, you will want to make several stitches in sound fabric to anchor your thread before tying it off.
It is best to stop wearing a sock and mend it as soon as you begin seeing a hole develop. The longer you wear a sock after it begins to go through, the larger the hole will become and the more time and effort you will have to put into mending it.
As Benjamin Franklin reminded us in Poor Richard's Almanac, "A stitch in time saves nine."
Posted February 28, 2010.
