How Does Darning Work?

Replace or Repair?

Darning is a handcraft which has passed into obscurity with the advent of inexpensive apparel available in stores. Why mend a pair of socks with holes in them if they can be easily replaced? Sometimes, however, the article of clothing requiring repair is an expensive or a hand-knit wool item. Then, you may choose to find someone who knows how to darn or you can learn how for yourself.

Necessary Tools

To darn a sweater, sock, glove or mitten, you should have a sewing item called a darning egg. This is a wooden tool sometimes in the shape of an egg and sometimes in the shape of a rounded ball on the end of a handle. If you do not have a darning egg, you can use anything with a firm rounded surface. You must have a darning needle, which is a large-eyed metal or plastic needle, and a pair of scissors. If you can, you should have yarn very similar to the thickness and color used in the article of clothing. For cotton or polyester items, use embroidery thread in the color of the material.

Hand Darning

Insert the darning egg into the item of clothing, placing the hole directly over the rounded end of the egg. With the darning needle and about a yard of yarn, sew a running stitch in the intact stitches all around the hole. Choose stitches far enough from the hole which will not unravel over time. These will be anchor stitches for the weaving you will be doing across the hole. Make each of the stitches approximately one knit stitch wide. Insert the needle into one of the created running stitches. Draw the yarn across the hole to the coordinating stitch on the other side. Insert the needle into that stitch and repeat, drawing the yarn across the hole and inserting in the coordinating stitch on the other side. Continue to do this until the hole is filled in with a framework of either vertical or horizontal long stitches. Keep the knit fabric stretched slightly over the darning egg so that the long stitches have the same tension as the surrounding intact knit material. Begin to weave over the hole by inserting the needle and yarn into the first running stitch and weaving the needle and thread under and over each of the long stitches in turn. When you come to the end of the row, insert the needle into another running stitch and go back through the long stitches, weaving over where you went under and under where you went over. Continue in this manner until you have filled in the hole with a woven patch. Make one or two running stitches at the end of your darning to secure the yarn.

Machine Darning

A sewing machine may be used to darn a hole in cotton or polyester material. Remove the presser foot and attach a darning foot to the machine. Either place a darning plate over the feed dogs or lower them. Adjust the upper thread tension of the machine. Secure the material to be repaired in an embroidery hoop, placing the hole in the center. If the hole is larger than half an inch, put a piece of reinforcing material on the wrong side of the item and baste it in place. With a needle and thread, sew running stitches around the hole in the secure part of the material. Machine stitch straight lines of stitches back and forth from one set of running stitches to the running stitches on the opposite side of the hole. When the hole is covered by rows of machine stitches going one way, turn the material at a right angle and machine stitch back and forth from one row of running stitches, across the machine stitches, and to the opposite side of running stitches. Excess material from the reinforcing patch may be snipped away. The Singer Sewing Machine Company publishes a mending and repair book which tells more about mending using a sewing machine.

Reasons for Darning

When you have learned how to darn, you will not need to throw away favorite items of clothing because of a hole. Darning instead of replacing clothing can also save you money by extending the life of your apparel.

Resources

• A slightly more complicated method of darning
• Darning and patching from 1917 instructions