Socks that develop holes are one of life’s small irritations. A discomfort and inconvenience so slight it’s easy to forget to remedy it until once again you’re rummaging through drawers searching for a pair in the right colour that haven’t been split by your big toenail or worn out at the heel.
Due to convenience and, well, capitalism, for most of us the remedy is to buy new socks. I relegate the odd ones and holey ones to a canvas tote bag shoved into the back of my wardrobe. There they enter the specific purgatory of broken household items that shouldn’t go in the bin, aren’t fit for donation and can’t be recycled. Mostly I forget about this bag until it’s time to move or reorganise – until now.
A few weeks ago via a video call, the darning and mending expert Georgia de Castro Keeling gave me a sock darning tutorial. Despite not being crafty or good at sewing, the lesson and my subsequent darning attempt made me realise how easy and satisfying it is to repair my own socks.
As someone who thinks constantly about sustainable fashion and spends a lot of money getting clothes repaired and restored (albeit never socks) this revelation has probably surprised me more than it should. Nevertheless, I’m a convert.
What you’ll need
To darn socks or anything with a hole in it, it helps to have a few specific tools: scissors, a darning needle, embroidery thread, a rubber band and a darning mushroom.
The thread should match the weight and material of the sock. For instance, a cotton sock requires cotton thread; wool requires wool thread. This is to make sure the sock won’t shrink in odd ways when you wash it. When you’re starting out with darning, it helps to use thread in a contrast colour so you can clearly see the stitches being made.
I bought a darning mushroom, embroidery thread and a darning needle online. De Castro Keeling says instead of a darning mushroom, “You can use anything with a hard smooth surface like a spoon or a big shell.”
Step one: put your sock in place
Feed the mushroom into the sock so the hole you’re working on is in the centre of its smooth head. To keep the sock in place and ensure the tension is consistent, wrap the rubber band around the stem of the mushroom, near the head. Make sure the tension of the sock is “not too tight and not too loose”, De Castro Keeling says.
Next, cut a piece of thread about the length of your arm and thread one end through the eye of the needle. You’ll be working with a single thread so there’s no need to double it over or knot it at the end.
Step two: create a ‘square’ of stitches
Before we begin, De Castro Keeling explains the endgame is to create a square of stitches much bigger than the hole. This is because she can see the hole on my sock is quite frayed. A square that covers the entire hole will reinforce the hole on all sides and make for a more robust repair.
Visualise a square large enough to cover the hole and pick a spot that will be the bottom-right corner of the square, about 2cm from the bottom right of the hole. Poke the needle through the sock, pulling it out the other side, leaving about 10cm of thread hanging out. Then create a line of running stitches, towards the left, that will end at the bottom-left corner of the square. (A running stitch involves repeatedly threading the needle over and under, making small, neat stitches in a straight line.)
Once the first line is finished, do another running stitch in the opposite direction, above and parallel to, but not touching, the first line. Repeat this, creating parallel lines of stitches that get closer and closer to the edge of the hole.
Step three: make ‘bars’ across the hole
When the first line of stitches hits the bottom edge of the hole, De Castro Keeling says to “travel across it” with one big stitch that catches material as close to the edge of the hole as possible. “I’m going to go straight across and then I’m going to hook in.” Once you’re on the other side, resume the line of running stitches.
When you arrive at the hole the second time, she says, “it’s like forming bars on a window”. The second bar should be close to the first one but not touching it. Continue the running stitches, repeating the steps until the hole is covered in horizontal bars and the lines of stitches have formed a square.
Step four: stitch and weave perpendicular lines
“Now I’m going to do exactly what I just did, but in the opposite direction,” De Castro Keeling says – that is, create perpendicular vertical lines of stitches that cross the horizontal ones.
When you get to the edge of the hole, take a pause. It’s trickier this time as instead of darning straight across, you weave the needle over and under the bars. When you get to the other side, continue the running stitch.
Coming back the other way, what I found trickiest was ensuring my weave alternated with the one I’d done before – if the preceding weave went over-under-over, I had to ensure the current weave went under-over-under, to create a weave both neat and secure. “Always make sure you anchor the stitch to the edge of the hole” before continuing the running stitch on the other side, De Castro Keeling says.
Step five: finish the square
Once the square of stitches is complete, you need to secure the work without using a knot, as knots inside your socks may feel uncomfortable. De Castro Keeling does a short line of stitches in the opposite direction of her running stitch. “Then I’ll go the opposite way, cross the stitches over each other with a small loop through and then snip.”
Repeat this on the other corner, where you left 10cm of thread by looping it into the eye of the needle.
Although I’m not dextrous enough to try this on items that might be visible to anyone else, if you’re able to make it look as beautiful as de Castro Keeling, darning can be used to cover stains or mend holes on everything from jumpers to T-shirts.
