You may have noticed this little beauty in the pile of books from the Needlearts bookshop: This is, as it says, "Flawless Knit Repair" by Re...
Well, after considerable rummaging I have turned up the directions for the Swiss darning mend mentioned in my last post. I hope you can make some sense of it. I have used it twice before, once for a bachelor friend, to fix a hole in his Sunday best sweater, and the other for another friend whose puppy had chewed a hole in her husband's brand new sweater. Oh dear. In the interests of the popularity of both the puppy and my friend I had to make that mend as un-noticeable as possible. The problem, in both cases, was that I didn't have matching wool but found as near a match as possible and both of my friends were happy with the result. The mend is started by using a crochet hook to pick up any stitches that have run, then using a thin strand of yarn connect the stitches at the top and bottom of the hole with long stitches so that you can use them as a foundation for your mend. Next take your mending yarn (the same thickness as the knitted stitches) and work back and forth across the hole in duplicate stitch, working a few stitches into the knitting at each side to ensure that the damage won't spread. Finally turn the work to the wrong side and darn all loose ends away. Your mend may not look as good as new, but it should look better than a darn. Another good way to cover a hole is to crochet little flowers to scatter all over the sweater, covering the hole with one of the flowers. - Presto! A new sweater. Though I'm not sure how a male would take to that idea for his sweater. Must go now. I hope all is well at your place. Bye for now until next time.
I should have known better than to wear soft, fine merino and alpaca wool hand knitted socks with hiking boots. Very soon the fine wool was worn away and holes appeared. As these were a favourite pair of socks I thought about making a repair using the darning method. I confess, I've never repaired a pair of socks. Therefore, I did a quick search for darning instructions. While browsing various methods I came across a knitted heel option which looked so much better than a darning patch. The following images give you the basic idea behind the method. I won't repeat the instructions here as they are quite lengthy, not for the fainthearted. The method can be found at Lupinworks.com Replacing a sock heel. I'm pleased with the finished result and won't be wearing these socks in hiking boots anymore! 1. Picking up stitches 2. Cut out old damaged heel and unravel old rows. 3.Pick up stitches on needles 4. Knit the heel flap and turn the heel. 5. Finished heel
This year, our Makers repaired thousands of items from your wardrobes. Here are the top 5 we captured on video ➡️ Book care & repair via The Seam and start off the new year with like-new-again...
I remember when the only foot wear that was in style in Singapore was slippers and.... well, that was it! It was probably more convenient (and less of a pong) to slip on the slippers and pop down to the market or hawker centre, than say put on a pair of trainers. Times have changed - I see more covered shoes, which means more socks and even more holey ones too! In last year's The Get Redressed Challenge, I managed to try out darning socks. I had used the weaving method. Here are my sweet pink socks from the mend: Duplicate Stitch I was really with happy with how it turned out, and after that I decided to focus on the football socks. The holes were a lot bigger and because football socks need a substantial amount of stretching I decided to use a different method of darning - DUPLICATE STITCH. This meant replicating the same knitted stitches in the areas to be reinforced as well as in the hole. Well, it was an ambitious attempt because: 1) I had forgotten that football socks are reinforced with a lot of elastic and were a lot thicker than normal knit socks; and 2) the knit in football socks is hideously tiny! And so, what started off as a small project ended up being a "darn" problem! The initial step was pretty straight forward - define area to be mended and reinforced. I used a jam jar instead of a darning egg and inserted it into the sock (pulled inside out). This expanded the sock making it easier to see where I needed to sew the warp strands using normal cotton thread (image below, left). I then proceeded to do the substitute stitch..... I was only on the first row when I became extremely impatient - yes, that's right. The normally zen me was becoming frustrated. I'm not sure whether it was the needle I had chosen but the elastic in the sock was becoming an impediment to my progress! So in the end I decided to weave using embroidery thread. In case you are wondering what duplicate stitching looks like, here is a video! After abandoning the idea of duplicate stitching, I reinforced the weave with warp threads ie. covering the green sewing thread. Here it is in the image below, I continued the weaving streak with another pair of football socks. I am staying away from the duplicate stitch for an indefinite period! What type of darning method do you use? This is part of the Fix It Friday series! Don't forget to pop over to Little Did You Know and see what she's been up to with her mending. Until next Friday!
Okay, so I love black and white photography. I find that surprising because I am such a color fanatic, but it's true. Something about the light and shading that completely captures my eye. The photos show emotion so well with the lack of color. And older photos can get me to thinking....I almost climb into the photo. One of my favorites is French photographer, Jacques Henri Lartigue, because it feels like one can discover humor, love, and live in his stories. I can just imagine the back story. I digress! I thought it would be fun to share some photos of crafting. I'm going to add some captions but do take time to venture in to these photos as well. Did you see the net repair photo? Our fiber arts tradition began with fishermen! Fiber arts are a huge part of our lives today but it's fun to consider the past through these photos! Happy Knitter 1. This one cracks me up as it looks very contrived. Perhaps a cover for a catalog at one time? I certainly love my knitting but rarely dress for the occasion and never sit in a straight back chair! I Think I Dropped a Stitch 2. Okay, so this is not a photo. I love this painting of the Monk Knitting by Lytras Nikiphoros. This looks like the knit project may be done, but certainly the monk is deep in thought. You know how we inspect our handwork! Bottom's Up 3. Fiber arts are such a broad craft area. This Haidi woman of Massat is weaving a basket. Look closely as this work requires great detail. Note the carving in the background. What an amazing photo! Looking for a simple basket idea? We've got you covered! We Love Unique! 4. Yep, we are all about creativity, unique fibers, and creating happiness! The stilt shepherds of Landes, in southwest France, were able to care for their sheep in marsh, scrub, and boggy lands because of their stilts. This fellow is working with wool while on his stilts! Talk about multi-tasking! Hooked 5. Crochet was absolutely a past-time for royalty such as Alexandra Petrovna- Grand Duchess of Russia. Note her head-wear and adornments are crochet projects that many of us don't know of today! While times have changes, it's exciting to know that what brings us joy has been around for quite some time! The World Keeps Spinning 6. Spinning is something I would love to learn and is on my crafting list! Being an amateur weaver, spinning seems like a logical progression. I'd love to grab some of our Pulled Silk Fiber and sit right down with these ladies. Imagine the knowledge these ladies could share with us! Off the Grid 7. This old photograph cracks me up. Mixed media art is definitely the theme of class today. Students have their yarn and their canvas-looks like some type of needle work? For me, I would much prefer a cross stitch kit from Darn Good Yarn! Sew What? 8. Some of us remember home ec class in school. I have vivid memories of struggling through the sewing portion of that class and the hot pink, wide wale, corduroy jumper that I made. Yuck! Sewing surely has come a long way, baby! Whatever your craft, we love supporting your creativity. It's fun to look at historical photos to put our traditions in perspective. One of our goals for this year is to create happiness so please ask the Darn Good Yarn team if you need support or have a question!
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Whether snagged by a branch, singed by an errant campfire ember, or munched by moths,…
Counteracting a throw-away society Considering the time and expense of making hand-knit socks, it is well worth the effort to repair them if you eventually wear through a hole. You say you don't know how to darn a sock? Let me help with these photos and brief explanation of...
Vintage USA made light blue all wool sweater vest. Made by Robert Bruce Knitwear in the 1960s. Super soft and light, great for layering this spring or wearing on its own as a knit tank. One small spot of repair where a hole has been darned at the chest, and a touch of pilling at the left armpit. Shown in photos, and not noticeable when wearing. Still in excellent vintage shape. Best fits a women's small or medium, but please refer to measurements for the right fit. Measurements laying flat: 17" pit to pit (can pull to 19") 13" waist (can pull to 15") 22" length Model: Women's small, 5'8", 26" waist, 36" hips, 36B • Please note that all sales are final. If you have any questions about your item, please send a message before purchase and we will get back to you right away! All items are in used condition any any obvious flaws will be noted in the description, however please note these items have been previously loved and will show signs of wear. • If you are local to the Portland area and would like to order in person, please send us a message and we will arrange in store pickup. • Check out @GoodbyeHorsesVintage on Instagram for a first look at new to you vintage
A few weeks ago I pulled out the storage bag where I keep the small amount of kids’ clothes that I’ve deemed special enough to keep for nostalgia sake, or that are otherwise waiting for…
There are numerous ways to protect the environment, and it's up to us to choose the most suitable methods to contribute and help our planet. This is especially crucial now, given the many factors contributing to climate change and the degradation of our beloved Mother Earth.
Have a knit sweater in need of mending? Fix it fast with a few sewing techniques like how to darn holes, fix snagged thread and frayed buttonholes.
From this tutorial, you will learn how to knit the garter tab cast-on. This technique is used to begin a triangle shawl, that is worked top-down and has a garter stitch border.
Come riparare i tessuti rovinati : tutte le tecniche ed i tipi di rammendo.
Repair Shop founders Rachel Meade Smith and Sam Bennett invite us to commune with the vulnerability of garments and to comprehend the fragility of our own bodies.
Upcycling and organising are among the ways fashionistas are giving their wardrobes a longer life. Bel Jacobs explores how caring for our clothes also means caring for the planet.
There are lots of lovely ways to cast on stitches – some of them are plain, others create a fancy edging. But sometimes we need to make the cast on edge absolutely invisible. It usually happens when we are about to start seamless projects worked in the round, like cushions, bags, toys and toe-up socks. […]
Whether snagged by a branch, singed by an errant campfire ember, or munched by moths,…
