Learning to Darn

Looking to be more sustainable? It might be a good time to learn a new skill like darning. Embroidery, punch needle and sashiko mending are definitely on our list of new things to try. Pauliina is determined to get the hang of darning – here are some tutorials she’s found helpful.

Learning to darn

I have dozens of pairs of handknit socks. I wear them most of the time, year-round, unless I’m going for a run or it’s warm enough to skip socks entirely. So, naturally every now and then a pair starts to show some signs of wear.

So far, I’ve just thrown the ones with holes away. I’ve knitted several new pairs every year, so the number of socks has stayed the same overall. However, I do see this as being quite wasteful and have wanted to learn to darn my socks for a while now. I even took a course on it one summer at Jyväskylä Knit Fest! And yet, the number of socks I’ve darned is zero.

But now, I noticed my favourite pair of scrappy socks has developed a hole on the heel. I love this pair dearly, and don’t want to part with it yet, so I’m taking this as the sign to finally try and really learn this skill!

If you’re like me and want to be able to save your treasured socks, or just be more sustainable with your closet and your hobby, here are some helpful tutorials I found:

Does this mean I’m going to stop knitting socks? No, definitely not. I’m just going to knit them to my family and friends more. And if I get this darning thing figured out, I can even offer to fix their socks, too, when the time comes.

Text: Pauliina Kuunsola