"Wendy's favourite time for sewing and darning was after they had all gone to bed. Then, as she expressed it, she had a breathing time for herself; and she occupied it in making new things for them, and putting double pieces on the knees, for they were all most frightfully hard on their knees. When she sat down to a basketful of their stockings, every heel with a hole in it, she would fling up her arms and exclaim, "Oh dear, I am sure I sometimes think spinsters are to be envied!”
from Peter Pan by J M Barrie 1911
Who on earth could be bothered darning a sock?
In the dark recesses of my mind I think I remember my maternal grandfather once talking about darning socks. I don’t know whether he was referring to his ability to do so, but that was certainly my impression at the time. My grandfather was born in 1913 and spend his formative years in the Depression and his early married life during WWII. Even if your family lived comfortably during these times a certain frugality was politic and sock darning was an honourable and necessary way to spend your time. Why waste an entire sock or jumper because of a small hole?
The next generations were not to know the catastrophes of depression and war and the honour of a frugal life was surpassed by the desire for a life unconstrained by the chore of mending and making-do. These generations, our generations, could no longer justify the time to stop and mend. Our time cost more than our socks. To do so would admit that we couldn’t afford a better life. And so the skills of simple sewing are forgotten to be held in trust by a few people who rarely even use those skills themselves.
I never learnt to darn. By the 1970s this was not a skill often passed on as women marched against being chained to the sewing machine and new clothes were easy and cheap to come by.
But what if we disregarded the economic, gender and social implications of mending our socks and considered what else darning can do for us?
...It may surprise you to learn that a princess ever does such a common thing as darn stockings. But, if you will stop to think, you will realize that a princess is sure to wear holes in her stockings, the same as other people; only it isn't considered quite polite to mention the matter. From Ozama of Oz by Frank L Baum
Per instructions I stretch the hole over the light globe (which is what all self-respecting frugal sewers use, apparently) and create the warps. I am intimidated by the size of the hole but I am impressed with my new vocabulary.
The result is a complete hatchet job on the stockings. Miss 10 says she will still wear them but I think she’s being polite. I have new respect for the neat stitching of our forebears.
The darning process took an hour and cost me a couple of dollars worth of embroidery floss. I can see where I went wrong and would like to try this process again because the act of darning was, strangely, satisfying.
Darning is viewed as a little eccentric but it depends what else you were going to do with that hour. The act of darning gave me ‘permission’ to stop and think for a while, it was time that I wasn’t rushing around the house.
Many of the gentle arts have value in getting us to slow down. We may apply little worth to the act of darning but how do we value the quiet moment?
How about you? Do you give a darn?
22 comments:
Do I give a darn?
No. My boys don't seem to care if their socks have holes in them, so why should I?
Though it is a little embarrassing when we go to the chiropractor and they take off their shoes to reveal a hole.
I'm with Frogdancer. If the kids don't care, neither do I. I don't wear socks often enough to wear any holes in them.
Now days my socks never seem to wear out and get holes in them. It seems something else goes wrong before they get holes, like the elastic wears out and they work there way down into my shoes and I have to keep pulling them up. Darn!
Do I darn? Frankly, Megan and Alison, I don't give a darn!
I would darn tights, but not nearly so nicely as that. My mending consists of a few stitches to bring together the edges and maybe some nail polish to stop it getting worse. And once whe grace ripped a whole in the leg of her favourite tights I machine patched them with a piece of fabric from some outgrown, worn out tights... not real darning at all, but still a bit frugal.
I'm impressed with your darning effort!
I remember my mother and grandmother darning socks, and that was only the 80s. I have mended a few socks of my own, although not recently, and I didn't darn as such, I just pulled the edges together. That's student poverty for you. The problem with modern socks is that they're not worth the bother, as gramma ann noted, the elastic goes. However, if you've knitted yourself some socks, and they get a hole, it's certainly easier to repair them than it is to knit a whole new pair.
Isn't that true about socks now - the elastic goes before the sock wears out.
Having knitted two pairs of socks I think I would definitely darn those.
Mind you I'm always putting my toes through the end of my bought socks - perhaps I should save them by darning them?
lol, I can remember having a go when I was a young girl. There is definitely an art to it
I have tried darning stuff, but could never figure out how. I will have to go look at the tutorial. What will we do when all those round lightglobes are replaced by energy saving squiggle ones? Darning - a victim of global warming.
I think if I had lovely hand-knitted socks I might ...might consider it, but I suspect the novelty factor would wear off pretty quickly for me.
As a young girl just after WW2 darning was a necessary skill. I prided myself in this skill and at one point darned my young brothers sock such that it was in and out of the washing several times before my mother discovered it!I still darn according to the value of the article and how old it is matching the darning yarn as closely as possible--- and there is also the challenge of creative mending-a flower over a moth hole in a jumper or an insect etc.
We used a woodendarning "mushroom"
I love creative mending. I have a pair of courdoroy sneakers that I love and that have a hole near the toe - I'm looking for the right kind of patch to put over that one.
I mean corduroy.
I possess a wooden darning mushroom and was taught how to darn as the Mof descibes and have been know to use it but not often!!
i am new to sock darning, i had my BIL make me a mushroom. i like the way i feel after i have finished, satisfaction & pride that i have mended something that most people throw in the rag bag or just in the bin
I'm almost embarrassed to admit it - I darn.
BUT (and its a big but) - only (a) handknitted or (b) good quality adult socks.
Never the kids' socks.
I meant to mention, my Grandma had a wooden mushroom too, I wonder what happened to it? It's not as though anyone else in the family would have snapped it up to use it! Perhaps it's at my Mum's, must remember to ask.
Nope, sorry. Couldn't give a flying fig. Life is too darn short to darn. I will fix a seam, hem or replace a zip or button. But darn? Darn tooting I will not.
I do know how to darn because my Mom taught me. And yes I am one of those people who has done a rather large amount of darning of all sorts. My Mom and Dad were depression living folks till the day they died. They never got over living that way, and I think I didn't either. We are kinda strange that way, but also waste money, so go figure.
I think very few people are like this though, so I feel I am in the minority on this one! Great post!
I had my first go at darning as well last week. I did the same went on the internet and then went about giving it a go..
My daughters fav jumper had a large hole in it, and there was no other way of mending it. So I really had to give darning a go..
Mandy
I knit a pair of socks for my dad, and he loves them so much he wears them every day, and when mum puts them in the washing machine, he waits for them to be clean and dry rather than wearing any others. Ah! Anyway, after a few months a hole appeared in the toe of one of them, and he found only one woman in the seniors' village who could darn. She did such an expert job — very impressive. Had it been any of his store-bought socks, which he no longer wears, he'd have chucked it.
You can occasionally spot amazing examples of darning in museum displays of old costumes and fashions. You have to really look hard to find it, if it's well done.
My boys each have a pair of handknitted (by me) socks and the middle child has managed to put holes in his.
They're sitting with my sewing basket, forlornly waiting for me to darn them.
You have just inspired me! Off to YouTube!!
Sorry to necropost, but couldn't help it ...
Like innercitygarden, my mother and grandmother were darning (selectively) at least into the late 80s and in fact I think my mother still does.
I didn't learn from them, but I picked it up in the Army. Actually, like all my textile skills* I just picked up the general outline and worked out the details myself; I'm not even sure if my method is "correct."
It's a useful skill if you're ever going to be working in remote locations -- but in any kind of work sock or hiking sock, you need to make the work very neat or you'll get a blister!
Also, one problem with your experiment is that you left the job too late. Darning such a big hole is indeed a fair bit of work, and of doubtful economic value unless you really need that sock. However if you darn the hole as soon as it appears, it's a 5 minute job that it is economical in any but the cheapest socks.
Working on a small hole also eliminates the need for the mushroom or lightbulb, which I had never heard of until seeing this post! I just do it with the sock on my foot!
____
* My only other textile skill is replacing a button, using a method (based on the square lashing) which I worked out myself, and which is much slower but much stronger than the method my wife uses.
Post a Comment