Well, Darn!

Darn socks, that is.  Since I got hooked on the wonderful thing that is wearing hand-knit socks, I really didn't want to part with them once the heels started to wear through after much use.  So, when it happened to the first pair I'd knit (created way back in 2013), I set them aside with the intent to learn how to repair them.  After all, before mass produced goods, people darned their holey socks instead of tossing them in the trash and running off to the store to buy a new pair.

However, I didn't get to looking up how to darn socks right away.  Not even after a second pair got holes.  Or a third pair. . .  Over the past year and a half or so, I'd racked up five pairs of socks needing mending.

Well, I finally got around to doing it, and it wasn't hard at all.  A little time consuming, yes, but not hard.  Something that can be done easily while watching TV of an evening. Or a mid-day if you're having cold and snowy weather keeping you indoors. Tutorials abound on the internet; I don't even remember exactly which one I used to educate myself in the 'art' of darning socks.

All I know is that between my not-worn-out-yet socks and the five mended pair, my dresser now has more hand-knit socks than there are days of the week!  And if you don't look at the bottoms, you can't tell which ones are the mended ones.  Even when you do look, it's not always easy to tell--if I had leftover yarn from making the sock, that was what I used to darn it with, so it blends right in pretty much.

I picked up a wooden darning egg at a local antique store for just a few dollars.  That helps tremendously in keeping the correct shape while patching up a holey heel.  Even works well on the ball of the foot, where one sock needed to be mended.

Usable socks once more!  No more worn out heels.

Darning on the ball of the foot.