Darning Socks / Making Socks Last Longer: Is darning socks making a comeback thanks to the sustainability trend?

Dear users, dear authors,
How can you make sure that socks—whether knitted socks, crocheted socks, or even sewn socks—last longer? In the old days, people would darn and repair their socks; then there was a phase when people simply bought new ones. Now, sustainability is the order of the day. So does that mean darning socks is back in style?

I’ve always darned worn socks.

Or rather, I simply sew up the holes in store-bought socks with a sewing machine using a very fine zigzag stitch. For me, it’s often the big toe that wears a hole in them, and since I usually have socks with designs that I love, it’s a shame to just throw them away. So every now and then, I sew up a few holes. 

Question for Josefa: Do today’s young housewives even know how to darn socks anymore? It’s clear that older women still know how. I still darn our socks, too.

Best regards, Inge

I don’t know if people know how to do it, but they can probably learn again if they want to. :-)

It really depends. For hand-knitted socks, it’s definitely worth it, but some store-bought ones are so flimsy (and were correspondingly inexpensive) that it doesn’t make sense.
I collect them in a bag, along with fabric scraps, faded T-shirts, and the like—all of which eventually become stuffing for teddy bears and other stuffed animals.

This thread is your chance to teach people how to darn socks—if you’d like to. :-)

At 30 years old, I’ll just count myself among the younger crowd, and I have to admit that I’ve never darned a sock in my life. I wouldn’t even know how to do it. *Blush*

Maybe I should look into it sometime :) 

Just tonight, I knitted a new foot onto a pair of my husband’s socks because the heel, in particular, had some strange tears. Mending wouldn’t have fixed the damage… We actually learned how to do this back in school: First, we had to knit a sock, cut a hole in it, and then darn it properly! Of course, that was super motivating for 15- or 16-year-old girls! (Back then, yarn wasn’t really a thing for boys…)

Nothing against darning socks if the yarn for darning socks weren't so expensive.

My husband's socks are worn out from wearing safety shoes. Darning won't help with those anymore.

I wear my socks until they're completely worn out. I like to buy socks where they're all the same color.

I know how to darn socks, and I certainly haven’t forgotten how to do it.
I can’t remember the last time I did it.
Anything with holes or worn out gets thrown away in our house. Sustainability is a good thing—I don’t want to deny that—but it has its limits for me.

On this topic, I’d like to mention that there are also people with very low incomes who darn their socks because it’s cheaper than buying new ones.

I can’t darn—I’d rather take care of my socks by walking around barefoot a lot :D But that’s why fine stockings don’t last as long as I’d like because of runs and holes. Still, you can use leftover yarn instead of cotton balls to remove nail polish.
I’m not a housewife, and I’m almost 34.

I learned how to darn at school, and later I was allowed to darn my grandpa’s knitted socks at my grandma’s house. I darned my daughter’s hand-knitted socks until they couldn’t be mended any further. Then I’d cut off the foot section and reknit it. I always set aside extra yarn for that.
I still darn today’s thicker socks. The thin, flimsy ones are used for cleaning or as stuffing.
I also almost exclusively buy packs of solid-colored socks, so I can pair them up again later.

I, too, learned how to darn socks in school and still know how to do it. It’s easiest with a darning mushroom.

To be honest, it’s not one of my favorite tasks. I always put it off for quite a while. But for hand-knitted or thick socks, it’s definitely worth it.

The thin store-bought socks are usually so “worn out” that it’s not worth the effort.

With all knitted socks, there’s usually a small amount of leftover yarn left over. Why not save it as darning yarn? It doesn’t get any more perfect than that. ;-)

And at discount stores, you can often find darning yarn sets for a low price.

I darn my knitted socks, while store-bought ones tend to end up in the bag for old clothes, where they’re often turned into cleaning rags.

I darn homemade wool socks—whether they’re mine or someone else’s—when a big hole has worked its way through. I learned how to darn from my mother when I was a child, because in a household with lots of kids, there was always something to do in that regard. If I don’t have the right yarn, I use a similar one or one that’s intentionally contrasting. You can’t see it in winter shoes anyway. Summer socks with holes are used as stuffing.

How are your socks holding up right now? Do they need darning?

Well, my socks are doing great, thanks for asking ;-).

By the way, I’ve also found that toe-up socks are less prone to developing holes than socks that you start at the cuff and finish at the toe. This is probably also because with toe-ups, you don’t have to pull 8 stitches together at the end, which always leaves a tiny hole at the front. I start
my toe-up socks with a magic cast-on or the ping-pong cast-on—there are videos online for both methods. This way, there’s no hole where the big toe might quickly get any silly ideas.

By the way, instead of a darning mushroom, you can also use the capsule from a surprise egg. Then you’ll have your reward—or comfort food—for darning right there, either before or after^^. A small jar works just as well.

And for those who’ve never darned before: Google “darning a sock,” and you’ll quickly find a video on YouTube where a very nice older lady shows you how to darn and explains it ♥. It’s not rocket science and it’s easy to learn!