This year we challenged ourselves not to put the central heating on until November (we didn’t cave in until November 3rd) which meant digging out the woolly jumpers. A few were looking a bit sorry for themselves, including my favourite, so I’ve been trying to extend their life by darning all the holes. I’ve had a few attempts before but I’m pretty much a novice, however, it’s fairly simple and I managed to teach myself. So this is my complete beginners guide to darning (hopefully it makes sense!)
Start by gathering all your equipment – scissors, darning needle, wool/ thread in a similar colour and weight to the item that needs darning, and a darning mushroom (you could try using a tennis ball if you don’t have a mushroom).
Turn the jumper inside out so that you are working on the wrong side of the garment.
Put the darning mushrooms under the area that needs to be darned.
Fasten on the wool you are using to mend the hole and work vertical running stitches around and over the hole. It’s important that you cover an area bigger than the actual hole so that the fabric around the hole in reinforced. Make sure you don’t pull the thread to tightly as this will make the material pucker.
Once you have done the vertical stitches, start working horizontal stitches over the vertical ones. When you get to the hole weave the stitches over and under the vertical threads. Make sure you work a couple of beyond the hole.
Fasten off the thread and turn the jumper back the right way round.
Happy darning!
Eco Family Life 