All posts tagged darning

Toasty Toes Tuesday*

I’ve been busy with my crochet street art recently (watch out for this month’s ScrapHappy) to the exclusion of almost everything else. But now all my festive creations are completed, I’m getting back to the queue of jobs at home… one of which is mending socks. After a thorough assessment of all the socks in need of repair, we decided that we were going to have to set aside a significant amount of time:

  • Sockiness

Mr Snail was very keen to mend his own socks, so on Sunday afternoon we lit the fire (we had a woodburner installed a few months ago, and it’s very cosy) and settled down with tea, darning mushrooms and Speedweves. Mr Snail practiced using a Speedweve and also had a go at using a traditional darning mushroom for reinforcing and mending small holes. I mainly darned by hand with a darning mushroom. We spent a couple of hours, and by the end we’d got a big pile of wearable socks, although we still had a few left to mend.

Hopefully the last couple of pairs will be finished this week, and we won’t allow the pile to get so big next time. We did all of our mending this time with left-over sock yarn, which I save for exactly this purpose, but if you don’t have any, you can use darning wool, which is strong and won’t wear through quickly. And if you don’t have a darning mushroom, an orange works well!

We were just in time for the onset of some colder weather this week – we have an ice warning from the Met Office for Thursday.

-oOo-

* I had intended that this would be a reboot of my “Mend-It Monday” series, but somehow it’s Tuesday now, so I had to come up with a different alliterative title!

6 Comments
by The Snail of Happiness on December 6, 2022  •  Permalink
Posted in ethical living, mend it monday
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on December 6, 2022

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2022/12/06/toasty-toes-tuesday/

ScrapHappy June 2022

My friends have been very generous when it has come to setting up the shop, both from the perspective of fittings and stock, but that hasn’t been all. Gloria, a Knit Night pal, having seen me making decorations for the shop, kindly gave me several unwanted kits to make use of for this purpose.  One of these was a large heart pincushion, which looked like it might make a fun addition to the decor.

When I investigated, I discovered that the main ball of yarn was missing,  but that’s not a problem when you have plenty of scraps. I think that the original was red, but I found half a ball of dark pink that looked suitable and set to work. The instructions suggested embroidering the word “LOVE” on it, but Mr Snail came up with “MAKE” as an alternative.

Looking through what I had used for the first heart, I was quite taken aback with how little of the yarn had been used from some of the little balls of the secondary colours, so there were plenty of scraps to be had. Mr Snail, therefore suggested a second one, this time with the word “MEND”. I dug out some purple yarn from a previously abandoned project for the main part and created #2. Because this one represents mending, rather than crocheting flowers to decorate it like the first, I used a 10-hook Speedweve and played around with some fancy darning.

And so we have a pair of (mostly) ScrapHappy hearts, including a slightly uneven, but nevertheless effective, example of what is possible with a Speedweve.

-oOo-

I’ve been inspired to write this (and future) ScrapHappy posts by Kate,  Tall Tales from Chiconia. On the fifteenth of every month lots of folk often publish a ScrapHappy post, do check them out:

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy, Jill, Jan (me), Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin, Vera, Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2 , Bear, Noreen, Preeti, Edith and Jule

If you fancy joining, contact Kate and she’ll add you to the list. It would be lovely to see more non-sewing posts, but any use of scraps is welcome.

24 Comments
by The Snail of Happiness on June 15, 2022  •  Permalink
Posted in craft, Scrap Happy
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on June 15, 2022

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2022/06/15/scraphappy-june-2022/

Mend-It Monday #28

After the departure into needle felting last week, this time I’m afraid we’re returning to darning. I guess having so many garments that I have knitted or crocheted, it’s inevitable that lots of my mending will involve this technique.

I have quite a few pairs of fingerless mittens to wear for dog walking – you’d think one pair would be enough, but they get wet and they get dirty and often there’s a pair or two hanging up to dry. Because of holding a dog lead, they also wear in particular places and thus need mending. The subject of this week’s mend did have one of the pair repaired with a speedweve darn in November, but the repaired one needed some more work in a different place and the other had also worn through. So, two thumb holes have been reinforced and one area at the base of the index finger has been repaired and reinforced. Unlike the last time, I decided to make these mends visible and found an oddment of heather-coloured wool, which I think looks rather nice.

9 Comments
by The Snail of Happiness on January 31, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on January 31, 2022

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2022/01/31/mend-it-monday-28/

Mend-It Monday #23

There seem to have been rather a lot of things with holes in recently. So far I’ve managed to repair three of them. First, a fingerless mitten worn through by so many walks holding on to a dog lead. Second, yet another couple of repairs to a slipper that may be one of my most-mended possessions. And, finally, a repair of some tiny holes in a jersey fabric fitted sheet.

The mitten was mended using a Speedweve, but the slipper darns were done by hand and I think they are pretty neat. I’m hoping that the roughness of the stitching on the sheet doesn’t make it too uncomfortable, but if there is a problem, I will consider how to use a soft, thin and stretchy patch.

I still have several socks to darn too, but that’s enough for now.

8 Comments
by The Snail of Happiness on November 29, 2021  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on November 29, 2021

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2021/11/29/mend-it-monday-23/

Mend-It Monday #21

Today I thought I’d show off a couple of mends using my Speedweve – the heel of one sock and the ball of the foot of another. In both cases the sock was not completely worn through, but it’s always better to catch a garment before the hole has appeared than after.

For the under-foot mend I just used plain grey sock yarn, but the one on the heel has plain grey warp and patterned sock yarn weft. Next time I mend something in a more visible area I’m going to have a go at using more colours and trying to achieve a tartan effect, but there didn’t seem much point for mends that are not going to be visible.

I like the fact that the Speedweve gives a very even and smooth mend, a feature particularly important with socks, as you don’t want them to rub. As with all skills, it’s getting easier (and more even) with practice, but to be honest the Speedweve is a very well-designed gadget that is pretty simple to use one you understand the technique.

8 Comments
by The Snail of Happiness on October 25, 2021  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on October 25, 2021

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2021/10/25/mend-it-monday-21/

Mend-It Monday #19

I know those of you who read last week’s Mend-It Monday post will be desperate to see some actual mending with those lovely tools that I showed you, just as I was really keen to have a go with them. But first I needed something to mend… and what better than the most mended garment that I own? My favourite ancient cardigan. For this repair, I decided to give the Speedweve its first outing. I assembled my tools (including the obligatory cup of tea) and settled down to learn the technique.

I decided to use some cotton yarn from my scrap collection: cream for the warp and grey for the weft. Of course you can use the same colour for both directions, or make fancy tartan patterns if you wish, but as a beginner, I thought that two clearly different colours would make it easier for me to see what I was doing.

To begin with you place the wooden disk behind the area than needs mending. This is secured with an elastic band, then the metal part with the hooks is slipped into place on top of the fabric, against the disk and held firm with another elastic band. After that, the warp threads are created. You start by securing a thread at one corner of the area to be covered with the weaving and work your way up and down – stitching in place at the bottom and putting the thread round the hooks at the top.

Once that’s done, the weft thread is attached at the bottom corner and, using a long needle, threaded through the warp threads alongside the hooks. The needle is then pushed down to the bottom of the mend (away from the hooks) and the thread pulled through. Before inserting the needle back in the other direction, the orientation of the hooks is reversed by running your thumb along the metal loops. This moves the lower threads up and the upper threads down, just like a full-sized loom. Before each pass of the needle the hooks are moved using the metal loops, so that when the thread passes back the woven fabric is created.

You keep working back and forth, reversing the hooks after each pass and anchoring the thread on each side, until the warp threads are completely used. After that, you release the elastic band holding the metal piece in place, remove the warp threads from the hooks and stitch that edge in place. Once that’s done, the wooden disk is removed and you have a very tidy bit of darning.

I have to confess that it took me a couple of attempts to get it right. Because of the stretchy nature of my cardigan I realised after my first unsuccessful try that it would be best if I stabilised the area with a few running stitches around the edge of the hole before attaching the disk. Once I had done this, it all went fairly smoothly. I think that the stitches at the side to secure the weaving could have been neater and I could have done a better job with the warp threads to begin with, but otherwise I’m happy. The yarn I selected is right at the thickest end of what can be used with this particular Speedweve model (there is a version with the hooks further apart for thicker yarn), but it was just right for this particular mend. The wool that came in the kit is thinner and might have been easier to use for my first attempt, but it just wasn’t right for this job.

Now I’ve got the hang of it, I think some rather more interesting weaving patterns might be on the cards.

23 Comments
by The Snail of Happiness on August 16, 2021  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on August 16, 2021

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2021/08/16/mend-it-monday-19/

Mend-It Monday #18

OK, I know it’s not Monday, but I was really busy yesterday and didn’t have time to write, so today it’s Mend-It Monday on Tuesday. In recent months my mending has been ticking over, with objects repaired as necessary, but it’s a subject that I have been thinking about more and more. The culture of consumerism is so bad for the planet – the more we buy, the more we end up throwing away, or simply not using, and it can’t go on… our resources are not limitless. Every time any item is manufactured, it uses some sort of materials, and even if those are repurposed or recycled, there is still energy involved. And what about the hidden resources? How much water does it take to make an item? And what about the waste during manufacturing? And all this before we even start to think about the conditions of the workers, which can be abysmal, especially when it comes to the cheap goods we have come to expect to see in our shops.

Mending box

So, mending is a big step in the right direction – extend the useful life of an object and you buy new stuff less often, so there is an easing of demand for the world’s resources. But this does sound like a bit of a chore and I think that it is also important to see mending in a positive light rather than simply as something “worthy”. I particularly like mending items that I have made… this is how I have come round from my dislike of darning to loving it: because I can keep wearing all those socks that I put so many hours into making in the first place. Indeed, extending the life of something I really love wearing or using is a particular source of happiness for me. I know that eventually I will have to give up on certain much-loved garments, but it’s so good to be able to keep using them for long after “normal” people would have sent them to landfill.

A skillful invisible mend is an amazing thing and something that I do not excel at, but visible mends are great fun and also highlight to others the possibilities. Fortunately, visible mending is acceptable, and even trendy, these days. Over the years I’ve got good at darning socks and have had a bash at boro, but I’ve been looking to extend my range of skills and have, therefore recently invested in some new books and equipment. I’m particularly excited by the arrival just this morning of a “Speedweve”: a tiny loom to assist with mending all sorts of fabric, including (I hope) some of the things that I’ve struggled with in the past. I’ve also treated myself to a Japanese leather palm thimble, some sashiko needles, long darning needles and sashiko thread (which I want to compare to the embroidery thread I have been using for boro).

So, today I don’t have any completed mends to display, but hopefully I’ll soon be showing off the results of playing with my tiny loom and practising my Japanese stitching.

21 Comments
by The Snail of Happiness on August 10, 2021  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on August 10, 2021

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2021/08/10/mend-it-monday-18/

Holey moley, it’s Mend-it Monday!

Now I have finally persuaded myself to like darning, I tend to keep on top of it quite well. However, the other day I noticed that Mr Snail was about to put on a pair of socks that had a hole in them and I decided I’d better take a look at the contents of his sock drawer. I almost wished that I hadn’t when I discovered just how many holes were lurking in there…

What a lot of holes

Anyway, I got out my needle, yarn and mushroom and darned and darned and darned. It took me several evenings to work my way through all of them, but finally I’ve finished:

All done

In all cases, the latest darning is grey, so you can probably see that this is not the first mend for any of these socks. Still, I keep reminding myself that every time I do this, I am reducing our waste just a little bit, and if we all did a bit more of this sort of thing, we could make an enormous difference.

12 Comments
by The Snail of Happiness on April 5, 2021  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on April 5, 2021

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2021/04/05/holey-moley-its-mend-it-monday-2/

Mend It Monday, 1 March 2021

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus*

Today, I’m reviving my Mend It Monday posts. I dropped them last time because I was sure everyone was getting fed up with seeing another sock that I had darned. There is a sock today, but I also mended something else this week, that Mr Snail thought was beyond repair, so I wanted to share it.

We enjoy feeding the birds in the garden. We don’t see anything especially stunning, but it is nice to watch the sparrows and other small birds enjoying the seeds we put out. We’ve got several feeders designed for birds that hang on, but were short of something that those who like to perch could use, so in the autumn last year, Mr Snail ordered what looked like a suitable feeder – it’s plastic, but since you are supposed to wash them regularly, that seemed like an ok option. Online ordering is fraught with risk and when said feeder arrived, he was rather disappointed – it’s fairly flimsy and difficult to fill. In fact, the design could have been much, much better. However, once it had arrived, we decided we’d use it rather than send it back, and, to be fair, all the birds did seem to like it. We take the feeders in at night to avoid unwanted nocturnal visitors and, unfortunately, one morning when putting them back out Mr Snail dropped this new one and it shattered. There were rather a lot of pieces – mainly the tray that the seeds sit in – and some were very small. As I mentioned, Mr Snail thought it was too far gone to be mended, but I decided to get the Sugru out and give it a shot.

The tray required some reinforcing, so I found a sheet of clear plastic that I used to use for paper-making (something I haven’t done for ages) and cut out an appropriately sized circle. Then I pieced the fragments together on top of this plastic, joining and anchoring them with Sugru. It turned out that one piece had completely disappeared, so I filled the hole with Sugru. We left it to dry for 24 hours and then hung it out once more. It’s been fine for the past week, so fingers crossed it will hold together for another season or two.

My other recent mend was a pair of long-forgotten socks… ones that I didn’t actually knit myself, but someone else did. These got very holey some years ago and had been languishing with the walking boots ever since. I came across them a week or two ago and decided that they were repairable. I didn’t try to colour-match my mending yarn because they are bright and stripy, so I wasn’t going to be successful no matter what. There were actually quite a lot of holes, but I worked on them all and now I can wear them again. There has probably been other darning since I last wrote a Mend It Monday post, but I’m sure you believe me without seeing the evidence (I have got very lax with my photography of late).

-oOo-

  • Happy Saint David’s Day
19 Comments
by The Snail of Happiness on March 1, 2021  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on March 1, 2021

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2021/03/01/mend-it-monday-1-march-2021/

Mend It Monday #13

As my friend Sarah says “If it’s not worth mending, it’s not worth buying” …

Yet again, this week’s mending started with some sock darning. Unusually for me this repair turned out to be very subtle…it was just the first yarn that came to hand, rather than a deliberate attempt at invisible mending.

 

Then I moved on to a garment that has needed mending for years. A long time ago, Sam chewed the press-stud off this cardigan. I intended to mend it straight away, but somehow it got put with my yarn stash and only came to light a few weeks ago when we were moving the piano (don’t ask). When I looked at it with fresh eyes, it was clear that Sam had simply made a new buttonhole and all I needed to do was make it a bit more robust, remove the remaining press-stud half from the other side and add a button: 

 

I reinforced the hole and then blanket-stitched to make an  acceptable buttonhole. Rather than using one of my button stash, I decided to employ a newly-acquired skill and make a Dorset button (more on these in a forthcoming post).

Including making the button, it only took my about an hour and a half… plus the 10 or so years it’s been squirreled away!

So, have you mended anything this week? If you’ve written a post about mending recently, do share a link to it – I love to see how other people manage to extend the lives of the things they own.

 

12 Comments
by The Snail of Happiness on July 27, 2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Snail of Happiness on July 27, 2020

https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2020/07/27/mend-it-monday-13/

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