Darning my Clothes

I wanted to know could I salvage my jersey?

The deteriorated arm cuff.

I'd always wanted to learn how to darn so having clothing that was falling apart on me was the perfect excuse to.

Like a lot of fabric crafts I have had this preconceived notion that darning was a female craft. Perhaps once upon a time the ladies would jump at the chance to sew, knit, or darn the clothing of men all around to show off their mad skills; maybe not, it is more likely this was a result of a tradition where men were bread winners and women stayed home and didn't spend money; how the times have changed! Nowadays the suggestion that the ladies should do it for you would likely earn you a slap.

In the process of darning.

As more rows are thread the jersey pulls together more easily.

One of my favourite woolen jerseys, a re-purposed school jersey had been looking a bit worse for wear. The sleeves had laddered considerably, and one of the cuffs was hanging by a couple of threads. The idea was to darn these parts of the sleeve to make the jersey look less scruffy, to save it from deteriorating further, and to keep my arms warm as intended.


To darn you need a length of wool, in this case mine is black to match the black wool of the jersey.
A large darning needle, big enough to thread the wool through, a big needle of around 100mm is a good length to use.
A lot of holes are made over joints such as elbows and ankles. For holes like this it is useful to use a cup or egg shape to shape the hole naturally.

The upside down cup is used to stretch the hole out into a natural position for darning.

Through the magic of the internet you can find many images and tutorials to darning, they can explain the process much better than me. These images influenced how I went about my darning.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/darn

http://www.ecouterre.com/mend-and-darn-clothing-world-war-ii-style/patch-darn-shirt-mrs-sew-and-sew-4/

https://blog.colettehq.com/tutorials/make-do-and-mend-darning

The link above was for me the most comprehensive and easy to understand guide to darning.

My jersey partially darned.

Darning is like many other crafts in that by practicing doing it will prove better results. My first attempts were acceptable but not amazing.

A darned object has been altered in a way that does not hide the fact too well; darning as well as a number of different design techniques such as the Japanese pottery technique kintsugi can be used to highlight the part that has been repaired. The owner of the item recognizes that the item is more beautiful for having been broken. In the case of my jersey I can recognize that it ripped in several places and reflect upon the memories of adventurous activities I have had whilst wearing the jersey.

In the process of darning along a large tear.

The nicely finished tear darn. It has been turned inside the right way.

I currently have a few other items that need mending, I believe that the more I practice the neater my darning will become. I definitely believe that darned clothing is a fashion statement of sorts; it tells the world that the person wearing the clothes is happy to reuse and fix clothing to give it a longer life. I do not need to throw this  jersey out and buy a new one.

The darned jersey arm. Not perfect, but practical.

Me looking pretty stoked with my fixed jersey.