General Chat

I have darned socks and jumpers but not for a long, long time.

I always take up my own hems and change buttons to make something different.

Sadly our one and only haberdashers had closed, so it is a trek to the nearest department store. I could order online, but I want to see stuff before I buy.

Moth holes, the bane of my early life. My mother in law used to knit hubby and I matching sweaters. We were living in a very dingy flat and the moths got to them, she very kindly unpicked and re knitted the affected parts

I think if 'life is too short to stuff a mushroom' it is certainly too short to darn socks. Unless of course you are unable to afford new ones. But I could if I wanted to and have in the past and still have a darning mushroom, which has been used in the past to darn moth holes in late OH's sweaters.

My husband remembers the 'housewife' packs Bob, not sure he ever knew how to use one though :-) Invisible mending shops are also mentioned on the book I am reading

Your mention of wool socks Florence takes me back to my Mum knitting socks for my Dad. He often had socks that matched his knitted waistcoat :-(

speaking of which.........remember the shops that did Invisible mending?

there was onein East Ham near the Granada, that had a lady in the shop window doing that......better than going to the pictures!!

I bought a new dress a few months ago but didnt like the split at the front left side as it went up far too high! So I got my trusty sewing basket out found a thread to match the gold colour and sewed by hand the split.
After i tried it on and asked daughter if she could notice anything, she said it was perfect.

I have also in the past bought cheap knitted jumpers and unpicked them reusing the wool for blankets etc.

I did many years ago sew my exes fishing wool socks so i guess that was darning.

Florence in the hebrides

In the Army we were issued with a "housewife"
a pack containing some darning wool cottons and needles etc

for a young man that didn't really know one end of a needle to the other...........darned socks were a painful nightmare

I've never had the sort of socks which could be darned but I used to love doing Swiss darning, whether a woolly needed it or not.
I used to unravel and reknit my own knitteds for a new look in my teens. Like grannyfanny I repair and refashion especially clothes which I have made, as I'm sentimental about them.

I found that article interesting Von, not come across it before.

It must be very satisfying grannyfranny to be able to extend the life of your clothes.

I must admit when I was first married I did 'make do and mend' and can remember turning cuffs and unpicking knitted clothes and reusing the wool, sadly it is something i don't do anymore

I repair and refashion clothes to keep them for as long as possible.
I have a huge collection of 'haberdashery' that I have accumulated over the years so use that mostly. Including the 'Peri-lusta' stocking yarn.

Darning has been part of this

https://thatsnotmyage.com/lifestyle/stitch-it-dont-ditch-it-for-sustainable-fashion-week/

I still have one of those :-)

You can get those mushrooms for darning socks.

darn socks?

I ask because in the book I am currently reading they mention 'Peri-LustaI' mending yarns. I well remember my mother in law buying my husband socks for Christmas the first year we were married. Tucked in with the socks were cards of mending yarn.