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For a small hole in a sock or other garment, darning works thread or yarn through the existing fabric to reinforce or replace worn threads. You’ll need a suitable needle and thread or yarn; a darning egg, tennis ball, or even your hand can support the fabric while you sew. If too little sound fabric remains to hold stitches, patching—adding new fabric over or in place of the damage—is the better approach.
What darning does—and when to patch instead
Darning repairs fabric by working new thread or yarn into its existing weave or knit. It is most suitable for a small worn area with enough intact material around it to anchor the stitches. Patching introduces additional fabric and is appropriate when damage is too extensive for the surrounding fabric to support a darn. There is no universal hole-size cutoff: consider the fabric construction, the extent of the damage, and the strength of the material around it. Bharat Skills’ dressmaking resource describes patching as inserting new material where damage is too extensive to bear darning.
What you need to darn a sock
- A tapestry or darning needle suited to the fabric and the thread or yarn.
- Thread or yarn compatible in weight with the sock; a very different weight may make the repaired area feel or behave differently.
- A support to hold the hole open: a darning egg or mushroom, a tennis ball, or your hand inside the sock.
- Scissors to trim loose threads and the finished ends.
The support is optional. It makes the area easier to see and keeps the fabric from collapsing as you stitch. Oxfam GB’s sock-darning guide recommends a solid object and lists yarn and a tapestry or darning needle; Woolmark’s wool-repair guide suggests a tennis ball, darning egg, or hand.
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- Turn the sock inside out. Stocking darns are worked from the wrong side, as shown in MoMA’s visible-mending tutorial.
- Support the damaged area. Stretch the sock over a darning egg, mushroom, or tennis ball, or place your hand inside it. Arrange the hole so the fabric is held open without stretching it excessively.
- Trim loose threads. Remove only loose or frayed strands that obstruct the repair; leave sound surrounding fabric available for the stitches to catch.
- Stitch back and forth along the hole’s edges. Use a running stitch with compatible yarn or thread, working into the intact fabric at the edges so the repair is anchored. Woolmark describes this back-and-forth approach for socks.
- Secure and trim the ends. Finish the thread securely on the inside and cut away excess. Avoid pulling the stitches so tight that the repaired fabric puckers.
This is a basic method rather than a guarantee of an invisible or permanent finish. The result depends on the sock’s construction, how much sound fabric remains, the materials used, and the stitching.
#1 Best Overall
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How to choose a repair for other garments
Inspect the damaged area before sewing. A knitted sock and a woven wool garment do not have the same structure, so the repair needs to suit the fabric. Woolmark provides separate instructions for holes in woven wool garments as well as socks. If the damage has spread beyond a small area or the surrounding fabric is weak, adding a patch may be more appropriate than trying to bridge the gap with stitches. A visible repair is also an option when blending the repair into the fabric is not the priority; the method still needs adequate sound fabric to hold it.
For more repair and care tutorials, see Prym’s repair and care tutorials.
Quick Recap
Best Value
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