Soliloquy
To darn or not to darn--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
the holes and tatters of the present condition
or to take needle in hand and fix the darn things.
(with apologies to Mr. Shakespeare and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark)
If I'm going to darn them, should I wait 'til there are actual holes, or should I do it now while there's still some yarn left holding them together. A little duplicate stitch in the weak areas now might save them for quite a while.
I know the traditional method of darning socks - as often quoted on the 'net:
Carefully hold the offending sock over the trash bin and exclaim 'Darn it!' as you let it drop.
Each pair of socks represents several weeks of my precious 'spare' time and 24,000-26,000 stitches. They get abused - I wear them, then machine-wash and -dry them every week. I have this unreasoning belief that they should last forever and don't seem to understand that they should show signs of wear after 50 or so weeks.
This pair is one of my favorites - my cable & rib socks finished almost exactly a year ago. They're in slightly better shape than some of the others.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
the holes and tatters of the present condition
or to take needle in hand and fix the darn things.
(with apologies to Mr. Shakespeare and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark)
If I'm going to darn them, should I wait 'til there are actual holes, or should I do it now while there's still some yarn left holding them together. A little duplicate stitch in the weak areas now might save them for quite a while.
I know the traditional method of darning socks - as often quoted on the 'net:
Carefully hold the offending sock over the trash bin and exclaim 'Darn it!' as you let it drop.
Each pair of socks represents several weeks of my precious 'spare' time and 24,000-26,000 stitches. They get abused - I wear them, then machine-wash and -dry them every week. I have this unreasoning belief that they should last forever and don't seem to understand that they should show signs of wear after 50 or so weeks.
This pair is one of my favorites - my cable & rib socks finished almost exactly a year ago. They're in slightly better shape than some of the others.
I think it's time to do something about them before my toes explode through. Being the person I am, I still have the left-over yarn from these and every other pair I've ever knit. So at least my darning will be with the original yarn.
And look! I've finished Mom's first sock and have started charging down the leg of sock #2! Mother's a lot more careful with the socks I've made her than I am with the ones I've made for myself. She shouldn't need any darning for a long time....
posted by Cynthia | 8:59 AM
6 Comments:
Love your way of darning socks!
But I agree it's just too bad they have to wear out.
They're still in good shape...
Hee hee, I love that method of "darning" as well!
Here's an odd bit of an idea. If they are not toe-up socks, do you have enough leftover sock yarn to rip them back and then just redo the toe?
I would duplicate stitch if it is not an area where you would feel it and be bothered by it. Otherwise, if I had enough yarn, I would do as Tracey suggested and do a whole new toe.
I second what Tracey said- rip them back and re-knit them at a slightly tighter gauge.
I never darn socks- I'd much rather knit another pair.
Lucky Mum to get such beautiful socks.
New toe or darn now while there's still something there. Reinforcement rather than replacement.
I love that! "Darn you!" and drop it in the trash. I don't think I could do that though......I've still got felted socks that don't fit in any sense of the word but I KNIT them.
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