Darn socks!

I tried my hand at darning hand-knit socks for the first time. I have a pair of socks that I made out of a blend of baby alpaca, silk and nylon. I thought that with the addition of the silk and nylon, I'd get extra wear out of these socks, but I was horrified one day when I found a hole in one of my socks at the end of the day. Darn! I knew right away that I'd have to learn how to darn socks, because these socks are so fuzzy and comfy, I don't ever want to get rid of them, not to mention all of the work that went into them in the first place (they started out as a raw fleece that I purchased at a fiber festival). I think I even have a post about blending the fibers with my drum carder.

Anyhoo, here was my dilemma:

 

A very sorry hole right on the heel:

So I turned to the ever-trusty Youtube to watch sock darning how-to's. There are a surprising number out there, and a few different techniques for fixing those holes, and reinforcing worn spots (this is where the adage, a stitch in time saves nine, comes from).

I picked a technique which involves picking up stitches and knitting a patch right over the hole. Other techniques involve weaving a fix into the hole. Neither one seems too difficult, so I went with the one that I thought would probably look better, although I don't think the woven fix would look bad either. And anyway, who's gonna see it?

So here is my darn:

I looked and looked but couldn't find any leftover of the same yarn (I used what I had left to knit some fingerless gloves - which I LOVE because they are fuzzy and warm - and I think that used up the last of this particular yarn. I do, however, have some yarn from the same fleece, only without the added silk and nylon, so I used that to darn the hole:

It doesn't look terrible:

And it feels just fine when I put it on, so, voila! The darning was a success:

I can now wear my fuzzy, warm alpaca socks again, and just in time since it's 16 degrees F right now.

 

 

My feet will love me : )