Patterns, projects and techniques
Who’s ever had this happen?
Actually, I haven’t, my socks wear pretty well, but I’d be willing to bet that the time will come when this is what I’ll see.
Enter Knit Luck, and their Hand Darning tutorial list.
I know, I know, the darning socks techniques got lost about 40 years ago, but if you want your hand knit socks to stay hole-free, you’re going to have to suck it up and get out the needles. Come on, how hard can it be?
Using your yarn stash is important to me throughout the year, but as I start to feel the end of the year coming on I get more excited about using things I already have in the house. Maybe that’s because I don’t want to go to a store in the thick of holiday shopping times, or I like the idea of having a little space in my stash when the new year rolls around.
It’s super satisfying to use up all the little odd balls you’ve made over the year (or years), and I have several stash busting blankets I work on when it’s cold and will maybe finish someday.
If you’d like to start a stash busting project that’s perfect for using up odd balls, check out the Soukish pattern from Neisha Abdulla. This pattern is made for fingering weight/sock yarn, and it’s worked in a tube with allover color work.
This is great for a couple of reasons. You don’t really have to weave in your ends when you can hide them in a tube (this is one time you might even get by just tying a knot when you change colors!) and you can change colors whenever you run out of yarn and it will look good.
Of course the pattern is made with blocks where the designer changed colors, but you can change yours more or less often as you need to make it work for your stash. You can use blank charts to design your own color combinations, or even your own stitch patterns if you like. You can also adjust the length of the scarf as needed or turn it into a cowl based on the amount of yarn you have.
This project looks like a lot of fun and would be a great thing to have on hand to stitch up and then to wear during the cold, gloomy months.
You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.
[Photo: Neisha Abdulla]
Another Way to Use Up All Your Sock Yarn Scraps
Gather Your Scraps for a Fun Wrap
A Scrappy Shawl Knitting Pattern to Use All Your Odd Balls
Use All Your Yarn Scraps on This Great Cardigan Knitting Pattern
I remember my dad darning his socks when I was a kid!!
I have some toe socks from high school (Fall 1976)that I have darned so many times that the bottoms are barely original!;-)
Thanks for the link… it looks like my servers down momentarily… but it should be back soon!
Angela
I used to darn socks, but now I needle felt repairs. It’s easier and it’s a stronger repair.