Does anybody 'darn' anymore?

thriftlady_2

eeyorerules wrote: »

Over the years I have darned various things. More recently I have darned my daughter's school jumper (after her schoolbag put a hole in it a few weeks into the first term) and I have also darned my son's football socks because they are so expensive to replace. Today I have spotted a new hole so I may get darning again. I don't recall ever being shown or taught how to darn so my darning probably isn't very good!!

Also what is a darning mushroom and where do you get one??

Pic here http://www.wwmm.org/immagini/1182.jpg Try a haberdashery dept of a dept store. I love that word ....haberdashery haberdashery

sairy2005

You can often buy darning mushrooms at antique fairs. Sometimes the top unscrews so they fit in the sewing box better. I have several including one which has a battery in the handle which lit up the top. Unfortunately this doesnt work any more. The mushroom is bakelite and I still use it some times

thriftlady_2

sairy2005 wrote: »

You can often buy darning mushrooms at antique fairs. Sometimes the top unscrews so they fit in the sewing box better. I have several including one which has a battery in the handle which lit up the top. Unfortunately this doesnt work any more. The mushroom is bakelite and I still use it some times

:rotfl: Are you sure that's not something else Sairy :rotfl: Sorry, I've had a few glasses of black market wine

sairy2005

Ooh cheeky. Why would you need a light in it though:T

thriftlady_2

sairy2005 wrote: »

Ooh cheeky. Why would you need a light in it though:T

For the blackout of course

buxtonrabbitgreen

I darn. I have a darning mushroom that was my mothers. I don't darn socks. I do the same as a previous poster buy all socks the same so I only have to throw away the holed one. What I do darn quite regularly are the elbows and wrists of the kids exspensive school jumpers. my dad taught me to darn too. He learnt in the army. He also taught me how to knit. But the most oldstyle thing I have ever come across was my late MIL's crotchted stair carpet. Which served them well for 40 years.

rosieben

buxtonrabbitgreen wrote: »

... But the most oldstyle thing I have ever come across was my late MIL's crotchted stair carpet. Which served them well for 40 years.

That's mindboggling! - was it crocheted with wool or what fibres? I'm just trying to picture it; not that I'm much good at crochet, but I love the idea.

I'l probably have to stick to my rag rugs.

daisyroots_2

Heavens to betsy - a crotched stair carpet ! Don't suppose you have a photo ? I love darning and I'm good at it, it's perfect for listening to the radio or conversation. I no longer darn socks, but I have an old 100% wool fairisle jumper, and when the elbows went I darned them with different colours of wool, then when the underarms went I did the same. Soon I will have to repair the cuffs and eventually that jumper will be like the old knife which has had five new handles and three new blades !

Steel_2

I darn several times a month. Hubbie gets through socks like nothing I've ever seen and I refuse to throw out a sock and buy new for the sake of a small hole.

If I end up with a huge pile of stuff to darn I sit up in bed with my darning mushroom and do one item a night before I go to sleep until they're done.

luxor4t

If you do not have a darning mushroom you can use a traditional shaped lightbulb ... its amazing what I learned being a Girl Guide! You can also use a smooth ball, depending on the size sock.

I 'have' to darn as OM spends all day rubbing holes in his newest socks then walks around in front of MiL to make absolutely certain she can see the holes. No -I am not a domestic doormat, I make a point of sitting with a HUGE pile of his mending looking saintly-but-hard-done-by whenever she comes round. Saves having to make polite conversation and racks up the 'good DiL' points, as well as saving money.

As I had one of those childhoods where everything was homemade (eg food, coats, furniture - my dad even built a tandem bike and sidecar) mending is natural. I was given a sewing machine as my 18th birthday present and made most of my own clothes, some for OM as well as for the children.

My son did a sort of 'show and tell' on how to make school shorts out school trousers when they were learning about WW2 and rationing! Some mothers gave me funny looks but I almost had a small business in making or mending children's clothes. Doll's clothes were a great (and cheap) birthday present and I ended up selling them through craft fairs etc until I went back to full time work and got into bad habits (= buying dressing gowns!).

I still keep a button tin and a box of fabric remnants!