I’ve been freehand darning socks lately and decided to move onto a more visible item of clothing, it’s not perfect but I’m very happy with how it turned out. Also was shocked I already had embroidery thread that matched so well!

This loop scarf had a hole that I wanted to close with Swiss darning. I did not want to buy yarn, so I used yarn that I harvested from the cuffs of a thrifted sweater (loose ends of yarn on cuffs seem btw not very useful). I included some pictures of the harvesting and washing process. Since the yarn scraps were very short, I used one piece for every row what left me with a lot of loose ends to weave in. Will be sold for charity.

In the name of practice, I gave mending this ripped teatowel a go. I didn't think I'd like how a patch would look and feel, and was worried it might catch and rip off on sharp objects, so went with darning with cotton. Any suggestions on a better approach?

The embroidery detail top left was quite fun, and I thought might make the mend feel bit more intentional- but, again- may catch on sharp objects?

Freehand darning - learned a lot between the first and the second one! Really happy with the result but kinda too scared to walk on them now 😄

Unfortunately I don’t have the before pic but I love how it turned out! First time trying this style of mending.

A few weeks ago, I found a bag of destroyed clothing in a big box store dumpster. I was able to salvage some of the materials, but most were beyond repair. However, there was an oversized cardigan that seemed pretty cozy- I decided to try visible mending (it was free, after all!) I’ve repaired a few sweaters and pants before, but never anything of this scale. The thread was hand dyed in a fibers class I took in college a long time ago, and I figured this was as good a time as any to use some of it. The part you see with the truck (my son thought it would be a great spot for a drive) was pulled out and re-stitched since the embroidery hoop pulled the sweater too tight- it was definitely a learning experience! I’m planning on wearing it as an art/crafting/painting sweater, maybe adding a few more design elements in the future. We will see!

This sweater has been a terrible victim to moths. The first time fixing it I used invisible mending, took me ~30h. He, not knowing how to wash such garments put it in the washer at full velocity and many of the mending got damaged and undone. Many of the wholes became too big to fix invisibly so I went for some visible darning (20h this time, this method is faster). There is 10 other patches that aren't visible in the pictures. He is now advised on how to properly store and wash the sweater to keep it in good state.

I tried to do it in the shape of a heart. I used crochet thread size 10 to help cover up a hole. Did I make it too tight? Or is my shape too small for the type of thread? Looking for feedback on how to get better - there are lots more holes in this jacket to mend. :)

Honestly I didn’t mean to make a sailboat, but I finished the first part and it reminded me of a sail so I decided to add the body of the boat. Also looking for recommendations for what to add to the patch on the back inside the circle.

The top stitching was coming up on this tea towel, so I did some stitching with rainbow sashiko thread to tack it down more securely. I should get a lot more use from this!

The original artist is Kora and she slept on it the entire time I was doing this

First pic is the end result, others are progress pics in order. I forgot to take before pictures 😅 This was my first foray into the world of darning, and I used this sock as an experiment more than anything. I’ll have to darn its partner, which is in even worse shape, to wear them again. Overall pleased with how it turned out!

First attempt at darning a sock... Good edge and not so good edge.

I love the idea of those speed weave things, but before buying more craft stuff (with a high chance of ending up unused) wanted to try a basic darn first. I just held it over a silicone egg poacher which was not ideal, and didn't allow enough threads on one side, hence the messy edge + extra stitches. If I fix another couple of socks, I will allow myself to get a loom!

I’m usually a more visible mender but I finally got around to repairing this kitchen towel my grandma was going to throw away, and realized I had matching colors! I’ve seen people duplicate stripes and plaids but never done it myself. Really wanted to show off to yall!

Also, side note, I went from reading every post on this sub to disappearing for a month or two from Reddit, and I came back to see this massive trend of logo coverups? It’s SO COOL yall are great. I’ve been working on turning all my partner’s socks into socks of Theseus 😆Definitely putting your logo coverups inspo to use after I’m done patching all the holes!

Alas, I think time has come to retire a pair of my Socks of Theseus as my toe keeps separating the fibres in my darn at the end. The plan is to use the sock fabric to patch holes in other socks, I think!

This pair has 14 darns between them (I think. Some of them blend together, it could be more!) of varying quality because some of my first ones were on this pair. I bought them some time around 2019 so they've lasted me alright for a cheap pair. And 14 darns means I've sorta avoided sending 14 pairs to the landfill. I am happy with that.

Forgive me for the two small squares - this is the maximum size a patch can go. I MAY invest in a larger loom, I may not . Haven't decided yet.

I’ve been mending these socks for 5 years now and I simply refuse to give up on them.