Getting a hole in your sock is one of life's small indignities. There is hope for you, though, as shown by one crafter who took to Reddit to share how they extend the life of their favorite socks.
The r/Visiblemending subreddit is a place for folks to show their work and ask for advice on repairing their items. One crafty person took to the page to show off a few of the ways they have darned their socks. The post shows four different socks with embroidered patches on the toes.
"I love novelty socks and I get very attached to them," the poster wrote above the photos, "but I get holes in the toes of my socks so often. My technique is pretty terrible because I kind of made it up through trial and error, but it gets the job done."
Darning is a style of repair that aims to replace missing fabric and leaves you with a smooth, knot-free fix, writes The Spruce Crafts. You can try to color-match the item you are repairing, but it's sometimes more fun to add some contrast. Darning is one of the simplest forms of visible mending and requires only a needle and thread.
Visible mending is a beautiful way to extend the life of your clothes and save you money on new purchases. Plus, it's a fun and easy way to express yourself. Some crafty folks have added hearts, pigeons, and lightning bolts to their damaged clothing.
Giving your clothes new life is also a lovely way to decrease your environmental impact. Research conducted by the Waste and Resources Action Programme found that "extending the average life of clothes by just three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10% reduction in each of the carbon, water, and waste footprints."
Commenters on the post were impressed with these simple repairs. One person wrote, "Isn't it addicting? I've darned 6 or 7 socks so far; then I found several I'd put in a drawer years ago, it's like free craft supplies."
Another person complimented the OP's work, saying, "Oh, I love the contrasts! Very pretty."
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