Darning for science

This weekend, it was time to fix some sock heels. I find this chore only marginally preferable to hurling the holey socks into the nearest trash can. And that's mostly because my sock knitting has been lagging behind my sock damaging. If I just put holey socks out of their misery, I'd end up with naked feet.

In the interests of science, this time I used two repair methods.

The left-hand sock had looked fine when it last went into the washer, and then it emerged with a giant gaping fully-formed hole. I repaired it with my usual weaving-type darning.

The right-hand sock had aaaaaalmost worn through, but not quite. It seemed like a great opportunity to test out duplicate stitch as a darning substitute, so I did. (As you can imagine from the image, my duplicate stitch skills are not quite mad enough to attempt duplicate-stitching over an actual hole. I feel like I can barely follow along intact stitches.)

We shall see if one repair outlasts the other. This may happen soon--as is, these socks only existed about two months before springing holes. (Did I mention I'm a terrible sock owner?)

Mr. Chilly Cold Pack Cozy

New free pattern! Mr. Chilly Cold Pack Cozy

  

I love reusable cold packs—they’re soft and squishy, and enclosed in durable plastic to prevent leaks and drips. But the covers they come with are too thin to really insulate my skin from the direct chill of a frozen pack. Hand-knit washcloths worked much better, but the coverage wasn’t quite right, and cold packs tend to escape. The solution was clear – my cold packs needed their own little envelopes.


Available free on Ravelry.