Sewing Definitions — stitches, seams, quilting and sewing terms from Apparel Search
Darning is a sewing technique for repairing holes or worn areas in fabric or knitting using needle and thread alone. In its simplest form, darning anchors the thread in the fabric at the edge of the hole and carries it across the gap, anchoring it on the other side, usually with a running stitch or two. If enough threads are criss-crossed over the hole, the hole is eventually covered with a mass of thread. At its finest, in invisible or Belgian darning, threads unravelled from a hem or seam of the same garment are used so the repair restores the fabric as closely as possible.
Darning is a sewing technique for repairing holes or worn areas in fabric or knitting using needle and thread alone.
In its simplest form, darning consists of anchoring the thread in the fabric on the edge of the hole and carrying it across the gap. It is then anchored on the other side, usually with a running stitch or two. If enough threads are criss-crossed over the hole, the hole will eventually be covered with a mass of thread.
Fine darning, sometimes known as Belgian darning, attempts to make the repair as invisible and neat as possible. Often the hole is cut into a square or darn blends into the fabric.
Invisible darning is the epitome of this attempt at restoring the fabric to its original integrity. Threads from the original weaving are unraveled from a hem or seam and used to effect the repair. Invisible darning is appropriate for extremely expensive fabrics and items of apparel.
It is often done by hand, but it is also possible to darn with a sewing machine. Hand darning employs the darning stitch, a simple running stitch in which the thread is "woven" in rows along the grain of the fabric, with the stitcher reversing direction at the end of each row, and then filling in the framework thus created, as if weaving. Darning is a traditional method for repairing fabric damage or holes that do not run along a seam, and where patching is impractical or would create discomfort for the wearer, such as on the heel of a sock.
In machine darning, lines of machine running stitch are run back and forth across the hole, then the fabric is rotated and more lines run at right angles. This is a fast way to darn, but it cannot match the effects of fine darning.
There are special tools for darning socks or stockings:
A darning egg is an egg-shaped tool, made of stone, porcelain, wood, or similar hard material, which is inserted into the toe or heel of the sock to hold it in the proper shape and provide a foundation for repairs. A shell of the tiger cowry Cypraea tigris, a popular ornament in Europe and elsewhere, was also sometimes used as a ready-made darning egg.
A darning mushroom is a mushroom-shaped tool usually made of wood. The sock is stretched over the curved top of the mushroom, and gathered tightly around the stalk to hold it in place for darning.
A darning gourd is a hollow dried gourd with a pronounced neck. The sock can be stretched over the full end of the gourd and held in place around the neck for darning.
Darning also refers to any of several needlework techniques that are worked using darning stitches:
Pattern darning is a type of embroidery that uses parallel rows of straight stitches of different lengths to create a geometric design. Pattern darning is a simple and ancient embroidery technique in which contrasting thread is woven in-and-out of the ground fabric using rows of running stitches which reverse direction at the end of each row. The length of the stitches may be varied to produce geometric designs. Traditional embroidery using pattern darning is found in Africa, Japan, Northern and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Mexico and Peru. Pattern darning is also used as a filling stitch in blackwork embroidery.
Net darning, also called filet lace, is a 19th-century technique using stitching on a mesh foundation fabric to imitate lace.
Needle weaving is a drawn thread work embroidery technique that involves darning patterns into barelaid warp or weft thread.
Darning repairs damage by rebuilding the missing material out of thread. Where patching lays a new piece of fabric over or into a hole, darning creates a small piece of weaving exactly where the fabric has failed: parallel threads are laid across the gap in one direction, then further threads are woven in and out of them at right angles, locked at the sound fabric around the edges. The darning stitch itself is a simple running stitch, worked in rows along the grain of the fabric, the stitcher reversing direction at the end of each row and then filling in the framework so created, as if weaving on a loom formed by the hole itself.
The method suits the failures patching handles badly. Darning is the traditional repair for damage that does not run along a seam, and for places where a patch would be impractical or would create discomfort for the wearer, the classic case being the heel or toe of a sock. A sock darn flexes with the foot, adds almost no thickness beyond the woven thread, and can be worked before a thin area becomes a hole at all, reinforcing worn fabric while its own threads still provide a framework to weave into.
Fine darning, sometimes known as Belgian darning, attempts to make the repair as invisible and neat as possible; often the hole is cut into a square so the darn blends into the fabric. Invisible darning is the epitome of that attempt, restoring the fabric to its original integrity by unravelling threads from a hem or seam of the same garment and using them for the repair, so colour, fibre and thickness match exactly. It is skilled, slow work, appropriate for extremely expensive fabrics and items of apparel, and it is usually done by hand.
Machine darning trades that finesse for speed. Lines of machine running stitch are run back and forth across the hole, the fabric is rotated, and more lines are run at right angles, producing a firm, flat web of stitching that holds well but remains visible. Many domestic machines offer a darning foot and the option to drop the feed dogs so the work can be moved freely under the needle. For everyday repairs to work clothes, bed linen and knitwear, machine darning is often the practical choice.
The darning egg, mushroom and gourd all do the same job in different shapes: they stretch the fabric of a sock smoothly over a hard, curved surface, holding its shape and giving the needle a foundation to work against, with the material gathered tightly around the stalk or neck to keep it in place. A shell of the tiger cowry was also sometimes used as a ready-made darning egg. The word darning also names several decorative needlework techniques worked with darning stitches: pattern darning, which weaves contrasting thread in rows of running stitches of varied length to build geometric designs found traditionally in Africa, Japan, Northern and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Mexico and Peru; net darning, also called filet lace, a 19th-century technique stitching on a mesh foundation to imitate lace; and needle weaving, a drawn thread work technique that darns patterns into bared warp or weft threads.
Darning is a sewing technique for repairing holes or worn areas in fabric or knitting using needle and thread alone. Threads are anchored at the edges of the hole and carried across the gap until it is covered.
A darning egg, darning mushroom or darning gourd holds the sock in its proper shape and provides a firm foundation while the hole is repaired. The sock is stretched over the tool and gathered around its stalk or neck.
Hand darning weaves thread in rows along the grain of the fabric, reversing at each row end, and can approach invisibility. Machine darning runs lines of running stitch back and forth, then at right angles; it is fast but cannot match fine hand darning.