A Beginner's Guide to Repairing Wool Socks

Why a hole in a wool sock is worth fixing

Holes almost always appear in the same two places: the heel and the toe. That is where wool rubs against shoe leather and where toenails press on the fabric, and neither is the fault of the sock. A hole the size of a 5p piece takes ten minutes to mend, and a well-darned sock can go on for years. Wool is forgiving — the fibres felt together as they wear, so the edges of a hole are usually stronger than they look and hold stitches beautifully. Even if you darn only one pair, you will have saved money and kept a few hundred grams of textile out of the bin.

What you actually need

You do not need a sewing machine, a course, or a box of inherited equipment. A small kit lives happily in a tin:

• A darning needle. Blunt-tipped, with an eye wide enough for wool. Sharp needles split the yarn and make holes worse.
• Yarn. Leftover sock yarn is ideal, otherwise look for fine darning wool in a similar colour and thickness. Slightly thinner is better than thicker — you can always add another layer.
• Something to hold the sock taut. A wooden darning mushroom is lovely, but an egg cup, a smooth jam jar or a tennis ball all do the job.
• Small scissors and a blunt tapestry needle for tidying loose ends without splitting stitches.

Preparing the hole

Darn on the outside of the sock. Working on the inside leaves a ridge that rubs against your heel all day, and you will feel every stitch of it.

• Trim any long, loose fuzz, but leave the felted edges intact. Cutting them back weakens the repair.
• Undo any knots. They create lumps and will not survive a wash anyway.
• Push the mushroom or jar inside the sock so the fabric sits flat and slightly taut. Do not stretch it — the darn must be able to move with the sock.
• If the hole is wider than about two centimetres, or the whole heel is thin and see-through, a woven darn alone may pull away. Reinforce the thin area first, or knit a small patch and stitch it in place.

Step by step: the woven darn

This is the traditional repair, and it is essentially a tiny hand-woven square.

• Make a frame. Thread the needle without a knot and work a loose running stitch around the hole, about a centimetre out from the edge, all the way round and back to the start. This holds everything steady.
• Lay the warp. Work straight stitches across the hole in one direction, from the frame on one side to the frame on the other, spacing them three or four millimetres apart. Each stitch should bite into the solid fabric at the edge, not stop at the rim of the hole.
• Weave the weft. Now work at right angles, passing the needle over one thread and under the next, alternating on every row — over, under, over, under; then under, over, under, over. This is what makes it a weave rather than a bundle.
• Do not pull tight. Leave a gentle curve in each pass. A drum-tight darn will pucker the sock and split the first time you pull it on.
• Finish off. Run the yarn back through the solid fabric for a couple of centimetres, then snip, and repeat with the starting tail.
• Test it. Pull the sock on and stretch it over your heel. If the darn feels stiff, work it gently between your fingers to soften it.

For thin patches and small round holes

Not every repair needs a woven square. Where the wool is thinning but no hole has opened, duplicate stitch works beautifully: with a blunt needle, follow the path of the existing knitted loops, covering each one with a new stitch in matching yarn. It adds a hidden second layer and takes less time than you would think. For a small round hole — often a moth nibble — try a spider darn: work five or six straight stitches across the gap like the spokes of a wheel, then weave the yarn round and round, over and under each spoke, until the hole closes. It looks delicate and holds surprisingly well.

A few habits that keep repairs going

• Wash wool socks inside out on a cool wool cycle, and never in a tumble dryer.
• Rotate your socks so no pair is worn twice in a week.
• Keep toenails smooth and shoes well fitted — most holes start with friction, not old age.
• Store clean wool with cedar or lavender to deter moths, and mend thin patches when you spot them rather than waiting for the hole.
• When a sock really is beyond saving, pure wool can go on the compost heap. Blends containing nylon cannot, so pass those to a textile recycling bank.

Darning looks fiddly from the outside and feels oddly satisfying once you start. The first sock will take twenty minutes; the third will take five, and you will find yourself checking the heels before a pair goes in the wash.