| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Lanea
Permanent Resident
USA
5158 Posts |
 Posted - 02/16/2011 : 09:57:06 AM
|
I suddenly need to repair a few pair of socks I made for family members. I've been knitting socks for a while now, and it's just a matter of time before I need to get serious about preparing for repairs or accept the idea of them as short-lived knits. I don't like the second option for the really good socks I've made. And if I start really separating out and saving some yarn for each thing I want to be able to repair if the need arises, I'll be happiest if those yarns have a safe, separate, organized place to go.
So, do you put leftovers somewhere specific? Do you label them? How much do you save for darning a given item? Do you use something like a box or binder for the yarns? How often do you end up having to do a repair with a different yarn, and does that bother you or make you happy?
I think I may accidentally end up designing something for this, because I hate plastic and I want it to work very well for my particular studio and supplies.
See proof of insanity: http://crazylanea.com/
Read my audiobook reviews: http://booksforears.com/
Buy handmade sock knitting bags: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5031570
Join the KR Webring: http://www.crazylanea.com/fiberarts/2006/07/the_knitters_re.html
|
|
|
Jane
SustaYning Member
USA
4292 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 10:42:13 AM
|
I picture this (though I haven't done it): A small piece of card stock with a few yards of yarn wrapped around it, labeled with info to identify the pattern and its wearer. They could be stored in a box or a binder (or thrown into a plastic bag, which is more likely what I'd end up doing!).
I'm sure you can get small cards that are meant for winding floss, but you probably have paper sitting around.
I haven't had to darn any of my socks (so far) so I don't know how I'd feel about it. I did wear out one of my first pairs, in a big way, and it wasn't darn-able.
Jane
Betty deserves everything and more: Make a Donation
Blog: Not Plain Jane
Photos: Flickr Album
|
 |
|
|
Shelia
Permanent Resident
USA
2315 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 11:19:07 AM
|
I have a drawer in my studio that is specifically designated for darning leftovers. I don't label them, because they are pretty recognizable in their little balls. Also in this drawer are some cards of darning wool that I bought years ago "just in case".
I've used several balls, as I have darned a few socks in the past year or two. I don't mind traditional darning, or re-weaving either, though one of these days I'm going to try needlefelting over the thin places at the back of my heels instead to see how that works.
Shelia
www.letstalkstash.blogspot.com
ravelry name - sheliaknits |
|
|
|
Shalee
Permanent Resident
USA
2021 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 11:45:48 AM
|
I have a plastic shoe box filled with left over sock yarn. It is hidden, out of site, in a cabinet in my bedroom. Each ball of yarn is kept with the ball label. Because most of the socks I make are varigated yarn it is quite easy to match sock to yarn. I keep all of the leftover because, being varigated, you never know which spot in the varigation you will need for the darning!
I also keep yarn from any sweater, vest, what ever for repairs. I have a very detailed aran scarf that is over 30 years old. I also have some of the yarn that was used to make it, thank heavens. A moth got a spot and now I have to fix that spot! If I hadn't kept that yarn, home hand spun not store bought, I would not have been able to match the wool.
Sharon in NW PA
I always wanted my own library but I didn't realize it would be all knitting books!
|
|
|
|
Lanea
Permanent Resident
USA
5158 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 12:09:50 PM
|
Jane, that concept reminds me of a perpetual calendar/diary, like this: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/12/diy-project-vintage-postcard-calendar-journal.html . That could end up being really pretty. Particularly if it was a fetching, beat up old wooden box, and perhaps room for a darning egg.
Shelia, I am jealous of your drawer! Maybe I can weed enough room in one of my fabric dresser drawers. Hmmmmm. And make some sort of fabric drawer divider . . . drool.
Shalee, that's the sort of save I want to set myself up for! I regularly make small repairs to my store bought sweaters, and I don't always have the correct yarn. I want those handknits to keep looking good and lasting.
What about something like one of those cloth hanging jewelry organizers? I wouldn't use vinyl like most of the store-bought ones, though. One with pockets on both sides could hold enough yarn to fix major holes in dozens of garments, and maybe little cards about when the item was made and who for.
See proof of insanity: http://crazylanea.com/
Read my audiobook reviews: http://booksforears.com/
Buy handmade sock knitting bags: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5031570
Join the KR Webring: http://www.crazylanea.com/fiberarts/2006/07/the_knitters_re.html
|
|
|
|
kkknitter
Seriously Hooked
641 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2011 : 12:49:38 PM
|
The husband of a friend of mine has taken up needlefelting on the socks she makes when they need it, and he likes it and thinks it works well. I still have to try it. Saving some yarn for the future is a very good idea. I just make a small ball of the yarn, and I always include some extra yarn when I give away a pair of socks.
Kristina |
|
|
|
bullwinkle
New Pal
30 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 04:48:12 AM
|
My current obsession with mini-sweaters is, in part, due to all the leftover sock yarns. In attempting to organize them (keeping some for darning and matching leftovers for "spiral" socks pairs)I started making the mini-sweaters. (There is less to organize if I keep this up!)
Although I like the perpetual calendar idea, how many scraps could I put in that little box? 
I've got two bags - one of leftovers that have been made into mini-sweaters, and one of leftovers that have not. (The sets of leftovers to be made into another pair of socks gets stored in the sock yarn cabinet.)
|
|
|
|
Susan Ferguson
New Pal
Canada
3 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 06:53:33 AM
|
| Oh my God organizing leftovers from ALL the socks I have made is too overwhelming! I give lots away so let the new owners mend them!Ihave lots of little balls but I have decided to make a shawl with the variety I have with a pattern I discovered specifically for that purpose.Stash busting can be so much of a challenge. |
|
|
|
carol@cfmdesigns.net
New Pal
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 09:55:45 AM
|
Tell me more about this - it sounds fast and relatively easy. Are the mended parts lumpy?
quote:
Originally posted by kkknitter
The husband of a friend of mine has taken up needlefelting on the socks she makes when they need it, and he likes it and thinks it works well. I still have to try it. Saving some yarn for the future is a very good idea. I just make a small ball of the yarn, and I always include some extra yarn when I give away a pair of socks.
Kristina
CFM Designs
"It's All About the Pretty"
http://cfmdesigns.net |
|
|
|
jlpanecki
New Pal
USA
39 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 10:04:55 AM
|
All of my leftover yarn, and a lot of new yarn, is kept in a leaded-glass cabinet. While some of the yarn is in boxes, and some in Zip-loc bags, a lot of it- especially the leftover little balls, are in glass bowls or vases.
I can then see what I have, and when viewed from outside the leaded glass door, it looks very pretty. I do not organize according to color- although I do try to keep each shelf sorted by fiber. I have not only sock and lace yarn, but lots of thin cotton, and a whole shelf of rayon yarn. The very top shelf is angora- and all of those are in separate plastic bags- safe from moths and stalking cats!
I also keep a few lavender and lemon scented candles on each shelf - this too keeps away marauding insects and cats- and smells good too.
Janet |
|
|
|
churchlady
Warming Up
Canada
81 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 10:17:21 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Susan Ferguson
Ihave lots of little balls but I have decided to make a shawl with the variety I have with a pattern I discovered specifically for that purpose.
Quite a few of us agree and do so with the Heathen Housewife's Sock Yarn Blanket on her blog and on ravelry. I learned how to darn socks from Granny, but the need has not come up yet in my life. |
|
|
|
crazyestonian
New Pal
1 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 10:39:20 AM
|
quote:
What about something like one of those cloth hanging jewelry organizers? I wouldn't use vinyl like most of the store-bought ones, though. One with pockets on both sides could hold enough yarn to fix major holes in dozens of garments, and maybe little cards about when the item was made and who for.
These do exist in cotton as well. But don't use one! One word - moths. I keep all my yarn in plastic bags and plastic totes. My daughter, 5 years old, had her yarn in a basket. Well, we just had a moth infestation in her little stash of essentially leftover balls. I had to throw away around 30 mini balls of yarn. I had cedar pieces and lavender sachets there (those last ones had surprising number of cocoons, more than any wool yarn) but moths came anyway. No more darning for me. Even very small amounts should be bagged. You never know. Thankfully no wool garments or actual stash suffered any harm. |
|
|
|
metromaples
Seriously Hooked
USA
873 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 1:00:07 PM
|
For some of the pretty handpainted yarns, I find that the saved ball and the socks are not so much the same color after a time.
-- Jeri
|
|
|
|
ikkivan
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
429 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2011 : 7:24:40 PM
|
I do have a small tote labeled just for leftover sock yarn in which I store the scraps attached to the label, or at least a note telling about the yarn. But I don't darn the socks I knit for others ... several yards of the yarn wrapped in its label always go with the socks to the recipient. Ha, if she gets a hole and wants to keep the socks, then, by golly, she can mend them herself. That said, I do usually reinforce heels and toes and knit at a tight gauge so (hopefully) the need for darning will be a long way off.
I recently mended (wouldn't actually call it darning) a hole in the toe of socks I made for myself. Yarn didn't match, but since the toes are inside shoes, I don't care; they feel fine.
Donna, with intentions always bigger than her available time. |
|
|
|
lella
Permanent Resident
9697 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2011 : 01:07:17 AM
|
I have some flat, sectioned boxes for embroidery floss that would be perfect for those little cards Jane is talking about keeping hers in "in the future". They come from a needlecraft store and have the little bobbins in them for winding.
Needle felting seems like a great alternative, too. Have to look into doing that some day. Thanks.
Lella
Zippiknits
The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.
|
|
|
|
KnitKnerd
New Pal
7 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2011 : 11:20:33 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by kkknitter
The husband of a friend of mine has taken up needlefelting on the socks she makes when they need it, and he likes it and thinks it works well.
I had to google needlefelting, as I'd never heard of it. I wish cotton would felt! I have several grocery bags of raw cotton. I picked it up on a whim from a cotton field after harvest. They leave so much behind! |
|
|
|
Cheerleader9
Permanent Resident
USA
1563 Posts |
|
|
kkknitter
Seriously Hooked
641 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2011 : 1:24:49 PM
|
I asked my friend about her husband's adventures in needle felting to repair socks, and she told me that the result was so-so. A bit lumpy but she did not care. Thanks for the link Barb. I will ask her about the needle.
Kristina |
|
|
|
Katheroni
Permanent Resident
USA
1407 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2011 : 2:22:11 PM
|
I just darned nearly all my handknit socks this past winter. I save my yarn in a big jumble in a drawer. It is quite easy to find the matching yarn, although jeri is right -- the colors don't match so much anymore after all the washing and wearing of the socks.
However, I don't really mind that much. I mean, I'm normally darning the bottom of the heel or under the ball of the foot. They're socks. They don't have to look pristine on the bottom of the foot.
I am so glad I learned to darn and fixed up all my old socks. |
|
|
|
kkknitter
Seriously Hooked
641 Posts |
|
|
carol@cfmdesigns.net
New Pal
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2011 : 7:28:04 PM
|
The first pair of socks I made needs darning again for the third time. Enough is enough.  Sentimental does not keep the tosies warm!
I knit them with a 2/8 wool, not a sock yarn, no nylon. I'm cutting them off and reknitting all but the legs in a coordinating sock yarn. The legs were the hard part - I made clocks.
CFM Designs
"It's All About the Pretty"
http://cfmdesigns.net |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
Questions about saving yarn for darning
