Darn that hole part 1

Time wears away at everything, including our hand knitted items. During a snow storm this winter I was starting up my snow-blower and discovered a hole in the thumb of the very first mittens I had ever made, and saw that the thumb on the other one wasn’t far behind. I frowned contemplated the task at hand and put off the task that was to follow. Now I would not recommend that. If you discover a hole or it wearing thin fix it then because the bigger it gets the longer and the harder it will to be repair it in the end.

This week and next week I am going to teach you how to fix such a task and help you keep those hand knits a little longer. First I will address the thinning one since this is the easiest to repair.

You will need.

• Darning egg
• Yarn of equal weight, color and material as what was used the first time (I am doing contrast to see it better but also since the thumb was already contrasting.)
• Darning needle
• Crochet hook
• Scissors

1. Cut a length of thread and thread your needle
2. Place your darning egg into the thumb so that it is lightly taunt around where the thread is going thin
   

   
3. Follow the thread pattern as close as possible to the original stitching. Make sure you start a few stitches over and a few stitches lower then where it starts and go beyond the thin parts in every direction. The more you strengthen the surrounding area the better off you are in the long run.
   

   
4. Trim excess yarn or pull it through the work with a crochet hook.
5. Wear it out and be proud of your work.