Darning a small hole in a knitted garment

Darning closes a small hole in knitwear by weaving new yarn through the surrounding fabric, rebuilding the structure of the knit instead of covering it with a patch. Worked in the direction of the stitches and with a yarn that matches the garment, a darn can be both strong and discreet. The methods below work best on holes up to about an inch across, in knits where the stitches around the damage are still intact.

Two things determine the result: the yarn you choose and the path your needle takes through the fabric. A woven darn is the stronger choice, though its horizontal rows can show as a textured patch on stockinette. Swiss darning is the more discreet choice, because it copies the V-shaped stitches, but it depends on the sound stitches around the hole to anchor it. Pick one method for a hole rather than stacking them, since two layers of yarn make the repair thick and stiff.

Preparing the yarn and the hole

Start with the yarn. Match the fiber content and weight of the garment as closely as possible. A spare ball from the original purchase is ideal. Some knitwear also comes with a small card of spare yarn attached to the care label or hangtag, so check there first. If no spare exists, choose a yarn in a color that matches in daylight rather than under store lighting, because shades can look very different under different light. Thread a blunt-tipped darning needle with an eye large enough to carry the yarn without splitting its plies. A needle that is too thin can fray the yarn as it is pulled through.

Lay the garment flat on a towel, with a smooth object such as a darning egg, a jar or a folded piece of card inside to keep the knit from bunching. Check the edges of the hole. If stitches have started to run around the damage, pick each live loop up with a small crochet hook, draw it back into place and secure it with a short stitch on the inside so it cannot run further. Leave broken ends alone for now. Cutting threads at the edge of a knit can release more stitches and enlarge the hole, so weave the loose ends in at the finish instead.

The knit pattern sets the direction of the work. Stockinette, the smooth knit with V-shaped stitches on the front, has clear columns running up the garment and rows running across it. Ribbing and cables have their own columns, and the darn should follow the column in which the hole sits. Looking at the stitches on both sides of the hole before you start makes this direction easy to see.

Working a woven darn

Begin a few stitches beyond the edge of the hole, anchoring the yarn by weaving the tail under several stitches on the back of the knit. Lay the vertical strands first, following the columns. Each strand is a straight pass that enters a sound stitch a few rows above the hole, crosses the gap and anchors in a sound stitch a few rows below. Place the strands side by side across the width of the hole, and leave a little slack in each one. Pulling a strand tight makes the repair pucker, and the fabric around it will look gathered.

Once the vertical strands are in place, work the horizontal rows across them. Each row starts in sound stitches at one edge of the hole, weaves over and under the vertical strands, and finishes in sound stitches at the other edge, so the new yarn follows the rhythm of the knit. Keep the spacing even and match the size of the stitches to the existing loops. When the hole is covered, finish a few stitches beyond its edge, weave the yarn tail through the back of the garment for roughly 1 to 2 inches, changing direction at least once so it holds, and then trim the end close to the fabric.

Swiss darning for a discreet finish

Swiss darning, also called duplicate stitch, copies the V-shaped stitches with matching yarn, so the repair reads as knit rather than weave. Use a blunt darning needle and work from the back. Bring the needle up through the base of a stitch, slip it under both legs of the stitch directly above, then return it into the same hole at the base. Keep the tension even so each new V matches its neighbors, and work one row at a time.

Swiss darning needs a surface to follow, so a hole needs scaffolding first. Lay only horizontal strands across the hole, one for each missing row. Each strand enters the sound stitches on one side of the hole and leaves through the sound stitches on the other side, so both ends are anchored in intact knit. Keep each strand even and not tight, then work the V-shaped stitches over the strands, row by row, so every new V sits on a strand and the sound stitches around it. When the yarn and tension match, a Swiss darn can be very hard to tell from the surrounding knit.

Checking the repair and choosing another method

Turn the garment over and check the finished darn from the inside, then lay it flat and look at it from a short distance in natural light. A good repair lies smooth, follows the direction of the knit and is hard to pick out at a normal viewing distance. If the area puckers, unpick the stitches gently and redo them with more slack. Afterward, wash the garment according to its label and dry it flat, since the new yarn can settle slightly differently from the original.

Thin areas that have not broken yet can be reinforced with Swiss darning alone, with no woven darn underneath. Use a yarn close in weight to the garment and work gently, because thinned fabric has fewer loops to anchor the stitches. Check the result for pulls after the first few washes.

Holes larger than about an inch, or holes in areas that take heavy strain, are harder to close with darning alone. In those cases, a fine mesh or tulle can be sewn behind the hole to give the darning something to anchor onto, and the darn is then worked over it. For a valuable or heavily worn piece, a professional mender with knitwear experience is often the better choice. Darning works best when it is done early, while the hole is still small and the surrounding stitches remain sound.