I'm not a mender...yet, but certainly see nothing wrong with it.

I do however have going to town (or anywhere off the farm) sox, and then my everyday ones. When the 'better town' sox get looking pretty bad, I take them for everyday. Once the everyday ones really blow out the heel, they are washed and recycled for rags....still not really going to waste. By then they are in such a state that I could not want to be caught dead in them....kind of like having clean decent underwear on if'n I ever happen to get in a wreck and end up at the hospital.

I do have a very favorite pair though that I do hope/plan to darn sometime when life slows a bit. They are a soft thick wool, and very comfy and warm in the winter.

Sue

I have mended a few but usually i will throw them away. The ones that i have mended are colored socks that are hard to find. Regular white socks last a long time. By the time that they have holes in them they are kind of dingy looking.

I have not learned the fine art of darning socks. By the time my children wear holes in them, it's likely that they are not the same pair they once were in any case. =0) I tend to buy them in bulk. Usually 10 pairs in a package. I also purchase the same brand and style of socks for both my boys..... A different brand, but also all the same brand and style for hubby.... Still again a different brand but also the same style for myself. They are different enough to make sorting easy, and the sameness makes it easy to "match" them when doing laundry. Has the added benefit of if one actually does get a hole before it disintegrates, I can throw one into the rag bag, instead of losing a pair.

My girls are a bit different because they tend to want colors and frou-frou on their socks.... to "match their outfit". Their white socks I do like the boys, but most times they prefer color and pretty, so they go through considerably more..... Of course theirs do make the better stuffed animals.

Are you "nuts"? Well, only those that know you best know that, but certainly not for mending your socks.

Mil

My husband wears Gold Toe socks in many colors.... black, blue, khaki, gray. They wear like iron and I usually do no mending on them.
His white socks are from Target, and they are so cheap that I just by another package.

I wear my socks thin before they get holes in them, so they are just replaced also.

Since I collect antique wooden darning eggs -- I darn socks. I get frustrated because the cotton tube socks darn horribly!!

But I also knit most of our winter/dress socks and those darn beautifully. Besides, I went to the work of knitting them -- they are going to last.

I enjoy the peaceful activity of mending and darning.
Cathy

I find that the cotton gym socks are not worth darning. My 9yo boy blows threw them in no time at all (I almost wonder if he is chewing on them or something). Once I was not paying attention to price and purchased some socks from Gap for him (white tube socks) and they lasted much longer. Some of them will even be handed down to his younger brothers, just don't know if I am willing to pay that price again.

If some of my wool socks or my husband's nice dress socks were to get a hole, then I would consider mending.

Our socks rarely get holes in them (Gold Toe, mostly). I never mend but admire you for doing it, Budster.

The cheap everyday, warm-weather socks that I buy in multi-packages don't get darned. They wear for about 3 years before getting holes, then I toss them. They run about $1 or less/pair in the multi-packages.

However, the wool dress socks that I wear for everyday in the winter do get darned. They run $8.50/pair. So, YES, they do get darned!!! They last me about 6-7 years before the heels get so thin that they are useless for keeping my feet warm at that point!

I use an old lightbulb as my "darning egg"!

Hi there, high-class B.C. Bud,
When I first saw the subject, and the authour, I thought the meaning was, " ... throw them away!!?? ... are you nuts??!!, that the speaker found the idea abhorrent.

I have some of those white cotton socks. They don't seem to last long. Several of mine have holes.

Some of the 10 lb. potato bags have a short piece of wire hoding them shut, but some have those string closers that you can pull at one end to open.

I've been thinking of using some of them to darn the white socks. The string doesn't seem too strong ... but the cotton in the socks isn't so hot, either.

I've recently come into some different coloured balls of warn, so it looks as though there may be a good possibility that I may be able to mend the "good" socks with yarn nearer their original colour. Some of my friends have had great sport of my wearing gray or black socks with the feet darned with green or red yarn when I visited their shoes-off home.

But the man, more or less my best friend, died a while ago ... and his wife recently had to sell their rural house on several acres of land, as she doesn't have enough money to live on. And they were a few years younger than I.

Trouble is, it's getting so that I need stronger glasses than most of the reading glasses available to see small print ... and to see to thread needles. Especially since several of my needles have small eyes, as the thread seems to pull out more easily from large-eyed needles ... which requires re-threading, as you may have noticed.

It looks as though many Westen folks have way too much money.

It also looks as though the mills of God are at work, working toward levelling out the worldwide monetary playing field somewhat.

We can scarcely claim that such would be unfair.

ole joyful

I vote for nuts! I don't mend socks. I purchase a six-package of white socks for the kids and they pretty much last for a year or so. Usually $6.99 a package.

My own socks last forever. I have quite a few pair and don't wear each pair more than once every couple of weeks. We don't have any nice hand knitted socks.

By the time we've gotten a year's wear and then I use them for cleaning rags, I feel that I have gotten my money's worth.

I do willingly sew on buttons and repair seams in clothing.

Gloria

When I mend my socks I never like the funny seam that is made when you sew the hole. I now stick a light bulb in the sock and sew the hole. It makes the seam more contoured and doesnt bother my toes

Altho I knit and sew, I never learned how to darn. So socks with holes are used for cleaning, dusting,etc.

I just found a perfectly good pair of darned socks in my drawer the other day, and wore them. I really am not sure where they even came from...maybe some stuff that someone gave me to take to Goodwill or something. Lots of times I end up washing up a lot of things first (just to be sure) and will occasionally pull out something of use to me, for my time and expense.

I wouldn't have even noticed the darning, but they used light blue yarn/thread, on white sox. They did a fantastic job!

Sue

I toss them, no way I would darn them. There are to many fun things to fill my day. The only darned socks I have worn hurt my feet. Sometimes even seams on new socks rub my toes.

I've recently started spinning my own yarn and intend to make socks, I will darn them when they need it, there's no way I'm going let my hard work get tossed out. Bought socks on the otherhand get tossed.

toss 'em

My socks don't seem to get holes in them (and I'm a guy) but my white ones I wear to work tend to lose the elastic first. My 'Sunday-go-to-meeting' socks last for ages.

Never mend - the dogs get the socks when they wear out. I couldn't deprive them of having such a great and cheap toy !

Old socks make great cleaning mitts!

What's with you guys who can't mend a hole without making a ridge that bothers your toes and other sensitive parts??

Didn't your Mom teach you nuthin'?

A mended sock that later develops another hole makes just as good a dust rag as the sock with just a hole, as far as I can see.

I think that part of the relative value of the use of one's time depends on what alternative use one has for the time.

With regard to pants/shirts, Grandma used to say that, "A patch was honourable ...

... but a patch upon a patch was abominable!"

How come I remember all of that stuff?? Grandma died nearly 60 years ago.

Have a great week, everyone.

I save all our holy pantyhose, wash them and then use for dusting, fantastic for static, dusting lampshades, tv sets, glass tops and our glossy piano. Then i bin them.

If you can darn socks and you enjoy the sewing, it is very relaxing, do it!