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Darn It!

© Karen L. Harris

Let's face it, the underwear industry has a racket going. Undergarments aren't cheap, and to keep an entire family adequately stocked in underwear, socks and so on can break your budget. I truly think undergarment manufacturers intentionally hike up the price of these items because they know we have no choice. We have to have them...or be labeled a radical.

Because I have to pay good money for bras, socks and underwear, I try to care for them as best I can to increase their longevity and therefore, get more wear for my money.

Socks

When purchasing socks, I take a tip from people with large families. I buy all white, same style socks. This way, if the dryer eats one sock, I still have plenty of matches for it and I won't have to throw away the orphaned sock. (I wouldn't really throw it away. I'd use it as a dusting mitt or a dog toy or whatever else I can think of to recycle it.) I do this for myself, my husband and my kids. To date no one has asked for special colors or styles.

To protect our socks, everyone in my family wears slippers around the house. I live in an old farmhouse in a constant state of renovations so the slippers save our socks from rips, tears and snags. It also keeps them from getting too grungy, though I periodically bleach a load of socks to keep them white.

I hate holey socks, but I hate waste even more. Therefore, I do what my grandmother did and darn our socks.Several generations ago women regularly darned socks, but in our throw-away society we don't want to mend. Wejust want to replace.

I don't have a darning ball like my grandmother did, so I use a lightbulb to stretch open the sock for mending. Stitch together the hole but keep the seam as small as you can. Bulky seams are uncomfortable, especially with shoes on. Also, stitch the seam on the outside of the sock, again for maximum comfort. Since toes and heels wear out quicker you can use a good section from another holey sock to patch the heel or toe.

Underwear

What wears out most in underwear is the elastic waistband or the seams in the crotch area. The elastic can easily be replaced with soft elastic from a fabric store. It is inexpensive. As for the crotch seams, carefully sewing them closed with the seam on the outside will solve the problem.

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