Spend a bit of time with me as I use Swiss darning to mend a worn-out elbow on a hand-knitted jumper. Swiss darning is basically duplicate stitch, but the missing stitches require a bit more work.
The hand-knitted jumper I am mending here is my Sarcactus jumper, one of my own knit designs created for Making Stories Issue 4. If you like the look of this and would like to knit one for yourself, you can find the knitting pattern on my website or alternatively in my Ravelry store.
Mending a Handknit Jumper: A quick guide to repairing a worn elbow using swiss darning
I am a big advocate for mending things whether that's a handmade item you've spent hours stitching or a beloved shop-bought thing. I believe in trying to get as much usage out of textiles as possible; our clothes aren't just meant to be worn for a season and then discarded. Hand-knitted jumpers, in particular, can hold a lot of sentimental value so it’s worth taking the time to repair them when they start showing signs of wear. Here, i’ll walk you through mending a worn elbow on my husband’s handknit jumper using swiss darning (duplicate stitch).
The handknit jumper
The jumper in question is Sarcactus, which I designed and knit for my husband several years ago. Inspired by the flora and textiles of northwestern Argentina, this colourwork yoke jumper features a central cactus motif combined with geometric details, with stranded colourwork around the yoke, hem, and sleeve edges.
I knit it with woollen-spun yarn, which, while warm and soft, does tend to wear down over time, especially in high stress areas like the elbows. This isn’t the first time it’s needed mending, but a hole doesn’t mean this handknit jumper is destined for the bin!
This jumper was the first iteration in my designing process of Sarcactus and the sleeves are a little tighter than I would have liked. This, combined with the woollen spun yarn does make it more susceptible to wear. See, tighter sleeves put more strain on the fabric when bending your elbows, especially if you lean on them frequently. Over time, this friction leads to thinning and eventual holes. Looser stitches are more beneficial as they provide your sleeves with just a little bit of give, so I modified the design to have a looser gauge, reducing stress on the stitches.
This time, it seems the damage wasn’t just thinning, but likely from my husband pulling up his sleeve a little too enthusiastically, causing a ladder lower down. Fortunately, it’s a pretty easy fix if you have a little mending knowledge.
Mending a Handknit Jumper: A quick guide to repairing a worn elbow
I am a big advocate for mending things whether that's a handmade item you've spent hours stitching or a beloved shop-bought thing. I believe in trying to get as much usage out of textiles as possible; our clothes aren't just meant to be worn for a season and then discarded. Hand-knitted jumpers, in particular, can hold a lot of sentimental value so it’s worth taking the time to repair them when they start showing signs of wear. Here, i’ll walk you through mending a worn elbow on my husband’s handknit jumper using swiss darning (duplicate stitch).
The handknit jumper
The jumper in question is Sarcactus, which I designed and knit for my husband several years ago. Inspired by the flora and textiles of northwestern Argentina, this colourwork yoke jumper features a central cactus motif combined with geometric details, with stranded colourwork around the yoke, hem, and sleeve edges.
I knit it with woollen-spun yarn, which, while warm and soft, does tend to wear down over time, especially in high stress areas like the elbows. This isn’t the first time it’s needed mending, but a hole doesn’t mean this handknit jumper is destined for the bin!
This jumper was the first iteration in my designing process of Sarcactus and the sleeves are a little tighter than I would have liked. This, combined with the woollen spun yarn does make it more susceptible to wear. See, tighter sleeves put more strain on the fabric when bending your elbows, especially if you lean on them frequently. Over time, this friction leads to thinning and eventual holes. Looser stitches are more beneficial as they provide your sleeves with just a little bit of give, so I modified the design to have a looser gauge, reducing stress on the stitches.
This time, it seems the damage wasn’t just thinning, but likely from my husband pulling up his sleeve a little too enthusiastically, causing a ladder lower down. Fortunately, it’s a pretty easy fix if you have a little mending knowledge.
Tools for mending the elbow of a hand-knit jumper
I like to use swiss darning, or duplicate stitch for mending. It's a really great stitch for mending hand-knit jumpers because it follows the path of the original stitches. You don’t need many tools for it either - to repair the worn elbow I used:
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My own hand-dyed Mendip DK yarn to match the original yarn
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A crochet hook for fixing the ladder and picking up dropped stitches
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Sewing thread to provide a framework for creating stitches to mend the hole.
Step 1: Fix the Ladder
If you’ve dropped stitches or have a ladder in the knitted fabric a crochet hook is invaluable - it’s one of the reasons I think every knitter should have an emergency crochet hook in their toolkit.
In a similar fashion to fixing a mistake in your knitting - i.e. dropping down stitches to where you made the mistake, fixing it and working the stitch back up - you can use the hook to pick up the stitches from the bottom of the ladder to the bottom of the hole.
This is an easy process if working in stockinette, however, patterned stitches and cables can be a bit fiddly as you have to take extra care to ensure your knits and purls align as you work your way up.
Step 2: Reinforce the Area
Worn areas often extend beyond the visible hole, so if you do find that the surrounding yarn is weaker, extend your repair a few rows beyond the hole. This will reinforce your knitted fabric and strengthen the fabric, especially in those high-stress areas like the elbow.
Duplicate stitch does add bulk since you're layering yarn over existing stitches, but in my case, as I am mending a worn elbow, that’s a bonus. The extra thickness means extra durability which can help prevent future wear.
Step 3: Swiss Darning (Duplicate Stitch)
Swiss darning is not a complicated process as you are literally just duplicating the existing stitches and following the path of the yarn.
How to do Swiss darning:
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Start your duplicate stitch a few rows and stitches away from the hole.
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Follow the path of the original yarn:
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Insert your needle up into the stitch above
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Bring it across the stitch
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Then insert it down into the stitch below.
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Work row by row, turning at the end of each row to continue in the opposite direction.
You’ll find your stitches may look a little messy so you want to keep your tension as even as possible without pulling too tight. If you do notice a slight unevenness or difference in tension, a good steam block will often work wonders.
Step 4: Recreate Those Broken Stitches
When you reach the hole where stitches are missing, it’s time to rebuild the knitted fabric. We can’t create stitches out of thin air, though, so we will first create a frame work to repair the area and create some stitches.
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Create the framework with sewing thread to anchor your new stitches
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Secure the thread at the base of the loose column.
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Thread it up through the column, across the hole, and back down into the next column. Repeat until you’ve created a grid of parallel lines across the hole.
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Weave new stitches: Use the threads as a scaffold to mimic the original stitches.Wrap your yarn around these threads to recreate the missing stitches.
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Repair the entire worn area: Work back and forth, left and right until the hole is filled.
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Anchor into the fabric above: As you near the top of the hole, connect the new stitches to the existing ones by following the original yarn path and catching the loops of the row above.
This process can be fiddly, but it ensures a seamless repair and keeps the fabric strong.
The Finished Repair
Now, the elbow repair isn’t entirely invisible. You’ll notice the knitted fabric is slightly thicker where the duplicate stitch was applied, but it’s sturdy, functional, and your hand knit jumper is ready to be worn again.
If you’ve been putting off a mending project, I hope this inspires you to pick it up. It’s easy to procrastinate and I know I am guilty of avoiding my mending pile a little but longer than I ought, but once you sit down and start, the process can be surprisingly enjoyable and the results are always worth it.
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