First darn, on the elbow of a lambswool cardigan. It looks reasonable but the patch feels noticeably firmer than the fabric around it and I'm slightly worried I've done it wrong. Does a mend soften with wear and washing, and roughly how long, or does stiff mean I need to redo it before it wears a hole next to the patch?
A little firmer is normal and it does soften, mostly over the first two or three washes as the fibres bloom and settle. What isn't normal is a patch that won't bend with the fabric. The test is to drape the area over your fist: if the mend curves with everything else, leave it alone, it'll be fine. If it stays flat like a coin while the fabric bends around it, it's too dense and it will wear a hole right at the boundary within a season.
Bends with the fabric, just noticeably. Sounds like I'm fine then, thank you.
One thing to check while it's still fresh: how far past the thin area you took the darn. A common first-darn mistake is repairing only the hole and not the worn halo around it, which feels fine now and then goes through in a ring around your lovely patch. If the wool around the mend looks thinner and shinier than the rest of the sleeve, extend the darn out into it.
Wash it by hand in cool water with a wool wash, then dry flat rather than hanging. Hanging a wet cardigan with a fresh mend in the elbow drags the patch out of shape and it does feel stiffer afterwards.
@darning_dee · 11mo ago
Elbows also just feel different from anywhere else because you notice them constantly for a week and then never again. I've redone perfectly good mends because of that feeling. Give it four wears before you judge.
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