Pattern Darning – A beginner’s Guide

What if you could repair holes in the fabric and do embroidery at the same time – functional and decorating stitch – a dream stitch? This is what pattern darning is all about.

Most sewists who value a good dress must have done some darning in their lifetime or are aware of the possibilities of a darning stitch. Pattern Darning is the pretty cousin of the darning stitch. It is basically darning done in a pattern – such an obvious thing- with regular even stitches made as per a design you have pre-planned. The basic stitch used here is the running stitch, which is made vertically or horizontally in a regular pattern.

You generally do not follow any design or pattern when doing your darning. It is mostly done with the same color as the repairing fabric. But not so in pattern darning. It is an embellishment and hence needs a design. This is basically a counted thread embroidery technique that also happens to serve a purpose.

Pattern darning has been known for centuries, but it is less popularly used than other embroidery stitches. But the possibilities of this stitch are endless. As a border design nothing to beat it.

A similar stitch is popular in Japan by the name Kogin stitch. Kogin-Zashi embroidery, much like Sashiko embroidery originated among the peasant class of Japan but later became common as embellishment for festive and wedding attire. Kogin embroidery pattern has beautiful patterns that have evolved through the years. This flickr page  has some very beautiful Kogin embroidery patterns.

What fabric is used to do Pattern Darning

Mostly evenweave fabric like linen where the weave (the warp and the weft thread) is visible is suitable for this embroidery. You need to count the threads so that you will know how many threads will be filled and how many will be left alone.

You can use embroidery floss to do this darning. Basically, it depends on what fabric you are doing pattern darning. If you use pattern darning to mend a hole in socks, sock wool is, of course, the obvious choice. Usually, a contrasting or complementary color is used to make the pattern visible.

How is pattern darning done

Usually, this stitch is used as a border stitch or as a filling stitch. Small running stitches are worked on the warp thread or the weft thread of the fabric. Sometimes they are worked diagonally as well though it is very rare.

As this is a counted thread embroidery, the number of threads covered by each stitch is counted each time for the regularity of the pattern.

You can do the pattern darning across the warp thread of your fabric or across the weft thread of your fabric, or both. When the darning stitches are made across the warp thread and the weft thread, it is known as a Damask darn.

Checkout the The pinterest board – Pattern Darning for inspirations and designs.