Another natty gadget
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (323744)
Rockingham, Australia
October 6, 2017 3:00am CST
My last discussion was about a button-hook that was found among my mother’s belongings. Here is another item that may have you guessing.
It’s called a ‘mushroom’ or at least that’s we called it. I don’t know if it has another name. It is/was used when darning socks. The sock is stretched over the ‘mushroom’ part and held tight around the handle. Then you set to darning the hole in the sock.
What? You’ve never darned a sock? Shame on you! Actually, to be honest, neither have I.
17 people like this
21 responses
@MALUSE (69428)
• Germany
6 Oct 17
I also have such a thingy, also inherited from my mother. It's made of wood and decorated and looks nicer than yours. :-) The stem can be taken off so that it's easier to hold in some places.
I have darned socks, although not for a long time. Believe it or not, it's my plan for today to use the mushroom to close two small holes in the sleeves of a cardigan. I hope we don't have moths which feast on our woollen things.
7 people like this
@DeborahDiane (39965)
• Laguna Woods, California
7 Oct 17
@MALUSE - I'm impressed that you have darned socks. That is a wonderful skill to have!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Oct 17
My poor old grandmother used to do the mending and darning for our family. She liked doing it as she wasn't really able to do much else and was often very bored. She would darn dark socks with light-coloured wool because the contrasting colours made it easier for her to see what she was doing. Some were very skilled at doing an almost invisible repair.
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
6 Oct 17
I never saw this gadget. The traditional tool used to darn socks in France was/is (it is still available) not a mushroom but a wooden egg called "oeuf à repriser". I cannot discuss about the compared advantages of the mushroom vs the egg, as I have never darned socks.
4 people like this
@Morleyhunt (21617)
• Canada
6 Oct 17
I don't have such a thingy....I've seen wooden "eggs" that were used for darning socks....
Desperation has led me to darning or mending socks. The most challenging pair were my fathers medical support stocking. I mended them while waiting for the company to get back to us about replacing them. (They eventually did). At $90. a pop, I would hope so!
3 people like this
@peachpurple (13882)
• Malaysia
6 Oct 17
what is darned a sock? I have seen a similar mushroom button somewhere....
3 people like this
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Oct 17
Once, when socks got holes in them, the hole would be patched with wool being crisscrossed over it.
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Oct 17
Most people would do that nowadays. Not too many would bother darning socks.
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Oct 17
Several have said they've seen wooden ones. This is tin or may aluminium.
@Fleura (28949)
• United Kingdom
6 Oct 17
I remember those - in fact my only surprise is that I don't seem to have one anywhere, which is odd given that I do have so many other things, including a button hook! And yes I have darned socks, and jumpers, tights and many other things.
2 people like this
@RichardMeister (5328)
• Otis Orchards, Washington
6 Oct 17
I had seen one of this before but I couldn't remember what it was used for until you mentioned it. If I'm remembering right I thing my foster mother's mother used to use one of these to darn our socks when I was a kid.
2 people like this
@RichardMeister (5328)
• Otis Orchards, Washington
6 Oct 17
@JudyEv This is true. We have turned into a more throwaway world.
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22932)
• India
6 Oct 17
First time for me...Though I admit to darning in my school days.
2 people like this
@responsiveme (22932)
• India
6 Oct 17
@JudyEv we had to learn all this in the sewing class
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (40189)
• United States
6 Oct 17
That was such fun to read. I think I tried to darn a sock ( how did we get the word "darn" to mean repair?) years ago, but it wasn't comfortable.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (39965)
• Laguna Woods, California
7 Oct 17
@JudyEv - About as close as I have gotten darning a sock is to say, "Darn, I have a hole in my sock!" LOL Fascinating gadget!
1 person likes this
@JESSY3236 (18753)
• United States
10 Oct 17
cool. I never heard of that. I thought it was a button.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Oct 17
Do you darn socks or do like I do and throw them out?