One of the failings of public education has been the removal of home economics classes that taught basic skills like cooking, sewing, and making practical applications of math like a household budget, but the beauty of the internet age is that you can find a lot of freely available information on these topics.

My big skill achievement this year was figuring out how to darn (repair) socks.  I was able to buy several new pairs after the pandemic, but my socks and leggings and some jeans had developed holes.  While socks aren't a major expense compared to other clothing items, I like my socks, and the cost does added up when it's several pairs.  And it seem like a waste to throw away a pair when only one sock has a problem.

There's several tutorials on this topic, and it doesn't hurt to watch or read more than one of them.  I bought a darning egg and used rubber bands to hold the fabric in place, but some people use a smooth rock or a tennis ball.

I tried this a few years ago and got frustrated because essentially you're weaving, and my perfectionism would get very annoyed when I missed a stitch.  This year I pushed through and realized it still works even if you miss a stitch here and there.

I will say darning is very time consuming, particularly with a large hole.  The rubber bands were essential for me, so I didn't have to hold the fabric tight for hours and could take breaks.  If you're hustling and working 100 hour weeks, don't take off from work to darn your socks.  It won't save you that much money.  But if you have some time in the evening, play some music or listen to an audiobook or pod cast, relax and settle in for a simple task.  Once I figured out the basic theory, I also used darning to reinforce areas where my socks were getting thread bare.  I later used the same technique for some leggings and jeans that developed holes, and it worked.  With the jeans, I add extra reinforcement doing diagonal threads, since denim is a thicker material.

I'm sure anyone looking closely would spot these patches, but using a similar thread color definitely helps reduce how visible they are... and most of the place where I needed a patch were not the most visible parts, bottom of the foot and underside of the crotch.

I don't buy the most expensive socks.  $300 socks exist, but mine probably all fall in the $1 to $10 per pair category.  I think I've saved about 10 pairs of socks and two pairs of leggings and 1 pair of jeans so far, which does add up to probably $50-$60 worth of clothing.  You do need thread.  Most of my thread and needles (a thimble is also a good idea) has been from Dollar Tree kits or those little free sewing kits they give away some times.

I also save a work T-shirt that had ripped at the collar.  The seem is obvious when you look at it, but since it's inside the neck, the exterior looks fine.

Not everything is repairable, but learning to make little fixes does add up.  And fixing rather than tossing and replacing is better for the environment.