Darning Socks and Stretching Sweaters!

[JRinPA]

I need help/thoughts on these manly activities - darning my socks and stretching my sweaters!

For sweaters, I'd like to know if it is possible to stretch merino wool sweaters, and how to do it. I have lots of sweaters marked XL or 2XL that might be passably be the right breadth for my chest/trunk, but they tend to be very short. Even those marked a Tall. I'm not always sure if it is by design, or they were accidentally shrunken, since I've never been able to afford new merino wool sweaters. These are sweaters that came from goodwill/thrift shops/etc. Is there a method to take a sweater that is too small, wet it, and stretch it into the right shape as it dries? These sweaters are used for layering while hunting and the appearance doesn't matter much, whether it causes pilling or such. So I would love to make a big form from...wood maybe...that approximates my upper body that I could pull the sweater over and let it stretch to that size. Frankly, they are no good to me when the upper fits my chest but the sweater then comes up to navel. Kind of cold that way...

For darning, what I really want is to make a perfect cast of my foot to pull the sock over and patch away.

I have a rather large collection of smartwool socks dating back nearly 20 years. I don't know how the quality is now, but these were fantastic and I really can't stand (oh I just noticed that pun, ouch) wearing other than merino wool for very long. I've been totally spoiled. Some styles have more articulation/stretch bands than others, the very best being a "walking" sock that was bought at $3 a pair off sierra years back. I bought them out, I think it was 27 pairs of Oatmeal color, maybe more. I still have many/most of those pairs, and a lot of others, vary degrees of thickness.

I get a lot of use out of socks, as long as the shoe fits (oh not this again). The problems with holes developing are mostly from a new pair of shoes or boots that don't fit right, and end up eroding the socks. Which I notice eventually as they are being ruined. Sometimes it is the heel, sometimes the arch, sometimes outside the back of the toe box. I have used a darning egg to repair, at times, while watching tv. I might get one hole patched pretty well per episode. Depends on how good the show is, I suppose. I used to use acrylic but nowadays I cut up the lost cause socks and use that merino wool. These strands aren't long so it takes a lot of reloading the needle, and my hands tend to cramp up holding the egg in the right place for so long, and it is not as good a job with shape I get, depending on the location.

What I really want is to make a form of my foot that I can use instead of a darning egg. A full size form I can just pull the sock on up to the ankle, and not have it move around. That way I would have the perfect shape and the holes should be perfectly stretched so that the patch will be just right, not have to stretch or be too bulky. I have had this idea for what seems to be quite a long time, but have never gotten around to it. I don't know how best to make the form (cast?). I have read of pourable stuff, but I don't know the specifics, and it always seems expensive, and I don't know if the final product would be hard enough or too brittle, or chalky....

I wear a 15 and am always told I have high arches/runner's feet. I don't mind carving it out of wood but not sure the best way to keep the proportions well enough. Or a hard enough wood. I have many dozens of socks that could use need some upkeep. Buying new ones today might work for someone with a size 12, but it always hard for me to find proper fitment for a size 15 and good quality material. Probably nowadays merino wool socks are made overseas, anyway.

Is there a (reasonably cheap) way to scan and 3d print? Would that material be hard enough for a repeated darning needle scrapes?

Anyway, so yeah I'm looking for ideas to take my sock and sweater saving to the next level. There was a time when I thought the internet was great for stuff like this, finding practical ideas. Probably 20 years ago now. Now it seems everything is money/ad driven and there is almost no substance to 99% of the web pages out there. I have been unable to find any useful information involving these topics, so I appreciate the input, even if the reply comes years from now. Don't be afraid to bump it.

[worth1]

I suppose you know why wool shrinks.
I found this on line.
"Even if the piece has shrunken drastically, there are a few ways to stretch the wool to restore it to its original size. Begin by soaking the wool in a bath of warm water and baby shampoo or hair conditioner, then take the wool out and gently stretch it manually to get it to its original dimensions."

[bower]

I was going to say something like what Worth said. Soak it in lukewarm or cool water (hot will shrink it of course). Mild soap only (no detergents). I would put it in a washtub for at least half an hour to fully soak. But I would let it soak even longer than that if it doesn't yield to your shaping efforts in short order. Maybe even start with an hour soak, would be best for something badly shrunken.
You can stretch a knit material by hanging it on the line wet, by the weight of the water alone, but it may be difficult to get it evenly stretched in the direction desired. You would need to clamp it evenly at the top - but even then you may end up with localized stretching you didn't want! (Yea I have had some things end up with puffy shoulders just like the '80's due to position of the clothespins on the line).
Hence the standard practice of drying wool sweaters flat instead of hanging them. Stretch they do.
I love the idea of using a form. Even if you formed only the shoulders, you could hang it wet on the form and stretch that way, then decide if you need a second form to do the width by hanging sideways... Some sort of broad curve of the right lengths should do it.
Please share pics and results, and sock darning foot too!
I wear out socks at an alarming rate due to an old toe injury from woodcutting days.
I also want a leg form for the accursed "jeggings" which have replaced jeans in the stores. Cannot get non stretchy jeans in the usual retailers, at all. The darn jeggings aggravate my sensitive knees unless they are thoroughly stretched out.

Re 3D printing, I think that should be totally doable. Why not?

[Whwoz]

Try looking for shoe forms for the socks, one example should be linked.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Adjustable-Wo ... 0687&psc=1

[bower]

Wow adjustable! Those are really cool, Whwoz!
On the subject of wooden form to hang/stretch the wet sweater, I went downstairs and immediately noticed what a handy shape there is in a well pruned branch - the one at the top here is from an urban maple. Notice how it curves gently from the base of the branch, which is pre-shaped to fit shoulders better than a straight rail. It would be easy as pie to find a suitable shoulder shaped branch, plane off the pointy bits and round the shoulder ends, for a shape very suitable to the purpose. That is if you happen to be in a wooded area with mature maples or similar.
whoops forgot the pic....

maplebranch-285.JPG

[wykvlvr]

Grin bit of a crafter here. You want a wooly board for the sweaters and would need to weight the bottom. OR get a set of play mats and lots of T pins or the blocking pins for knitting. Wet sweater lay on mat and stretch to size/shape you want set aside until totally dry.
Does your darning egg have a handle or not? Also on those lost cause socks unravel don't cut. It takes longer but you end up with longer pieces of yarn. DH puts a board across his lap then sets his darning egg on it so he doesn't have to hold it and stress his damaged shoulders, that may help. Bobbin Boy on Facebook has been selling a long handled "toe jack" that folks love for darning. Giggle they were originally meant to hold sock tubes from the vintage/antique sock knitting machines so you could sew the toe closed

[JRinPA]

We have some shoe trees like that but they are not nearly big enough to mimic my awesome 15D runner's feet. Runner's feet that haven't seen a track since the 9th grade, or a football field since high school.

Wooly board, awesome. But very flat though. I have never been flat. Make a Wooly board out of 2x4, maybe.

Honestly I have never looked into why wool shrinks. I don't know how shrunken these are, or if they are just not big enough to begin with. I figure they can be stretched but, they have always been air dried flat here at the house. I don't know if that shrinks them or what.

Once I get a decent form I will concentrate on longer threads by unraveling. I was more just pulling a string as far as it would come as it bunches up at the sock, then breaks. The darning egg does have a handle. I've seen mushroom ones as well. But oh I would love to have a full form. I've considered darning them "in place" with some duct tape on my foot/ankle under the work area, but my yoga days are long past. Still may try that though.

I'll look over these responses more closely when I have time, thanks.

Instead of wood, I have considered easy to shape styrofoam for forms too, but would really need to harden the skin for darning purposes, and for sweaters, I don't know how it would dry and would expect little beads to get in the fabric. That is with open cell white stuff. Expanded polystyrene. The pink/blue extruded polystyrene, I would have to buy, but might work better. The white I have lots of already.

[worth1]

Many hairs that are used to make things like this have microscopic barbs on them like rabbit and sheep wool.
As it is agitated the barbs become more entwined together and makes the material shrink if that makes any sense.
In the middle east they take the loose wool spread it out on a tarp or some such thing and roll it up around a long pole but before they do they pour horse urine all over it and then use a horse to drag it around the desert until it makes the cloth.
This is how Persian and Afghan rugs were made or at least that is what I read in national geographic years ago.
Good lord if I am wrong some place forgive me it has been over thirty years since I read it.
Folks need to remember that we didn't have modern washing machines and cloths driers back when wool was the main source of clothing.
Not cotton.
I wore a lot of wool growing up and it was hung on the line to dry not tumbled in the drier to make it shrink.

[bower]

You would need some pretty hard styrofoam to stretch a sweater on. I guess there are hard enough versions? It seems to have more give to me than a piece of solid wood, so if you go styrofoam, try for bigger than your size. One thing I have seen in knits, they can ping right back to their former size which is what they are designed to do.
Your stretch may be asking them to stop doing that, lose their springy grip. Depending on how much they are shrunk. If it goes too far, you may also lose some of their other qualities, and garment will not fit nicely to you by springing back as it once did.
Cotton knits certainly can be ruined by stretching and will never go back to their former size or shape.
Hot water shrinks wool. Pretty simple. Always wash cold with a mild soap, dry them by rolling up in a towel and gently wringing, then laying flat.
It's almost a relief to be too allergic to wool to wear it.
But silk is as much trouble. And cotton misbehaves. They just don't itch and scratch.

[Growing Coastal]

I didn't know that people use eggs and mushrooms as darning aids.

I once read that soaking in salt water would help unshrink wool but I can't find anything that says so now. There's a nice mohair wrap I shrunk a bit I should try unshrinking, as mentioned above, before winter sets in. Didn't think it could be done.

[wykvlvr]

Grin if pinning flat find a sweater you like the fit of. You can take measurements or even draw an outline on your mats so you know where you want the sweater to pin out to. Then use the measurements or outline to stretch your your shrunken sweater to the shape/size you want. You want it damp so it stretches but not soaking wet.
The toe jacks I mentioned have a longer handle then most darning eggs but Bobbin Boy is a master turner and could probably make whatever you want... he may even consider it an interesting challenge to get the right shape/size.

[JRinPA]

When I mentioned styrofoam as form I mean denser sheets of insulation, not the blown, lightweight peanuts. I have many blocks of expanded, they are used for delivering trailers and such to the retailers. 12x12x18" blocks. When my nephew was young, I wanted to make an igloo in the front yard before a decent snow. I thought it would be pretty cool. For two years it seemed we didn't have a decent snow. He is going on 11 now so that trick is probably past.