Mend, as a stocking crossword

The old method of closing small holes and thin spots in cloth, remains a cheap, practical way to give socks, sweaters plus other favourite clothes extra years of wear. In a culture that favours throwing things away, the slow, precise handwork gives the mind a calm break from daily haste. With a needle thread and sharp attention, the darner laces new yarn through the damaged area but also copies the original stitch and feel of the cloth. The mend brings back usefulness as well as gives the garment a visible record of both the owner's care and the cloth's ability to last. While factories turn out goods designed for short life spans, the quiet act of darning refuses waste or chooses careful upkeep. Apart from its use darning also becomes art when expert hands try complex patterns and bright colours. Those darning artists turn plain repair into personal creation also lift a routine task into something beautiful. Their work shows that looking after what we own rewards us in ways that reach beyond money. In a time when garments are often treated as temporary darning gives a direct counter to the throw away habit. When we practise this long known skill, we add months or years to the life of clothes and we learn to value the objects we live with. Through the steady, quiet motion of mending we touch older rhythms next to find steadiness in the simple act of repair.