You might be tempted to mend your clothes with whatever you have to hand – and this is often a good, practical solution. But you'll get even better results, and enjoy darning much more if you use the best darning needles for the job.
In our guide, we'll explain how darning needles are different from other needles, and what to look for when buying your first set. From length to diameter, eye size and sharpness, there's more to think about than you might expect!
So check out Gathered's round-up and find the right darning needle for every mending project.
What is a darning needle?
You might also see them called finishing needles, and they're an essential tool for every make-do-and-mender! While it's possible to darn with general purpose sewing needles, it's much easier with a dedicated darning needle.
This is because darning needles have larger eyes to allow for easy threading of darning thread. They also come in longer lengths that enable you to weave the needle across bigger holes in one pass, making the process a lot less fiddly.
Here are some of the things you should look for in a high-quality darning needle:
- Smooth tips with no burrs to catch against the fabric
- Well-polished eyes to reduce thread breakage as you work
- Strong metal or plastic that shows minimal bending under pressure
Darning needles, tapestry needles and yarn needles
To the untrained eye, darning, tapestry and yarn needles look incredibly similar, but there are subtle differences that are important to take into account when choosing which to use.
In the broadest terms, their distinctive features are that darning needles can be longer, tapestry needles are always blunt, and yarn needles have extra-large eyes – though there is of course plenty of overlap between the three.
The easiest way to ensure your needle is suitable for darning is to look for the word: anything with "darning" or "darner" in the title is likely to be ok.
However, even within the category of darning needles there are different types to look out for. Here are some of the variations you might find:
Short and long darners
The length of your darning needle is really important. Which needle you need will depend on the size of the hole you intend to fix. For small holes and narrow areas such as sock toes, you'll find it easier to work with a short darner.
For bigger holes when you're working over a wider area, you need a long darner. These are ideal for sewing long, straight lines of stitches. You'll find you can work quicker, and get a neater result, with a long needle.
Yarn and cotton darners
As their names suggest, these darners are designed for use with different fabrics and threads.
If you're patching up a piece of knitting, or working with heavier weight darning yarn, you need a yarn darner with a large eye, big enough for your yarn to pass through. Yarn darners are thicker and usually have a blunt tip to help you avoid splitting your stitches. They tend to come in sizes 14 and above.
For cotton and other woven fabrics such as linen or jersey, you need a cotton darner. These have a smaller eye, suitable for finer darning thread, and a semi-blunt tip to help prevent snags. They come in a variety of lengths and you'll generally find them in sizes 1 to 9.
Darning needles for every project
So now you know what you need to look for, here's our pick of the best darning needles for 2024.
1. Clover darning needles
These yarn-friendly needles from Clover have blunt tips to prevent splitting when darning knitted items. The elliptical eye makes threading easy, while the nickel-plated tip is designed for smooth sewing.
The needles come as a set of 3 (sizes 13, 17 and 20), in their own secure storage case.
- Buy Clover darning needles from Amazon
2. Milward long darning needles
With 6 needles in sizes 3 to 9, this set from Milward gives you plenty of options for your darning projects. They're made from hardened steel with long eyes and can be used with cotton or wool.
Go for these long darners if you're fixing bigger holes, or choose the shorter ones in the same range for mini mends.
- Buy Milward long darning needles from Hobbycraft
3. John James Pebble darners
Suitable for general clothing repairs, John James's Pebble darners set includes 12 needles in sizes 3 to 9, all with sharp points. These cotton darners are best for working with cotton or wool.
The handy carry case makes them ideal for popping in your project bag and taking with you on the go.
- Buy John James Pebble darners from Wool Warehouse
4. Hemline darning needles
This 5-piece set from Hemline in sizes 14-18 gives you the flexibility to darn a wide range of items. Looking like longer versions of tapestry needles, they have a blunt tip and a large eye that's suitable for use with yarn – these sizes are also known as 'yarn darners'.
Whatever you call them, they're a great choice for knitters with socks and sweaters to mend!
- Buy Hemline darning needles from Ebay
5. Prym yarn darners
Made from burr-free, rust-resistant steel, Prym's yarn darners come in a pack of 6 and include three different sizes from 5/0-1/0, all with larger eyes for use with yarn.
The needles have a golden eye and a tapered ballpoint tip that's designed to go through thicker fabrics without splitting the fibres.
- Buy Prym yarn darners from Amazon
6. Hobbii darning/wool needles
If you like your needles to be as colourful as your clothes then you need these aluminium darners from Hobbii. This blue and pink pair measure 7cm long and have blunt tips that are gentle on knitted fabrics.
Their large eyes make these needles ideal for darning with yarn, and they'd be good for finishing knitting too.
- Buy Hobbii darning/wool needles from Hobbii
7. Bohin long darners
Made in France from nickel-plated steel, these long Bohin needles are ideal for sewing thicker fabrics. The set includes three different sizes with the largest being over 6cm long.
All come with a larger eye to allow a variety of darning threads to pass through and a semi-blunt tip to reduce snagging. Use them to rejuvenate your favourite wool and cotton items.
- Buy Bohin long darners from Amazon
8. Korbond darning needles
With this versatile 10-piece set from Korbond you'll have a great collection of needles at your fingertips.
These long needles have long eyes to match, making threading easy, and the eyelets are non-tear to help minimise snagging. Use them to darn with either wool or cotton on a range of fabric types.
- Buy Korbond darning needles from Ebay
9. Clover Sashiko needles
If you plan on trying the sashiko mending technique then you need these dedicated darning needles. Clover's Sashiko needles have very sharp points to glide easily through your fabric and create smooth, even stitches.
This set includes 8 needles in 4 different sizes, all with gold-plated eyes and nickel-plated tips.
- Buy Clover Sashiko needles from LoveCrafts
On the mend
Learn three different techniques for fixing holes in your clothes with our guide to darning socks.
Find the best darning needles for every mend
Now you can tell your darning from your tapestry needle, and know exactly what length, sharpness and eye size to look for, you're ready to start darning like a pro!
Whether you're just starting your sustainability journey or you've already got the mending bug, we recommend keeping a few different darning needles to hand, so you always have the right one for your latest project.
Discover darning eggs with Gathered
You've got the needle sorted – next you need to keep your fabric taut while you darn. Use a darning egg to get great results every time.
