The craft of repairing holes or worn areas in fabric by sewing with thread using a special technique that creates small crosses or patterns.
From the verb 'darn,' which is a euphemistic alteration of 'damn,' plus the '-ing' suffix to indicate the action. The textile meaning developed as a distinct usage in English around the 16th century.
Darning was such an essential household skill that children learned it around age five, and in Victorian times, a girl's ability to darn beautifully was considered proof of her worthiness as a wife!
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