Home › Glossary › Letter D

Darning Egg

Domesticity
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A smooth tool placed inside a sock while it is repaired. It represents mending, thrift, and patient attention.

Detailed Definition
The darning egg is a small domestic emblem of repair rather than replacement. Held inside worn fabric, it gives shape to the act of stitching a hole closed, making it useful in poems about care, poverty, inheritance, or resilience. Its rounded form and intimate use can lend tenderness to descriptions of hands at work. A poet may also use it as a metaphor for restoring what seems too worn to keep.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Grandmother slipped the darning egg into the heel of my sock, smoothing the hole toward morning,” showing repair as tenderness; A poet can use the wooden darning egg as an image of patient work that restores what seems worn out; “The darning egg was warm from her palm, a small moon inside the wool,” turns a sewing tool into vivid metaphor; A poem might contrast a darning egg with discarded clothing to question a culture that replaces rather than repairs
Additional Notes
A darning egg is inserted into a sock to stretch the fabric while a hole is stitched closed. In poetry, its rounded shape and patient use can emphasize repair rather than replacement. It may carry associations of frugality, care for family members, and skills passed between generations. Consider contrasts between threadbare clothing, durable affection, and the temporary nature of mending.
Also Known As
Darning Ball Darning Mushroom
Skip to main content