Mending a Threadbare Area

 This technique is courtesy of Andrea, Fruity Knitting. eg the back of the heel of a sock, using duplicate stitch.

Technique:

1. First, thread a large needle with the yarn and place the threadbare area over a darning egg.
2. Start a couple of stitches below and a couple of rows to the right of the threadbare area - you need to start on a stable area
3. Leaving a tail, weave a path to where you want the first stitch to lie.
4. Go up through the middle of the first stitch then across through both legs of the first stitch from right to left (forms the right leg of the duplicate stitch) then back down through the middle of the stitch (forms the left leg of the duplicate stitch). Go up through the middle of the next stitch to the left and repeat, moving along the row from right to left
5. Move up a row by going up through the middle of the stitch above and then continuing as before but going through the legs from left to right so that you can move along the row from left to right. It's easier to do this direction upside down.