Oh darn!

It's not finished yet! (image from here)

Suddenly arty mending is all the rage. We are not just encouraged, but shown how, to darn our socks. Just look at all the nice weaving... what a soothing task for a lazy afternoon ...

Important tools, if you wish to try this at home, are a round-tipped needle (aka "darning needle", for the weaving) and a darning mushroom, darning egg, or old-fashioned light bulb (to stretch the afflicted garment over).

Here are some websites with instructions and encouragement:
http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer08/FEATsum08TT.html
http://tomofholland.com/2013/01/22/darning/
http://ibicycle.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/mending-darning-tightssocks.html
http://www.korbond.co.uk/sewing-solutions/mend-repair-alter
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20776/20776-h/chapter_2.html (4 types of darning)

Maybe it's the jeans that need repair. Here you will find a video about darning denim -

It's useful to have a special darning machine, of course, but you can do it on a domestic sewing machine, with a little care.

And if it's decorative darns you're after, on a damask tablecloth perhaps, why not try some pattern darning -

Made in the Netherlands in 1735; image from here