stockings with clocks

I made stockings with clocks for holyschist:



I used a naturally dyed Malabrigo sock yarn. The dye was a little bit uneven, so the stockings have some natural striping. My needles were size 2 bamboo needles. I usually prefer metal needles for work this fine, and indeed I broke one needle while trying on the sock. However, this was travel knitting-- I started the stockings at a conference in Kentucky, made significant progress at a conference in Toronto, finished them in Providence and Seattle, and sewed in the ends in Minneapolis-- so I wanted to avoid pointy metal in my luggage. My gauge was about 19 stitches to 2 inches, and about 14 rows to the inch.

The stockings are designed to come just under the knee, and to be worn with garters. They're meant to fit a short woman. For general proportions and shaping, I followed the 1655 stocking pattern in Natura Exenterata, which is quoted in the appendix of Richard Rutt's History of Hand Knitting. My pattern wasn't an exact copy of the Natura Exenterata pattern, in part because I was making a stocking to fit a woman my size and using a different gauge, and in part because the directions in Natura Exenterata are genuinely obscure. I know xrian is working on a closer interpretation of the pattern; I'm curious to hear how her interpretation differs from mine!

( knitting notes )