trade for stockings?

[ursula]

I feel like knitting some stockings. Does anyone want to trade an SCA craft for late-period stockings? (Garb's always nice, but I'd consider other trades, too.)

Now is also a good time to remind me about a project, if we've discussed a trade in the past.

Comments

[holyschist]

Okay, um. Shoe size is 8, I think? Maybe 8.5. I'll take a measurement when I get home. I like pretty much all the colors except brown and white, but I have a particular fondness for red/maroon/russet/blue. What fiber are you planning to use?

[ursula]

Probably a sock-weight wool. Would fractional synthetics for washability be a plus, or a minus?

[holyschist]

Hmmm. I like being able to chuck my socks in the washing machine, but it's not a necessity.

[ursula]

Your first sock is nearing the toe, so now would be a good time to take a measurement.

[holyschist]

Ack, sorry I flaked! Will be on the road today, but I can take a measurement this evening.

[holyschist]

*still flakey* Heel to toe is 9.5". We should talk about what I'm making for you!

[ursula]

That's about what I guessed from your earlier comments on shoe size, so with luck they will fit! I finished the first sock and am about a third of the way through the second, though I expect I'll slow down a lot now that I'm not going to hours of math talks every day.

Did any of my earlier suggestions sound like fun projects?

[holyschist]

I'm kind of liking the idea of embroidery right now, and time-wise that's probably the most similar. I guess I would need the size you want, preferred fabric/thread/colors, and if there's a particular type of pouch you'd like (do we know anything about 6th century pouches) and any motifs/embroidery styles you particularly like (bears?)? I can do a pattern sketch before I start working, to make sure it's what you want.

[ursula]

It should hold my wallet and phone (the phone is about 4.5" tall, the wallet is about 4" wide, and together they're a bit over an inch thick). I'd suggest adapting a motif from Bathilde's tunic:

http://www.kornbluthphoto.com/TunicBalthild.html

It's about a century too late, but beggars can't be choosers. I prefer natural fibers (linen, wool, silk), but am not picky about how they are combined.

I don't know of any extant pouches from this period (and I haven't turned up any late Roman ones, either). Dress in Anglo-Saxon England talks about ivory rings which may have been used to frame a pouch; at least one was covered in fabric. (Kentish fashion was probably fairly close to Merovingian fashion, and has the advantage that people write about it in English. Still wishing I knew some German!)