I’m taking part in a citizen science project trying to reconstruct a silk stocking from the 17th century. It’s part of a larger project called Refashioning the Renaissance, studying clothing of that period in Western and Northern Europe. Our knitting team started practicing and making swatches with wool and 0,7mm needles. This is what I came up with 😀

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Olen lupautunut mukaan kansalaistiedeprojektiin jonka tarkoitus on rekonstruoida 1600-luvun silkkisukat. Sukkien tutkiminen ja kutominen vanhan mallin mukaan on osa Refashioning the Renaissance -tiedeprojektia, joka professori Paula Hohdin johdolla tutkii renesanssin ajan Länsi- ja Pohjois-Euroopan muotia. Ryhmämme aloitti harjoittelmalla kutomista todella ohuilla 0,7mm puikoilla ja villalangalla, niin ohuella etten ole sellaista ennen nähnyt! Sattumalta sukka on juuri sopiva poikien vanhalle Action Manille 😀 Vielä puuttuu toinen sukka ja loput vermeet!

My little sock ended up being just the right size for our boys’ old Action Man! So I had a perfect blocking dummy and model for my sock (except for the toe part which is slightly too long).

Here you can see the garter under which a ribbon was tied to keep the stocking up. The back seam is elaborated with purl stitches and along the sides of the seam run the decreases and increases to shape the sock. There is a “clock” at the ankle, a decoration of purl stitches. Quite a high gusset was also usual.

A very good description and pattern for these kind of stockings can be found on Mara Riley’s net site.

Now all our hero needs is another sock and the rest of the gear!