Yesterday, I made a pair of stockings, but they were made from a pattern I drafted several years ago and turned out too big in the calf.
I decided that if I were to make a new pattern, I would research extant stockings and patterns drawn from those items. Below are the results of my research and design.
First up is a stocking from Cluny Museum, and a pattern for a similar stocking, both dated to the 14th century.
Next, we have a 15th century pattern for chausses, from “Costume”.
The 15th century pattern evolves into a similar 16th century pattern and further into a 17th century pattern with a taller clock, drafted from an extant stocking.
Then there’s an image of a 16th century Venetian courtesan where you can clearly see the tall clocks on her ankles. I’ve decided that *this* is the appearance I’m trying to achieve.
Looking back over the available patterns, they all have a seam beneath the heel that I am not comfortable with. So next I took a look at the modern costumers’ interpretations of patterns.
Both of these patterns are modified to have a full sole without a seam. Both result in a clocked stocking. I decided to go with a pattern similar to Katerina da Brescia’s of Kat’s Purple Files, modifying the triangles to achieve a taller clock such as in the courtesan picture.
To draft my pattern, I used The Medieval Tailor’s instructions for step 1 and step 2 and drew my lines directly on my muslin. Then I cut out the muslin with plenty of excess, stitched the back seam and tried it on. Perfect! From here, I used a technical process of tugging the fabric around and guessing to come up with a pattern that was shaped like Kat’s (above). It worked, but I cut the length of the toe cover too short and ended up having to piece it to the right size.
So my pattern looks like this:
I sewed it all together using a running stitch, then I folded over the remainder and whipstitched it down. So not quite a run and fell seam, but very similar. For the gussets at the ankle, I folded and whip stitched the top first, then the sides.
I haven’t finished the top edge yet, because I want to make sure both stockings are the same height, and possibly decorate the part that folds down over the garter, but here is my new stocking:
This stocking has been done for about a month, but I misplaced the pattern and my mother recently found it for me (exactly where I’d been looking, but somehow was blind), so I can make a matching left foot now!