Journal

The Victorian Stockings That Were Never Worn

A new piece has joined The Studio study collection: a pair of hand knitted Victorian stockings, worked in fine cotton, top down.

I bought them from an eBay seller in America, though they may not originate there. Stockings like these travelled.

The Details

The stockings are knee or just over knee length.  The cuff has a pretty picot edge, folded over to make a channel and  may have had elastic threaded through it, or been intended to. Elastic was available at this time but perished relatively quickly.  there is no gap for a ribbon drawstring.

Below that, overlapping leaf shapes with a lace insertion between them, and the leaf pattern runs the full length of the front of each stocking.

The back is much plainer. Just a simple and elegant purl stitch seam, with the initials EB worked in at the top.

These stockings have never been worn. There’s no wear at all, no relaxing of the lace, nothing to suggest a foot was ever inside them.

I don’t know why. Maybe they came out the wrong size. Maybe EB wasn’t there to wear them. There’s no way to know now.

A Closer Look

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