These stockings are modeled after the surviving plain, knee-length knitted stockings of late 15th- and early 16th-century western Europe. They follow a very period style of construction, including the “common heel.” If someone dropped these stockings through a time warp into the mid-16th century, I don’t think anyone picking them up would find them strange or out of place.

While these stockings are authentic in construction, I’ve made a few adaptations to make them more friendly to modern knitters. They are knitted in fingering yarn at 8 stitches to the inch, a gauge that is comfortable for modern sock knitters and produces a soft fabric.

The pattern in my Ravelry store has “value added” bits that were not in the magazine version: three cuff patterns for non-rolling edges, some optional heel shaping, and some decorative doodads for the back seam.