Vicki's Vintage Vacation: A Collection of Tips for Knitting Weldon's Socks and Stockings

Join knitwear designer Vicki Square on an excursion through knitting Weldon's socks and stockings.

Weldon’s Practical Needlework and Victorian Knitting

Welcome to my new blog on PieceWork’s Needlework Traditions! We can walk a path together through Weldon’s Practical Needlework, and let those amazing Victorians show us a thing or two. Inspiration is found on every page in the historical needlework techniques and patterns from the time around the turn of the twentieth century in England, opening up for us a glimpse of life in Victorian England. Read more...

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Tips and Techniques for Knitting Stockings

Have you ever wondered what the women in Victorian England knit the most? The amount of attention given in Weldon’s Practical Needlework to knitting stockings gives us a major clue as to their “useful article” of choice to make. Weldon’s volumes are filled with wonderful stocking patterns. So far, I have knit three pair, each different, including different techniques to shape the leg, turn a heel, or shape the toe. Read more...

Vicki’s adaptation of a Weldon’s stocking pattern. Photo by George Boe

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A Turn of the Sock Heel

Have you ever been the passenger in a car with someone who took a different route than the one you would have taken? Arriving at your destination via a different route can be a lovely adventure! It is the same with knitting a sock heel. There are many different paths to “turn the corner” of the heel, but you arrive at the same place, with a shaped heel that fits a foot nicely. Read more...

No. 8 Dutch or Horse-shoe Heel from Weldon’s Practical Stocking Knitter First Series Volume 1 of Weldon’s Practical Needlework.

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The Fine Gauge of Victorian Stockings

I personally do not wish to knit socks that stand stiffly in the corner by themselves. Weldon’s-era Victorian women knitted their stockings with yarn finer than our contemporary fingering sock yarn. The fine gauge in Victorian stockings yielded a supple and desirable pair of stockings, a luxury to wear. Read more...

No. 10 German Heel from Weldon’s Practical Stocking Knitter First Series Volume 1 of Weldon’s Practical Needlework.

Knit the curves,
Vicki