Elizabeth Montagu by Kate Davies Designs

Elizabeth Montagu

Knitting
May 2021
Fingering (14 wpi) ?
30 stitches and 40 rows = 4 inches
in stockinette in the round
US 1½ - 2.5 mm
437 yards (400 m)
to fit adult foot with 18-19 (20.5-21.5) cm / 7-7½ (8-8½) in circumference and calf 33-38 (39-43)cm / 13-15 (15½-17)in circumference
English
This pattern is available for £5.00 GBP buy it now

Also available as a kit from the KDD shop

Elizabeth Montagu

These stockings (or socks) are named for eighteenth-century Bluestocking woman of letters, Elizabeth Montagu, and are designed to celebrate the creation of a new digital edition of her important correspondence (EMCO)

This is the first pattern in our Bluestocking club, in which we explore the lives and work of eighteenth-century women writers - while knitting our own socks and stockings.

Yarn
John Arbon Exmoor Sock 4ply (100% superwash wool: 60% Exmoor Blueface, 20% Corriedale, 10% Zwartbles, 10% Nylon; 200m / 219 yds per 50g skein)
2x 50g skeins in shade Dimity or Mackerel Sky
Socks shown here in Dimity, stockings in Mackerel Sky
Each stocking is knitted to the length available from a single skein.

Needles and notions
Two below gauge-size circular needle(s) (any length) for cast on
Gauge-size needle(s) of your preferred type for working small circumferences
Above gauge-size needle(s) of your preferred type for working small circumferences
Spare gauge-size circular needle(s) for holding stitches
Stitch markers
Tapestry needle

Gauge
30 sts and 40 rounds to 10cm / 4in over stockinette on gauge-size needle(s)
Use 2.5mm needle as a starting point for swatching.

Sizes
Two widths, S and L, to fit adult foot with 18-19 (20.5-21.5) cm / 7-7½ (8-8½) in circumference and calf 33-38 (39-43)cm / 13-15 (15½-17)in circumference. Foot length is fully adjustable within the pattern and calf sizing can be adjusted as required when approaching the stocking top. Pay attention to your round gauge, as you’ll use this to measure the finished length of the foot.

Grateful thanks to Nicole Pohl, to the KDD bluestocking team, and Gill Smith, whose legs and feet are depicted here.