These lacy and yet cosy socks are inspired by a pair knitted for a baby in 1847, now part of the Zenzie Tinker Conservation study collection and accompanied by a letter written in 1899 from one friend to another. They are knitted in a Shetland lace stitch, Print O’ The Wave, and were originally worked using super fine pins and cotton.
The socks are knitted in the round from the cuff down using five dpns or a 23cm (9in) circular needle and come with instructions for four different sizes – the pattern offers charts as well as written instructions. They have a reinforced slipped stitch heel flap to give a more robust heel. The original pair were knitted using super fine needles and cotton, with a rather more perfunctory heel and toe than those used here.
The socks in the Zenzie Tinker Conservation collection are accompanied by a handwritten letter from Jane Osborne in Belfast, dated September 11th 1899 and sent to a friend or relative, Annie, in Dublin upon the birth of her daughter. In it, Jane states that the socks were originally knitted for her and sent to her own mother – they were only worn once at her baptism in 1847, already making them a good 52 years old when they were sent to Annie.