Ankle Socks with an Antique Heel and Gusset
Ankle socks designed by Mathew Gnagy. The heel and gusset are modified from a mid 16th century silk pair that survives in the San Domenico Maggiore Cathedral/Museum, Naples, Italy.
It happens. Sometimes variations on clothing from history look nifty enough that people get really excited about them. What started as a simple project to make some comfortable and quick hand-knit socks for the fall winter wardrobe turned into a ton of excited people asking where they could get their hands on the pattern.
You would never notice JUST how interesting the construction of this 16th century heel and gusset is unless you knit them up in a modern, self-striping yarn. While this isn’t the first time this has been done in The Modern Maker Studio, it is the first time it has driven this much interest. There must be some magic about a cute little ankle sock, because, unlike the last time I posted about it, there is a TON of excitement this time around!
The origin story of The Modern Maker and this unique heel and gusset:
About 10 years ago, I came across a photo of this amazing pair of stockings. It was not the best resolution. It was also in a print book so I couldn’t pinch-zoom in to see more detail. Mid-level resolution or not, the first thing that really struck me was the heel and gusset. It was of a construction that I had never seen before and I immediately knew I had to find a way to re-create it.
By the way, if you just want the free ankle sock pattern, skip to the end of the post!
I started experimenting and playing with the concept. I could see in the photo that there was a different order of operations present in these stockings. the gusset was increased into the leg and the heel was such simpler than a typical “Dutch” heel that is standard in modern socks. This heel was shaped with decreases, not short-row decreases. I had a 3-needle bind-off on the sole, not a pick-up line along the heel-flap, like modern socks. then I noticed the divots along the bottom of the triangular gusset shape and realized that there are SHORT ROWS! I had, until this moment, been utterly blinded by the idea that short-rows were somehow a 19th century invention. I had no idea that there were something in use during the 16th century. Yet, here were the telltale divots in the fabric, clearly showing the wrap & turn short row technique. There is really no other divot quite like it in knitting so I was certain about what I was seeing.
I tried asking around to see if anyone had seen this gusset and heel before or had knit one. The answer was no. I asked all over the internet and every instance of historical heel and gusset that I came across was a completely different construction, one that is much more similar to the method used for socks today.
Though they are fascinating, the construction was a bit obvious and uninteresting. Because of the simplicity of the style, many people had already written patterns to create that heel and gusset so there was no need to re-tread the same path.
What I call the “Northern European” heel and gusset. It is very similar to a “Dutch” heel and gusset, but with a different way to turn the heel and it has the addition of sole shaping along the bottom of the foot.
Testing the concept:
Having done the due diligence to find out whether there was already a pattern for this kind of heel and gusset and coming up empty handed, it was time to set out to make the first trials and figure it out.
The body of the stocking is simple enough. It is worked from the top down, it has a fake seam down the back which can take a few forms, based on extant examples. It has some calf shaping to follow the lines of the leg.
Then we come to the gusset.
It is not like anything you’ve knit before. The gusset has border stitches which are not only nice to look at, but they act as markers, telling you where your gusset is without using separate stitch markers. This seems to be a common element in hand knits from the period. There is a pair of extant 17th century gloves which use this same technique to border the stitches for the thumb gusset.
The structure of the gusset is quite similar to sewn linen stockings of the same period. It is clear that they were using sewn construction as the basis for developing the pattern. In fact, in the 17th century, when knitting frames came into use, the sewn construction became even more important since early knitting frames were not able to knit in the round.
Typically, the gusset starts with single increases on the front “edge,” every four rounds, keeping the angle steep and the triangular shape of the gusset narrow.
A nice, closeup photo of the gusset in detail. This version is knit on size 0 needles with a double strand of silk.
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of rhyme or reason to the few extant stockings as to how many increases are worked in this part of the gusset, so to keep things proportionate, it seemed easy to just increase by 1/8 of the total ankle stitches (after the decreases for leg shaping are finished). So if there are 56 stitches in a round at the ankle, divide that by 8 and the result 7. Once the 7 increases, every 4 rounds are completed, the gusset is then increased on both sides instead of the just the front edge…every 4 rounds, 7 times (still using our proportionate principles). For the historical stockings, increasing every four rounds looks beautiful, fits well, and has the right feel of the period.
For the ankle sock, the increase rate changes to every 2 rounds instead of every 4 in the second phase.
The proportional principle of 1/8 of the total ankle stitches has become the foundation that I’ve used for most variations on the stocking since the pattern was developed. Proportionate principles allow a knitter to freely work in any gauge without truly having to figure it all out again. I did modify the increase rate in the ankle sock since the narrow gusset of the stocking was just too long for this short style of sock.
Once the 7 single and 7 double increases are worked, it is time to shape the heel cup. The increases in the gusset continue, as set, every 4 rows on each side. But the heel stitches are now decreased at center back and the side of the heel flap to create the cute decorative point. This slowly reduces the number of stitches by two, for every 8 rows of work, creating an elegant angle to the curve of the heel cup as it follows along the side of the gusset.
Once the heel stitches are used up, the whole thing gets turned inside out, a three needle bind-off is used to reduce the number of total stitches back down to our base number, which is 56.
Now what?
Its time for SHORT ROWS! After the three needle bind-off is complete, there is only one stitch left on the needle. The sock or stocking will not fit well if we just shift to plain rounds at this point. So now, a series of short rows are worked which grow outward from that single stitch, wrapping and turning and continuing to incorporate more stitches into the instep triangle. This continues until half the total stitches of the round have been incorporated (28sts in the case of our 56sts ankle). This triangle fills in the space of the instep and brings the work into alignment so that plain knitting rounds can begin.
The “hard” part is over now and normal, foot and toe knitting can commence, working in rounds until the foot is long enough to start the toe. Decreases are made and the toe is grafted closed with Kitchener stitch.
I’ve noticed that many people are wary of the three needle bind-off under the heel. There is a feeling that it might be uncomfortable. I’ve worn this style of heel in modern socks and historical stockings for years and never even noticed. Three needle bind-off or sewn under-heels were common for almost two hundred years. I wager they’re not as uncomfortable as people fear. Just try it and see.
