Good Queen Bess

...was a merry old, soul, was a merr... oh wait a minute...

gloriana socks by yours truly
sanguine gryphon 'skinny bugga' in hologram moth*

My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court, please be upstanding for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the First of that name, Good Queen Bess, The Faerie Queene, Gloriana.

Introducing the first sock in a new theme of costume through the ages. 'Gloriana' is a cabled, quilted, ruff-cuffed sock knit from the top down, with a heel-flap and imbued with regal gorgeousness, inspired by Queen Elizabeth I and a love of all things Tudor. And, it has to be said, a surprisingly quick knit!

The cuff is my sock version of the starched ruff collars that were popular through the Tudor age and beyond, although here you'll find it softened into a more cobwebby likeness - the structure suggested by openwork ribs instead of a rigid folded form. 

Leave it unfolded and standing erect for the full regal effect, or fold it over for a slightly more informal approach - the effects are quite strikingly different from each other!

The leg part of the sock represents the top part of the woman's costume, with the a 'jewelled' bodice alluded to by the eyelet and swirl patterns (the swirl also reminds me of the terracotta brick-work you find on Tudor chimneys), and the slashed sleeves - so popular at the time to show off how rich even your under-linings were - are suggested by the cable on the sides.

The bodice arrives at a pointed stomacher (the bottom part of the garment, but can I take a decent photo of it?  no), which in turn leads on to a diamond pin-tuck-effect kirtle, or over-skirt.

To complete the sock construction, at the back of the stomacher, the heel-flap continues the twist theme, which frames a sl1, k1tbl pattern, both of which echo the lines of pattern found on the  bodice.

Adding all these components together again, we come back to a rather luxurious-looking sock, fit for royalty.

I used a Tudor green colour, but for another type of royalty, try a bright red Lady Gaga-esque sock, or... the possibilities are endless!

You don't need to pay a king's Queen's ransom to own the pattern to create such august foot adornments, though. For the commoner's price of only $4 (or £2.50*, or €2.85, or ¥330 going by current exchange rates) and a simple click on the buy button below, you too can have the means to make your own feet royally resplendent! You can also click HERE to go to the Gloriana Ravelry pattern page.

* this yarn, THIS YARN! Oh boy. Deliciously dyed, and a joy to work with. I can get lost for a very long time staring at the different greens that run through this 'hologram moth' colourway. Now I understand the gasps of awe when someone says they own a skein. Sanguine Gryphon ROCKS! 

**ee gads - the poor pound