HSM24 - all natural - a pair of socks

The challenge: April: Colours of Nature: Make something using undyed material, or material coloured with natural dyes

I have thought for a long time about making a pair of socks, what is normally called "trossfrau socks" if you google them. They are low cut socks made in linen and worn by women in the tross in the 16th century. There are several tutorials out there, I just haven't taken the time to make my own pattern. When I bought the docken barret pattern from Thimble&Plume I saw that they had a pattern for socks so I bought it.

They had a size guide, but since I bought it at work I couldn't measure my feet. I have quite normal feet (size 38) so I bought the medium pattern, but that was a mistake. Apparently I have small feet and should have gone with the pattern in small.

My feet were definitely smaller than the pattern. What I did was that I took in the upper part of the sock in the backseam, and then I pinned the sole piece until it fit. I sewed everything together using backstitch and then I used the time on the ferry to Gotland to fell all the seams and hem the opening.

A mistake that I made was that when I took the seam in of course made the opening smaller, and I didn't adjust that or make the slashes longer. Now they fit very well still, but I had to wiggle in the feet when I put them in. I also learnt that I had to be careful when putting the shoes on, if I just slid the feet with socks into the shoes the excess fabric bunched up at the heel and they felt tight at the toes. If I unlaced the shoes and put the feet down straight into the shoes they were really comfortable.

The linen that I used was a bit coarse, it was a scrap piece, but after having washed the socks once they were much softer and more comfortable. After having walked in them for almost a week I already have a small worn out hole in them that I will have to fix.

I will make more of these socks, so that I can change them more often during an event, but I think that when I make the next pair I will start with adjusting the sole, and then sew the backseam, and not other way around like I did with these. I also like that the pattern is not complicated when it comes to cutting them on the grain or bias, so it is easy to make them from scraps of linen.

What the item is: a pair of socks
How it fits the challenge: made from unbleached linen
Material: 20 cm of unbleached linen
Pattern: Thimble&Plume trossfrau sock
Year: early 16th century
Notions: linen thread
How historically accurate is it? 95%
Hours to complete: 5
First worn: at Medieval Week
Total cost: $5