I’ve finished the first of my personalised socks. To my knitter’s soul it appears as a thing of beauty. With joyful longing and steadfast intention I anticipate the day when I have finished its partner and can wear them as a pair. In the height of summer I am dreaming of cold winter days enhanced by the pleasure of these socks.
How can I best show off their glory when those special days arrive? As these are knee-high socks maximum boasting opportunuties can only be achieved when wearing them with garments that do not reach down beyond the bottom of my knees. I first thought I should make a skirt, a garment I have rarely worn since reaching adulthood, but then thought of Plus Fours. Dare I?
I did some research, and to my shame discovered that Plus Fours are not what I thought they were. Instead of being tailored trousers that fasten immediately below the knee, they are in fact baggy trousers that extend four inches below the knee, hence the name ‘plus fours’:
The trousers I thought were plus fours are in fact ‘knickerbockers’. I should have known this, and am delighted to discover it for two reasons:
- The book from which I derived the pattern for the main sock is called ‘Cycling and Shooting Knickerbocker Stockings’.
2. My favourite childhood author, Arthur Ransome, wrote about a marvellous rock for sliding on. The Swallows (some of the adventurous children in his books) nicknamed this rock ‘The Knickerbockerbreaker’ because Roger kept wearing out his knickerbockers by sliding down it.
So, I am now planning to make myself some knickerbockers, and my fantasies about winter now also include teal-coloured baggy trousers that fasten just below the knee.
