Cotton Clocked Stockings

Thigh high, clocked design, cotton stockings with a lovely crown design on the ankle. One size fits most. Available in 4 different color combinations with a beautiful clocking pattern on both sides of each ankle. Please note- because of the type of knit, the cross stretch is limited on these and they may be very snug on more generous sized legs. Clocking is defined as "a short embroidered or woven ornament on each side or on the outer side of a sock or stocking, extending from the ankle upward." Although its origins are barely recorded, the use of ornamentation at the top of the gore area on stockings goes back centuries. For example- In 1695, Isobel Hunter was bound to apprentice for five years to Barbara Henderson in Edinburgh to be taught "embroidery of all sorts, white seam, lace and stocking-working" as well as "drawing and draughts" and writing. By the early 1700's the hand embroidered clocking decoration could be imitated on the stocking frame.  Worn throughout the 18th century up until the early Regency period in the early 19th century.