Jeeves and Wooster Socks

One of the Jeeves and Wooster socks. Image © Giles Babbidge Photography

This pair of socks is part of the Mrs Miniver series. I decided to branch out on the original Mrs Miniver concept, and to knit a series of socks that would encapsulate the essence of literary characters and talk about their relationships. As I’m sure you are aware, Jeeves is the ‘gentleman’s gentleman’, the idle-rich 1930s playboy Bertie Wooster’s valet in P.G. Wodehouse’s series of books. Bertie can certainly be a bit of a prat, rather unable to look after himself and getting himself into all kinds of mischief. He is constantly reliant on Jeeves to sort everything out for him from the daily basics, on up.

I found a great pattern in the Knitting Reference Library for a 1930s Wonder-Sock which really is a marvellous thing. The toes and heels of the sock are knitted separately and joined on in order that they could be easily replaced and thus saving on darning time. I think Jeeves would approve.  His part of each sock is, of course, knitted in black wool. None of Bertie’s ‘jolly purple socks’ for him!

From P. G Wodehouse’s The Inimitable Jeeves, p94-5

“He started to put out my things, and there was an awkward sort of silence.

‘Not those socks, Jeeves,’ I said, gulping a b it but having a dash at the careless, off-hand tone. ‘Give me the purple ones.’

‘I beg your pardon, sir?’

‘Those jolly purple ones.’

‘Very good sir.’

He lugged them out of the drawer as if he were a vegetarian fishing a caterpillar out of the salad. You could see that he was feeling it deeply.”

You can see the exhibition Mrs Miniver and the Plateaknits at Prick Your Finger yarn and haberdashery shop in Bethnal Green, London until the end of April.