Throughout the pages of Mansfield Park, Jane Austen often refers to Fanny Price’s work. As a knitter, I imagine one of her projects to be a pair of socks secretly intended for Edmund. These cabled socks feature a stockinette panel just waiting to be personalized with his initial since she believed there was “nobleness in the name of Edmund.” Indeed, it “seems to breathe the spirit of chivalry and warm affections!” Fanny would have been free to knit them in front of family and friends, and they would never have suspected her plan. She could quickly add the monogram right before she presented them to Edmund. Fanny would have carefully selected the patterns and colors used in this gift. The simple cables represent her life permanently entwined with Edmund’s, and the cables that part to frame his initial symbolize unexpected possibilities. Fanny’s appreciation of the outdoors dictated the color selection here—forest and sky. The contrast between the two colors reflects the differences in their personalities, but the bark brown and sky blue are still in perfect harmony.
NOTES
• When working the charts, the purl symbols shaded in blue represent 2, 3, or 4 stitches, depending on your size. The number of stitches to work for each blue purl dot is indicated below the chart.
• Work the monograms upside down so the letters will appear right side up when the socks are worn.
• Charts for the alphabet are available online at janeaustenknits.com.