This is pattern #4 in Eleanor of Aquitaine Sock Club.

King Louis VII, was was Eleanor of Aquitaine’s first husband.

When young Eleanor’s father William X died in 1137, her future father in law King Louis VI, took guardianship of her and she then married his son Louis VII. A few months later King Louis VI died making young Louis and Eleanor rulers of France.

King Louis mounted the second crusade early in his reign and failed miserably when attempting to lay siege on Damascus. The expedition came at great cost to France’s military and treasury and began the fallout leading his and Eleanor’s annulment (in addition to the fact she had only produced two daughters and not a son).

This is a very cabled pattern with a lot of texture throughout. There is some give and the sizing and stitch counts are adjusted to keep the sizing close to what you would expect from the prior club patterns.

Yarn: Light fingering would suit this pattern best, the yarns I recommend would be something similar to Hedgehog Sock, Desert Vista Dyeworks Visa, Madelinetosh Twist Light.

You’ll need 100 grams of fingering weight which will be somewhere between 350-400 yards depending on your gauge and foot length.

Note: This pattern is written for magic loop, but can easily be changed to DPNs. Use 2 needles for N1, and another 2 for N2.

Sizing: 1 (2, 3) - which fits a foot circumference of 7.75-14 inches (8.25-15 inches, 8.5-16 inches) around.

Materials Needed: 2.25mm (US 1) circular needles or size needed to obtain gauge. 100 grams of sock yarn. Stitch marker (optional), tapestry needle, cable needle.

Designer’s note regarding the subject of the pattern: I like to avoid featuring well known people that had little value for human life This is the reason I didn’t do a pattern inspired by Henry VIII during the Queen Gloriana Sock Club and both the Earl of Bothwell and Lord Darnley in the Mary Queen of Socks Club. King Louis VII has more than a few marks on his history ranging from the crusades to the burning of Vitry-Le-Francois which killed over 1500 villagers. I don’t take any of this lightly and I went back and forth on creating a pattern featuring him. I did decide in the end that he should be included in this particular club to tell Eleanor’s story.