Kilt hose sizing

[frank_a]

My feet are just simply the wrong size. I either wear a 10-1/2 or 11 shoe. So get medium or large hose? Large hose bunch up in my shoes, while medium hose better not ever see a clothes dryer. Such that I had either sizes 9.5 or 12 for feet...

My first quality hose were some light cream ones my wife got me in large. I love the hose (tops particularly), but not how they bunch up in my feet. I had asked for some good claret hose for Christmas, and not getting any, bought some winter weight House of Cheviot in medium (8.5-10.5). They fit just right, but I worry over time if they will shrink no matter what I do. Darn things are pricey too!

I'll suffer through it.

Frank

[brewerpaul]

To address the shrinking issue Im sure others have experiences to add. My issuse is finding XL (sz14) and then not having them end up being shrunk. If they are good quality wool I just hand wash and lay out to dry. As you lay them out you can stretch them out a bit, especially the foot portion, and then just let them air dry. So far so good in my kilt hose drawer.....

[frank_a]

Good advice, thanks Paul! These new ones are wool, and I'll proceed as you suggest.

Cheers!

Frank

[Pleater]

Most of the genuine sock yarns contain a small amount of Nylon for long wear, I have seen 5, 10 and 20 percent, and for work socks 50/50 wool Nylon.

If the yarn is all wool then some knitters add something called woolly Nylon, but they often twist it around the main yarn 'for protection' which I think only helps to cut through the fibres of the wool.

The things which shrink or felt wool are soapy water, heat and agitation - the old wives instructions for washing wool involve two washes to remove all the dirt and three rinses to remove all the soap; a small amount of vinegar was added to the last rinse as wool likes to be acidic in pH and soap is alkaline.

I usually use shampoo for washing small woollens, ordinary hair shampoo without added conditioner, and water which is just warm to my hands - it means I can replicate that temperature over and over year on year. Dunk and squeeze, do not rub or wring. After the final rinse, squeeze out the water draw out the hose to their proper shape when laid on a towel, roll it up - like a Swiss roll, then put it on the floor and stand on it - preferably barefoot for the sake of the towel and your personal safety if you do not live alone. Unroll and hang up - the towel should have absorbed enough water to make hanging an option. Do not use this method with dark hose and a white towel, even if you do live alone, unless you like towels with life size shadows of hose on them.

If you do have some hose which have shrunk, once they are washed take some conditioner and work it through the place you want to stretch or unmat. You need to make the knitting feel slithery, and then you stretch it. You can just hole each end and pull, but more concentrated treatment of the affected areas is more effective. Work on the part you wish to unfelt and pull and gently twist the fabric to try to break the meshing which should not be there.

The fibres have small scales which are raised up by soap heat and agitation, and if they get raised up then they can interlink to form a smaller length of knitting. The conditioner helps by unlinking the fibres so they can be pulled apart and the stitches restored to smooth U shapes rather than something with lots of ~~~~ in it. You might try sticking a fist into the foot part if that has shrunk and then opening out your hand alternating with pulling the foot longer, work all around the circumference at the instep, tug on the heel. You might hear a sort of popping sound - that is fibres separating, which is good. Watch out that you do not stretch the circumference of the ankle disproportionately, unless, of course, it is tight. In preparation for drying them you could try on the hose to assess the effectiveness of your treatment.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[mookien]

Anne: A virtual seminar on cleaning and conditioning hose. In my description above I also forgot to mention that I use a "slosh" of vinegar in the last rinse. That is based on an old post of yours recommending that "treatment". I have no idea if it (and for that matter most of things I do) actually help, or not. But, I am comforted by relying on experts like you who have much more experience than I do. Thanks.

John

[mookien]

Frank: Like Paul, I hand wash (and rinse) my HoC hose. I use a small amount of Woolite Delicate Care (pink bottle), and then lay them on towels to dry (turning them once). I have never had any problems with shrinkage.

Another possible issue with HoC hose (and others, I suppose) is the height of the hose. I wear the same shoe size as you (10 1/2 or 11) and the large, while nicely fitting my feet, come up almost to the bottom of my knee. A lot of folks don't like their hose that high. I do because they help keep my legs warm, especially with snow on the ground.

Good luck.

John

[frank_a]

Snow on the ground?!? In NM?

Good advice John, thanks. I have yet to wear the new medium hose, but the large seem fine for height. I.e., they don't bother me in that way. I did try the new medium hose on, but was of course just concerned about foot size. They fit my foot perfectly, which is what led to this thread! I'll have a chance to wear them to the St. Andrews Society meeting next Thursday night.

Frank

[mookien]

Frank: Sounds like medium will work fine for you, but you might want to check the height and make sure your happy with it. I wouldn't worry too much about shrinkage, but don't machine wash or machine dry them, unless you have an old pair you might want to use as a guinea pig.

Yes, there is snow in NM. The southern part of the state is "enjoying" a snow storm as I write. We live in the northern part of the state in a mountain town at 7500 ft. with a great ski area about 15 minutes from town that starts at 9000 ft. and peaks at 10500 ft.

John

[frank_a]

Gee, here I am at work worrying about kilt hose height now.

I haven't been into this highland dress stuff long enough to have guinea pig anything! I feel fortunate I can do what I do on my measly salary.

One of these days (years into the future), I'll be down your way. I have at least 3 more years to work before retirement. I just hope I can make it!

Sounds like you sure live in a beautiful place John. Enjoy!

Frank

[The Wizard of BC]

This is why I advise anyone thinking about getting into kilts to visit a kilt shop. Take a look at the different hose, jackets, etc. Compare and put them side by side.

It really is an eye opener how much difference there is in sizing of hose. I carry four different brands of kilt hose in my shop and each one of them is a different size in the foot and in the leg length for the same given size.

Buying exclusively over the internet will not give you this sense of the differences. Everything looks much the same and you would expect sizing to be standardized.

I can pull four different brands of hose off my rack and for a given size, of say 8-10 or Medium, I can measure a difference in foot length of over 1.5" and leg length of up to 4" difference.

And don't even get me started with jacket sizing or shoe sizing.