anyone knit thier own hose?

**Spartan Tartan** · 5th June 12, 06:19 AM

Just as the title says, does anyone here knit their own kilt hose? I took up knitting in January and have gotten to the point that I just don't believe it can be a hard as some make it sound. Admittedly, I am not talking about my own argyle or diced or complex patterns, just some fairly basic patterns. Something that fits me perfectly and is a colour I want. I would prefer to wear my kilt to the yarn store and find something in a colour I like--much preferred to guessing at online pictures.

Thanks!

**sydnie7** · 5th June 12, 07:48 AM

Yes, there are several/many of us at XMarks who knit kilt hose. You'll find even more at a site called Ravelry (devoted to knitting and similar crafts) where there's a discussion group dedicated to kilt hose and flashes.

Are you knitting top-down on DPNs or toe-up on circulars? I started with the former but have taken up the latter and find it much easier to get the fit correct (easier to try on mid-stream and check foot/calf length, how my increases are going, etc.). Those are not the only methods but seem to be the most popular (I could be wrong there, am a relative newbie myself although watched my mother knit for decades).

Finding the yarn you want at a local yarn store (LYS) can be challenging -- and expensive! The big chains, Joann and such, don't carry much wool assuming that is what you want to use. My nearest LYS wanted $80 for the yarn alone. . . but I did find an LYS near Nashville TN, while on business travel, and bought up batches of a lovely wool/silk blend that they had on sale.

There are lots of resources on Ravelry for checking out yarn brands, figuring out which will work well for you or not. There are also several popular free kilt hose patterns you can find there, or find links to.

Hope this helps and keep us posted on your progress!

**David Thorpe** · 5th June 12, 07:56 AM

My brother is about to finish his first pair -- cable knit, no less. They look great.

**cable scot** · 5th June 12, 08:09 AM

I am also knitting my own hose.I use a #2 circular for the body and DPN for the heel till I can bring it all back around to the foot,I have finished 1 sock and have the foot and the toe to finish on the other.I had a hard time with the toe and the heel but all in all it was really fun.

**Paul Henry** · 5th June 12, 08:41 AM

I knit as well, I do cuff down, to be honest I don't see the problem with trying them on for sizing etc. I use 4 dpns, and I'm on ravelry as well, pop over there and see us!

**vmac3205** · 5th June 12, 08:44 AM

I have knit about a dozen pair so far....about to start another for me for piping. I have found that www.knitpicks.com has great wool and wool blends for reasonable prices. Here are some tips
Go with wool blend or super-wash. They are socks. You will have to wash them and throwing them in the machine is easier than hand wash
It will take longer, but the smaller the yarn gauge, the better the sock will feel. Worsted gauge knits up the fastest, but really hurts your feet if you stand on them all day. I've found Dk to work well. Cascade 220 is a good brand with some great colors in DK.
The John Anderson pattern, available for free on the internet is a great starter pattern. Easy instructions, looks good, and did I mention FREE?
As Sydney said, go to Ravelry.com. There is a Kilt Hose forum, and the members can help you with anything you need. Also those of us who have responded here on Xmarks will be glad to answer any questions you might have. Good luck and have fun.

**sydnie7** · 5th June 12, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by cable scot

I am also knitting my own hose.I use a #2 circular for the body and DPN for the heel till I can bring it all back around to the foot,I have finished 1 sock and have the foot and the toe to finish on the other.I had a hard time with the toe and the heel but all in all it was really fun.

I had a terrible time with heels using DPNs. Found that two-at-a-time on circulars, toe up, let me use a super-simple heel method that (bonus!) eliminates any possibility of the little hole at the top of the gusset. No picking up stitches either! And working both at once, you don't have to remember/note down what you did on one and try to remember to apply it to the other.

As vmac said, it does take longer to knit with smaller gauge needles/yarn but worth the time and effort. My first several pair were worsted on US 5 needles and they went quickly, but look pretty rustic. Bob doesn't complain about the feel but maybe he just knows better LOL. Just now approaching the cuff on my first pair done on US 2 and it seems to have taken forever but at least I've got them both to the same stage at the same time, almost ready to move to DPNs for the cuff. Could probably stay on the circulars but moving to DPNs makes it easier (possible) to divide the stitches differently which in turn makes patterning easier.

**Pleater** · 5th June 12, 01:30 PM

I have been making hosen for about 40 years - going on 45 maybe - I use small needles and English 4 ply usually - I do have some thicker ones which I have made in recent years as people don't seem to want to use tiny needles - not surprising really. I teach knitting from time to time so I need samples.

I usually knit toe up these days, I used to do top down as they are easier to refoot, but I just don't damage or wear out hose like I used to.

I use multiple dpns usually, as that seems to help to keep track of the different parts. There are some older hose patterns in my collection, but people have bigger feet and legs these days so a pattern intended for a man is now going to fit a woman, so to use a traditional pattern you need to use thicker yarns and needles to increase the size, and hope it is enough to fit or do some arithmetic to add to the width and length if it is a multicolour or textured technique.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

**tulloch** · 5th June 12, 02:05 PM

I will be doing that soon.

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 5th June 12, 05:02 PM

My wife is an avid knitter and has knit several pair of hose for me. She's done top-down and toe-up depending on what she feels will work best for that particular sock. Her screen name on Ravelry is JMN if you feel like looking her up, she's pretty good about documenting everything in her project pages, so you'll see some kilt hose there.

You can see more of her hand knits here:
http://newhousehighland.com/knitwear.html