Less wrinkly not cadadh WIP

[AKScott]

So the protoype proved the idea to my satisfaction. All these are is regular bag socks. Except for a couple nuances.

1: I want these to fit like a tailored garment, not some primitive survival mode solution.

xxxxxa: because these are woven, not knit, left and right are not interchangeable.

xxxxxb: they have to be on the bias, not near the bias, on the bias.

xxxxxc: they have to look like I spent a LOT of money to get them.

xxxxxd: budget is US$50.

2: these are not regular bag socks

xxxxxa: I took a bunch of slack out of the ankles

xxxxxb: (sorry re-enactors) I used an industrial solution to do it.

First up is planning. Where do you want the seam in your shoe to lie? I chose this line for simplicity of pattern and foot comfort. I figured running the seam straight up the middle would suck equally under both feet. Moving the seam out to either side would bunch a glob of cloth up in between the fronts of my toes and the shoe leather. Background image from wikipedia.



Second, if you want these on the bias, iron a straight crease into your pattern piece before you lay it on your leg. You got to cut the pattern piece on the bias so it will lay like the real thing. I wear a size US10 shoe, from floor to bottom of kneecap I measure 18 inches. My cut out ready to duplicate pattern is nominally 16x28 inches. Start with something like 20x30 inches if your measurements are close to mine.

I made the first prototype pattern from a cut open pillow case. Mistake. They iron a serious crease into those things as they are folding them over to sew the other two sides. I could not iron that crease out and was fighting it the whole way. For my second pattern I bought an inexpensive twin size flat sheet and cut a chunk out of it, much better.

Once you have a big enough piece of bias cut woven something to make you pattern from, and you ironed a crease down the middle of it so the pattern on the product lays correctly, here are the instructions for making the pattern:

Pin it together around your leg where you want it. Leave enough room in the ankle area to get the heel of your foot in and out.

NB: I suggest using safety pins so you can get up and walk around in the pattern. If it is comfortable to walk in (foxtrot anyone?) on the safety pins, probably the seam line is in a good spot for you.

There is a lot of gather, pin, move a few inches, gather, pin, etc. And then go back take a pin out, re-gather, re-pin, etc. Effort here is going to pay off later. Just keep moving pins around until the seam under your foot lays where you want it, and the crease you ironed in lies naturally vertical, right straight up your shin bone.

When you are happy, no, when you are ecstatic, take it off. Cut off the excess cloth. When you cut leave a half an inch of extra cloth between the pins and the scissors. When you sew it up later, you will put the needle and thread half an inch inside the cut edge.

What I did was make the pattern on my right leg. I wear the same size shoe on each foot, but my right foot is a tiny bit bigger. After the pattern was ready, I cut one fabric piece with the pattern right side up for my right leg, and another piece with the pattern upside down for my left leg. These are the toes ends of my pieces and pattern: