Kilt hose sizing

[mookien]

I hand-wash my HoC hose pretty much the same way. Woolite, cold water, minimal agitation, and laying them on towels to dry. ...

Thanks. I forgot to mention to use cold-water only. I suspect that is important.

Also, I just wad each hose into a loose ball and gently squeeze most of the water out before placing them on a towel. I don't know if it matters, or not, but your method sounds "gentler" than mine.

[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

[Pleater]

You mean those of us who have managed to shrink their knitted items after spending ages making them and several minutes staring in horror at the result.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[mookien]

Yes, in part that is what I mean - experience, both positive and negative.

[McElmurry]

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...clip

Frank

I am in the same boat. I have considered attempting to shrink just the foot in hot water but haven't got up the courage to attempt it yet.

[Stitchwiz]

I remember seeing socks drying on forms when I was a child. (They look like Christmas stockings made of wire with no fabric or like wooden socks.) They are great keeping the right shape for your hose while they dry - you can even hang them up.

Watch for them at second hand shops, flea markets, farm auctions, etc. Or make your own.

This would be a great project for a woodworker. Create your own personal size by doing a shadow drawing of your lower leg. This is going back to grade school, folks.
First you will need a helper - some serious payback may be requested when your are done - just thought you should be prepared. If you stand on a table - use some support if needed, then your helper won't have to crawl on the floor and hopefully won't request half of all your future earnings as payback. You will need to stand in front of a bright light, some paper taped to the wall behind you, and a piece of chalk or a marker to follow the outline of your calf and your foot. Try to get the length of your calf to match the shadow, this is where your helper will be muttering - keep on saying 'thank you, so much for your help, I couldn't do this without you', 'this will save so much grief later', etc.
It is so much easier to deal with flat measurements than thinking about circumference.
Once you have your calf shape, measure around your calf. Divide it in half.
Measure the thickness of your wood blank and add that to your calf measurement.
Measure across your shadow calf and then cut-and-spread or fold your shadow calf to match your actual half calf+wood measurement.
You will have to measure your foot the same way as your calf and sketch it onto the bottom of you calf. It should look just like a Christmas stocking.
Trace the pattern onto your wood blank, add enough length that your hose will go to the top - and then be sure to add a an extension with a hole in it in order to hang it up with the hose on it.
Cut it out, seal it with something which can handle moisture and you are all set.
Perfect fit every time.
Plan a treat for your helper - dinner out, chocolates, bottle of wine...now your helper will be willing the next time you have an unusual request.

Thank you Anne, for catching my sleepy omissions. Better to sleep on it and post in the morning.
Have a great day!

[Pleater]

Surely that will be wrong by a factor of pi - the shadow of your leg is the diameter and you need to preserve the circumference.... ?

Or - do you measure the circumference and then mark half that on the paper at the right height and move relative to the light source until the shadow matches, so factoring in pi? Is that it?

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Tarheel]

The "PI" factor can be solved by moving the lamp (light source) three shoe lengths away from the wall. Your (bare) foot and leg should be one shoe length away from the wall. The shadow will then be relatively close to the circumference of the leg. Conical dimensions, like the optical science of the eye, will provide the desired effect. Will someone check my math please.

[Stitchwiz]

Thank you, Anne. Proof that when you are tired, you make mistakes or forget important details - and this is probably the most important part. I will edit my post.