Kilt Socks? All over leg design?

[Dixiecat]

Matt; Do you or your wife have a pattern for the tartan hose that you are wearing? I've come across numerous patterns for argyle or tartan hose but they invariably have ribbed tops. I'm looking for the exact cuff that you have. Can you help me out?

[Hothir Ethelnor]

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr...laid-kilt-hose

Does this help?

[fluter]

I've come across numerous patterns for argyle or tartan hose but they invariably have ribbed tops. I'm looking for the exact cuff that you have. Can you help me out?

I think that it's not so much a pattern, as an algorithm.

Dixiecat, are you on Ravelry? The moderator of the highland dance group there makes up kits of yarn with instructions---she calls it a "recipe." She has offered to provide just the instructions.


There are some links in a DIY thread here, which you may already have seen. We can revive the topic in the new DIY section, so as not to hijack this one...

[fluter]

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr...laid-kilt-hose

Does this help?

Those are nice, but they simulate dicing by using Fair-Isle type colorwork.

I suspect that DC is looking for tartan hose made to Highland-dance specifications. Just a guess.

[Hothir Ethelnor]

Ah, ok.

I would simply wing it using stitch counts and measurements to determine the size of the diamonds and the decreases.

And the top cuff is turned over twice and stitched to the top of the ribbing. (from what I can deduce not having owned a pair.)

[rab _]

The cuff is usually knitted as follows:
DICE/ARGYLE (outer cuff)
MARL1 (rear cuff)
MARL2 (outer leg hidden under cuff)
DICE/ARGYLE (outer leg)

Cast on a row in marl, then work the dice/argyle (either a full or half diamond see below). Continue knitting and knit the same number of rows in marl as you did in the argyle/dice, then when the argyle and marled sections are the same length knit a hem with the cast-on row and the last marled row.

This gives some bulk to the cuff.

I am not a great fan of using patterns and I don't believe you need one for argyle/diced hose.

Once the cuff is done, you'll have the knitted dice/argyle on the outside and knitted marl on the inside. Simply continue down the leg, the first rows will be hidden by the cuff so just work marl, this won't be seen when the hose are worn.

Once you've knitted down below the level of the cuff continue the argyle/dicing from the bottom of the cuff down the rest of the leg and finish the sock.

You might decide to knit 2 or 4 diamonds around the leg, both styles are available commercially. If you knit 2 diamonds you will have to knit half a diamond on the cuff, otherwise the cuff will be too long and finish too far down the shin (the flashes will not sit correctly).

Once you come to the ankle you will work the forefoot BEFORE the heel flap (since the argyle/dicing is done intarsia the foot isn't usually worked in the round). Continue the argyle/dicing down the forefoot until you end at the base of a diamond. The piece will now be a T-shape. Leave the forefoot stitches on a holder and work the heel in marl.

When you work the heel you will have 2 halves of flat knitting and a gap in the middle (to be seamed later). Fold the 2 halves together and slip the stitches onto one needle. Then simply knit across the 2 pieces in the new row, joining them. The back seam will run up the hose above this row. Work the heel flap as usual (in marling).

Turn the heel and then work the gusset back and forth, these stitches will be seamed to join the forefoot on each side. Continue the sole in marling (back and forth). Ensure the forefoot and sole are EXACTLY the same length otherwise you won't be able to seam properly. Once the sole and forefoot are the same length continue by working in he round (in marling so no more intarsia needed). Graft the toe and then seam each side of the forefoot/sole and the rear of the hose.

The difficulty in knitting these hose is that you need to have marls of the required colours. You can find red/black marled garn quite easily so red/black diced hose are easy to attempt. Otherwise, the hose probably need to be knitted double thread using one thread of each colour to give the marling. It may not be straight forward to find fine enough garn to knit double thread and give the desired stitch count.

There are some fantastic images on the website of a particularly fine hose supplier, who happens to be a member here. There you can count the number of stitches in each diamond and estimate the garn thickness/needle size used to make commercially made hose.

I have purchased hose from the same supplier and come to the conclusion that there is no point in attempting to knit diced/argyle hose when they can be bought at that price given the time required to make them.

In order to shape the calf it is preferable to switch to finer needles/increase tension rather than knit reduces, in my opinion.

A good final result depends not only upon being able to knit intarsia on relatively fine needles but also being able to hide the seams well.

The dance hose kit I bought is really not suitable for an adult sized leg, and the garn is not hard enough wearing to be comparable to commercial diced/argyle hose, in my opinion. Other dance hose kits may be of a higher standard so I will not mention the supplier of the kit I bought.

I admit I am a recently self-taught knitter, but hope this is useful nevertheless.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Matt; Do you or your wife have a pattern for the tartan hose that you are wearing? I've come across numerous patterns for argyle or tartan hose but they invariably have ribbed tops. I'm looking for the exact cuff that you have. Can you help me out?

If you are on Ravelry, her user name is JMN. She has all kinds of project pages with detailed info on the designs.

If you are not on Ravelry, you should be. :-)

[fluter]

rab thanks for that nice description.

I started a fresh thread in the DIY section here