Hunting/Shooting socks vs. Kilt Hose

[AKScott]

I have some of each.

No disrespect to sailortats intended, nice write up sir.

If I my hose are the "right" length the folded cross section looks like an upside down letter U. If the hose are "too long" the folded cross section when I hit the door would like like a capital letter M.

[sailortats]

I would say that that is pretty much what I described in my prior thread.

[creagdhubh]

What Matt said.

I wear both the House of Cheviot Lewis and Rannoch line in size small (in all actuality, I should be wearing a size medium, but they come up too bloody high!) in order to avoid them coming up too high on my leg and this wee trick works well every time. My other hose are bespoke from Almost Unwearoutable and Kenneth Short Hosiery.

Cheers,

[Nathan]

My hose of choice lately are my House of Cheviot Bowmore which I believe are shooting socks. Another trick I do to ensure they're not too long is pull them all the way up, then tie my garters on at the appropriate height (three fingers below the bottom of my kneecap) and then fold accordingly in the manner Sailortats demonostrated. Setting my final height at the beginning of the process via the garter ties has been very helpful.

N

[creagdhubh]

I was asked in a PM to take photos of how I do the turn down on my shooting socks. As I can't get the pics onto a PM message I am going to post them there. Hope they help anyone that couldn't fully understand my explanation above.
Attachment 12305Attachment 12306Attachment 12307Attachment 12308

Pic 1. shows the sock laid out with the seam for the patterned top at line #1.
Pic 2. shows that I have pulled that seam down over the material of the leg of the sock about 2 1/2" to line 2
Pic 3. shows that I have now folded the top over as you would normally do.
Pic 4. is looking up under the turn down. Note that there are actually 3 layers of material now giving a nice fullness to the turn down.

Sometimes the "fullness" could appear way too bulky and not as streamlined, or flat against the leg as you typically see most kilt hose being worn. I have seen chaps who have quite obviously folded over the cuffs of their hose several times in order for them not to ride too high up on the leg and it looks like their wearing donuts around their legs! Entirely too thick in my opinion. Your technique, however, looks rather intriguing and perhaps doesn't lend itself to having too thick of a hose turnover.

Cheers,

[FatherWilliam57]

I seem to have a "big foot" for my height, therefore I cannot purchase my hose a size smaller as Kyle does for fear of ripping the toes out! Consequently, the shank of the hose are usually too long for me as well. I fold as Sailortats demonstrated. Like Nathan, I put my garters on at the appropriate height before folding. I tried using standard ties, but the knot makes the cuff look too bulky (as Kyle suggests). I use the Besley elastic garters to avoid this. If you want to go one step further: I have a floor length mirror in the bedroom. I placed a mark on the frame at 16 1/2" from the floor (the height I need) so that when I sit in a chair, I can see exactly where to put the garters before folding. I might be "over-thinking" it all, but my hose are always in the exact same place every time.

[Nathan]

Sometimes the "fullness" could appear way too bulky and not as streamlined, or flat against the leg as you typically see most kilt hose being worn. I have seen chaps who have quite obviously folded over the cuffs of their hose several times in order for them not to ride too high up on the leg and it looks like their wearing donuts around their legs! Entirely too thick in my opinion. Your technique, however, looks rather intriguing and perhaps doesn't lend itself to having too thick of a hose turnover.

Cheers,

I like the look of a thick turnover as someone with thin calves, I find it looks good. Too thick? I guess it's a matter of taste. I have the opposite issue as WBHenry. The feet on the smallest size were too long for me so I cut the ends and resewed them. Much better fit now.

hose1.jpghose2.jpg

[creagdhubh]

I like the look of a thick turnover as someone with thin calves, I find it looks good. Too thick? I guess it's a matter of taste. I have the opposite issue as WBHenry. The feet on the smallest size were too long for me so I cut the ends and resewed them. Much better fit now.

hose1.jpghose2.jpg

Yours look fine to me, Nathan. I have seen some that are very bulky, which to me eye looks a bit odd.

[FatherWilliam57]

For some reason, small details stick in my mind. Nathan's picture above got me thinking: It seems I see a lot of people on this site tie their footwear with Hidden Knot Lacing or Straight Bar lacing, rather than a "military" Criss-Cross. Just my imagination, or is this becoming a trend here? (I use the Hidden Knot Lacing myself. I simply wanted something different when wearing the kilt..)

[creagdhubh]

For some reason, small details stick in my mind. Nathan's picture above got me thinking: It seems I see a lot of people on this site tie their footwear with Hidden Knot Lacing or Straight Bar lacing, rather than a "military" Criss-Cross. Just my imagination, or is this becoming a trend here? (I use the Hidden Knot Lacing myself. I simply wanted something different when wearing the kilt..)

That's typically how I lace all of my (Loake) dress shoes and daywear brogues. It looks smarter in my opinion, see below.

buckingham_1.jpg

Cheers,