And back to kilt hose!

[Grizzly]

I recently (today) received a pair of kilt hose which I purchased from the well known auction site. The kilt hose were described as House of Tweed Harris Kilt hose and marketed towards those with larger calves. Great thought I , they must be House of Cheviot Harris Hose but marketed through a different vendor. The HOC Harris hose are marketed as being able to fit up to a 26" calf , being a mere 17 1/2 these would be perfect.

Whilst they do look superficially like the HOC Harris can anyone confirm if the turnover tops on HOC Harris Hose are sewn on to the body of the hose. This row of stitching on the House of Tweed hose prevents expansion more than 18" max and indeed would be cutting in to the top of you calf. Luckily they still fit but am concerned that they are advertising them to fit larger calves when in fact they don't.

Here is a picture of how the hose tops are attached to the rest of sock.

image.jpg

[BCAC]

I recently (today) received a pair of kilt hose which I purchased from the well known auction site. The kilt hose were described as House of Tweed Harris Kilt hose and marketed towards those with larger calves. Great thought I , they must be House of Cheviot Harris Hose but marketed through a different vendor. The HOC Harris hose are marketed as being able to fit up to a 26" calf , being a mere 17 1/2 these would be perfect.

Whilst they do look superficially like the HOC Harris can anyone confirm if the turnover tops on HOC Harris Hose are sewn on to the body of the hose. This row of stitching on the House of Tweed hose prevents expansion more than 18" max and indeed would be cutting in to the top of you calf. Luckily they still fit but am concerned that they are advertising them to fit larger calves when in fact they don't.

Here is a picture of how the hose tops are attached to the rest of sock.

image.jpg

Well, Simon, I had a look at mine and they look very similar. Almost the same, in fact.

Not wanting to stretch them, my legs being no where near the maximum quoted size, I wouldn't really know how far they stretch, though. Sorry.

[Grizzly]

David are yours House of Cheviot?

[BCAC]

David are yours House of Cheviot?

Yes, mate. Bought from Matt at the famous STM.

[Grizzly]

Thanks David, I got mine for £15 which is a bargain if they are made by HOC, as I say they fit me fine, but if anyone thinks they will fit up to 26" calves they will be sadly disappointed. They wouldn't get the stitching over the roundest part of the calf.

Apart from the stretch issue they appear to be very well made, incidently do you know if the Rannoch and Lewis hose are also stitched on to the top of the sock?

[BCAC]

Thanks David, I got mine for £15 which is a bargain if they are made by HOC, as I say they fit me fine, but if anyone thinks they will fit up to 26" calves they will be sadly disappointed. They wouldn't get the stitching over the roundest part of the calf.

Apart from the stretch issue they appear to be very well made, incidently do you know if the Rannoch and Lewis hose are also stitched on to the top of the sock?

At 15 quid you sure did get a bargin (if they are the same quality).

I have no first hand knowledge of the other ranges of hose made by HOC (I can't see why they would change the way they make their hose between one range and another, but I don't know for sure), maybe Matt will chime in when he sees your question?

[Grizzly]

Thanks for you help David its much appreciated. I did think and hope that our resident HOC expert might chime in at some point.

[kiltedrennie]

Thanks for this post. I'm looking into knitting patterns for kilt hose. Now I know to look for a continuously knit upper and avoid something bound together!

[sydnie7]

Thanks for this post. I'm looking into knitting patterns for kilt hose. Now I know to look for a continuously knit upper and avoid something bound together!

Some cuff designs require that the cuff be knit separately, then attached to body. And Matt's wife Joanie has made some lovely cuffs that get attached to commercial hose bodies. It is not much different from the issue of casting off at the bottom of cuff (assuming you have knit from toe up, as you indicated in another thread). If you cast off too tightly, the cuff won't stretch around that portion of calf. There are different cast-off methods to select from, based on the appearance and amount of stretch desired. You can bind cuff to body by selecting a stitch that allows for adequate amount of stretch, too.

In fact, probably easier to do this when hand-knitting than in the commercial example shown, which I have to assume is stitched by machine.

[kiltedrennie]

Some cuff designs require that the cuff be knit separately, then attached to body. And Matt's wife Joanie has made some lovely cuffs that get attached to commercial hose bodies. It is not much different from the issue of casting off at the bottom of cuff (assuming you have knit from toe up, as you indicated in another thread). If you cast off too tightly, the cuff won't stretch around that portion of calf. There are different cast-off methods to select from, based on the appearance and amount of stretch desired. You can bind cuff to body by selecting a stitch that allows for adequate amount of stretch, too.

In fact, probably easier to do this when hand-knitting than in the commercial example shown, which I have to assume is stitched by machine.

I certainly have lots to learn. At least I've gained enough knowledge now to understand the terminology!
Thanks for the clarification. What are you working on these days?