Aran kilt socks

[393tho]

Hi there was on the site middle of last year asking if anybody could tell me where I could get a pair o Aran kilt hose I saw a lot of photos of people who had them but not heavy Aran kilt hose at long last I’ve found the pattern I was down at the shop getting measured for them this morning there’s a lot of work in them by the it’s over a year I’ve been looking for the pattern the only place I could get it was the USA so I got there in the end don’t now if anybody is interested I still have the pattern

[Nomad]

Can you add any details, pictures would be nice, where you got them made and how much it cost.

Thanks

[393tho]

[QUOTE=Nomad;1370055]Can you add any details, pictures would be nice, where you got them made and how much it



I’m having trouble sending photos I was trying yesterday all afternoon
I’ve put 2 attachments above I don’t now if you could download them
If you can’t go on google type in Aran he’ mo leonan kilt hose you’ll see them there if you can’t download the attachments above of course
I got a pattern of google from a site that does knitting patterns there isn’t anybody in Scotland that does patterns for them
Anyway there’s a little knitting shop in Kinghorn where I stay there making them made to measure I was at the shop on Friday getting my feet measured
Now here’s the hard bit there costing around £100 when you see them you’ll understand please get back in touch and tell me how you got on by the way where are you from

[393tho]

Where about in fife are you?

[Steve Ashton]

The pattern that the He'Mo socks are based on are those developed by John Anderson.

There is a free pattern available on Ravelry for anyone who is a good hand knitter.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/lib...sons-kilt-hose

[MacCathmhaoil]

What about these that Rocky sells!
https://www.usakilts.com/hand-knit-hose.html
Similar ones are offered by scotweb, another vendor here, they offer a wider variety of colours.
https://www.scotweb.co.uk/products/h...ran-kilt-hose/

[393tho]

Ye seen them before but it’s the heavyweight Aran I like they are a bit expensive but they’ll last a lifetime the ones you’ve shown me do look good
If you look at the socks used for the highland dancing they cost a fortune
I’m looking forward to trying on the socks with my kilt
I’m also going to a wedding in German in May so I’ll show them off there can’t wait

[Steve Ashton]

The word "Aran" when used in knitting refers to a pattern of cables and popcorn nobs. Each pattern is distinctive to the knitter. Some patterns are more complex and some less complex.

The name comes from the Aran or fisherman's knit sweaters.



The weight of the yarn used will determine how thick or bulky the finished socks will be. The exact same patter knit in a thinner or thicker yarn will produce a thinner or thicker sock.

The off white or cream color so often seen in hand knit hose is often called "ecru".

So really, it comes down to who is knitting your socks.

And as a side note - He' Mo Leannan means "Hey my love". The original pattern was designed by a lady named Anne Carol Gilmour

[393tho]

Funny that’s where the pattern came from can’t remember the name of the site I got it off
The lady that’s going to knit them has been working out the pattern so she’s ready to get them started
She says it’ll be about three to four weeks before there finished
Have you ever seen anybody wearing these socks I’m getting?

[OC Richard]

Here's the Wiki article about Aran jumpers ("sweaters" in American English)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aran_jumper

Interesting that this method of knitting jumpers didn't exist in the Aran Islands until around 1900, being introduced from Guernsey (what these jumpers are called in the Irish language).

As far as the Aran/Arran kilt hose go, I don't know when they first appeared. I don't think I've ever come across a photo from earlier than the 1970s showing them, I will check my vintage photos. (EDIT: I can't find photos of these hose being worn prior to Canadian pipe bands in the 1970s.)

Here is just about the earliest photo I can find of a pipe band wearing these hose, the Canadian Pacific Airlines Pipe Band in 1976, the year they won Grade Two at Cowal



I had been told that there was a particular woman in British Columbia who was knitting these for the bands at that time. Sorry I can't remember her name. All the hose I saw back then were more or less the same pattern with diamonds going down the front.

Sometimes the cuff had a diamond on it too, as in the photo above, while other times the cuffs had cable patterns instead.

These Arran hose suddenly became extremely popular with pipe bands, must-haves for serious bands in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Then in the mid-1980s they just as suddenly became passe. (They were replaced by plain pure gleaming white hose with bobble/popcorn cuffs.)

Not the same pattern, but heavy hose nevertheless, the closest I can find prior to the 1970s