Another pair of Gairloch pattern kilt hose

[stickman]

Glad you found your zen. Mine is/was carving sgian and dirk handles. I don’t know what I will do with them all now that I don’t make blades much anymore. You are doing so good with your sittin’ n nittin’ I enjoy seeing your work.

[Distaff]

I am using the hard wearing 5-ply 100% wool Frangipani in the Cordova color, more or less fingering weight. Stainless steel sharp Hiyas, fixed, in either the 32 or 40 inch cord, US1/2.25mm. Magic loop.

My usual cast-on with 72 stitches (I need a better cast-on, but wanted to just get started for this trial run). Didn't do a swatch test, but know from experience with ganseys on these needles and with this yarn, that 72 should be about right for a below the knee cuff. (Hate swatching - those patches don't reflect the actual knitting, and don't produce much useful information. I NEVER expect to get the piece right the first time, anyway.)

I knit Continental, so the pearls get a bit big and sloppy if not paying attention. Took Crafty's class on combination knitting several years ago, and may use that on further socks (forgot about it). It does help, but finger memory habits are hard to break.

Also, I have long dpn's and a waist pad, and done some English right handed throw. That would be the traditional way to knit these. I am very slow and clumbsy with that method, but the fabric is more even. Because hose are smaller projects than a sweater, there is more room for experimenting and working on alternative techniques.

I have a gansey in the works that needs the second sleeve to finish it (started about three years ago, which is why I haven't knitted in so long). Since I can't find that project anywhere, I can work on these socks guilt free. That UFO will show up eventually....

[Verity]

So glad you're getting started, Distaff! You will probably find that doing two-colour work is easiest in the round (that's the nice thing about hose, you never have to work a design in the flat from the wrong side) and with one colour on the 'continental' hand and the other colour on the 'English' hand. I like to keep my background colour on my left hand and do the pattern with my right.

Verity

[Tobus]

I am using the hard wearing 5-ply 100% wool Frangipani in the Cordova color, more or less fingering weight. Stainless steel sharp Hiyas, fixed, in either the 32 or 40 inch cord, US1/2.25mm. Magic loop.

My usual cast-on with 72 stitches (I need a better cast-on, but wanted to just get started for this trial run). Didn't do a swatch test, but know from experience with ganseys on these needles and with this yarn, that 72 should be about right for a below the knee cuff. (Hate swatching - those patches don't reflect the actual knitting, and don't produce much useful information. I NEVER expect to get the piece right the first time, anyway.)

Wow, a 72-stitch cast-on with 2.25mm needles would be way too tight for me, and I have fairly narrow calves compared to most adults. On my first pair of Gairloch hose, I did the recommended 78-stitch cast-on for the cuff, using 3.5mm needles for fingering-weight, and still didn't like how much the ribbed cuff had to stretch. I mean, it fits, but I like my cuffs to be more bulky with the ribbing still having some play, rather than stretched taut. So on my second pair (shown in this thread), I went ahead and cast-on the same number of stitches I was going to use for the pattern (which in this case was also 78 stitches, but using worsted weight yarn on 3.75mm needles). I think I like it better. I wear garter ties under the cuff anyway, so I'm not relying on the ribbing to hold the sock up. I'll be curious to see how yours come out.

So, what kind of cast-on did you use? I've tried a whole number of them in my earlier sock projects and I've landed on the long-tail cast-on, using a reverse long-tail in the mix for ribbing. Basically, when casting on a ribbed cuff with 3x3 ribbing like this one, I cast-on 3 stitches with the regular long-tail method (for knit stitches), then reverse for the next 3 (for purl stitches). It gives a nice krinkly end that follows the ribbing pattern. In my last photo of the original post, I intentionally showed the end of the cuff with it unfolded to show how nicely the cast-on edge follows the ribbing. This has worked really well for me, and I'm sticking with it. But I'm always curious what others do, and how it works for them. I'm always willing to try something new and learn better ways!

(Oh, and I hate swatching too! I'd rather just start the project as the swatch. If I get a couple of days into it and it's not coming out like I want, I'll frog it and start over. But if it does work out, I've saved myself the time of a separate swatch.)

I knit Continental, so the pearls get a bit big and sloppy if not paying attention. Took Crafty's class on combination knitting several years ago, and may use that on further socks (forgot about it). It does help, but finger memory habits are hard to break.

I've done some combination knitting, and it does help tighten up the purls. Sometimes it's best to just do it on the first or last purl in the ribbing, not all of them. But lately I just take the time to give my purl stitches a tug after I've made the stitch and transferred it to the right needle, to take up the slack. I can actually make them accidentally too tight doing that, so I have to be careful to just tug it, not yank it.

Just for laughs, I thought I'd post these pics. My Olde English Bulldogge, June, gets frustrated when I spend hours knitting and not paying attention to her. First she will put her big sloppy face in my knitting, and if that doesn't work, she plops her big ol' paw on my arm to say, "Hey! Pet me!"

[Distaff]

Yes, I tried the knitting on, and 72 sts is too small. Started again with 84. My knitting is looser than standard, and I tend to go down two needle sizes to get any pattern specified gauge. With these needles and yarn, I tend to get 8 stitches per inch in stockinette.

Now, the math suggests that may still be too small. My calf is 14.5 inches at the widest point X 8 = 116. Adjusting about 10% for negative ease makes 104 stitches. But, I think that'll be too big (feelz? maybe, but it just seems like too much) - so, I'm going with 84 for several inches, and will try it on at that point.

Long tail cast on... thanks, couldn't remember the name of it. Has a good side and a bad side. I prefer the tight side that looks like a string of round beads, not the side that looks like the top of a basket weave, and appears to curl forward slightly. Fortunately, since the cuff is turned, the good (bead) side is what shows. Tobus, do you remember the name for the cast on variation you like that changes with each set of knits and pearls? I vaguely remember some technique about that - have maybe even used it.

Love the pup!

ETA: Ahh... Reverse IS the name! Looked it up, and Roxanne has a tutorial. I always like how she explains things. Will check that later today. Thanks.

[Tobus]

Yes, I tried the knitting on, and 72 sts is too small. Started again with 84. My knitting is looser than standard, and I tend to go two needle sizes to get any pattern specified gage. With these needles and yarn, I tend to get 8 stitches per inch in stockinette.

Now, the math suggests that may still be too small. My calf is 14.5 inches at the widest point X 8 = 116. Adjusting about 10% for negative ease makes 104 stitches. But, I think that'll be too big (feelz? maybe, but it just seems like too much) - so, I'm going with 84 for several inches, and will try it on at that point.

Yeah, 116 would probably be way more than needed. But if you're doing a ribbed cuff, at least it will collapse down to whatever your leg size actually is. If you're using a garter tie, my take is that looser is better for the cuff.

My calf is 14", and while the 78-stitch ribbed cuff worked, I think at least 84 would be better. But I'll do 90 on the next one just to see how I like it.

I've had to pretty much reinvent my gauge rules for these. The ribbing doesn't follow gauge anyway, since it has a lot of stretch factor. And the colourwork portion doesn't give me the same gauge as single-colour stockinette, especially since I have to use larger needles and knit more loosely to make it come out right.

ETA: Ahh... Reverse IS the name! Looked it up, and Roxanne has a tutorial. I always like how she explains things. Will check that later today. Thanks.

Yes, it's just reverse long-tail. It may actually have been Roxanne where I picked it up. Love her videos, and she's always helpful over on Ravelry. I also use her method for the improved Judy's Magic Cast-On when I'm doing a toe-up sock.

[Distaff]

So glad you're getting started, Distaff! You will probably find that doing two-colour work is easiest in the round (that's the nice thing about hose, you never have to work a design in the flat from the wrong side) and with one colour on the 'continental' hand and the other colour on the 'English' hand. I like to keep my background colour on my left hand and do the pattern with my right.

Verity

Have done some two color work - mittens and a nordic sweater. (Absolutely love Fair Isle, but I'd rather buy it than try to knit it!)

Mostly, I've worked with one color gansey type textured motifs in a single strand of yarn. I try to keep the number of things that can go wrong, to a minimum.

So, for these hose, I'll be combing through photos of solid color hose in this forum to examine texture patterns. I want my hose to look like traditional kilt hose, and not a sweater worn by a herring fisherman.

[Tobus]

So, for these hose, I'll be combing through photos of solid color hose in this forum to examine texture patterns. I want my hose to look like traditional kilt hose, and not a sweater worn by a herring fisherman.

Have you done cables? I haven't yet, but will be adding it to my repertoire once I get past the honeymoon period with colourwork. This is a pair of hose I commissioned about 14 years ago with cabling all over, although it does somewhat resemble a fisherman's sweater!

You may also be interested in this: https://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter07/PATTtoirneach.html The legs are just ribbed, but there's an interesting texture pattern to the cuff. You could probably apply that to portions of the leg as well.

[Tobus]

Hey - a thought just occurred to me. I wonder what it would look like to knit a monochrome Gairloch pattern. Knit the whole pair of socks, following the pattern, but instead of using two colours with all knit stitches, read the chart as knits and purls. So the double diagonal stripes would be, say, knit stitches. The single middle stripes (and small diamonds at the crossings) would be purls. And the big diamonds would be 1x1 knit and purl texture (i.e. seed stitch). In other words, read the chart with the main colour as knits and the contrasting colour as purls (or vice-versa).

The finished sock would show the Gairloch pattern, but in texture instead of colour.

If you don't try it, I will!

[Distaff]

Beautiful hose! Cables are easy to do. I like the small wood Brittany cable needles for that work, but almost any short grippy needle will do, if chunky enough so it doesn't fall out of the stitches, but also doesn't stretch the stitches. The rest of the pattern on that hose doesn't look hard either (elaborate, but not hard). Counting the rounds between cable crosses correctly is for me the hardest part. Your pattern may have texture in other motifs that will help you keep the count accurate - which round in the moss stitch area has pearls... something like that, and you can see from the chart that you always cross over on a pearl row in the moss. In other words, a vertical repeat elsewhere will eliminate the guess work and individual round counting (which strains my eyes).

The color to texture may not be a smooth direct translation. If you chart your own K and P textured pattern from a color chart (or from imagination), consider make a sample before starting it in a full sock. Otherwise, you will probably be laddering stitches and making some changes to previous rounds on the go. Corrections, particularly on a sweater can get tedious, but I've done it PLENTY. I use a small crochet hook to make the corrections.

K's and P's can do unexpected things in the knitting that won't show on your graph paper (even if you use squat square knitter's paper). Sometimes, you need to double up on rounds for elements to show, but while pearls with knits above and below will pop, three or more pearls in a single column will recede. I find I need more spacing with rounds of knit only to space things out, and make them properly STAND out. Diagonal lines made with pearls can benefit from one or more extra rows of knits-only space above and below the zig zags.

One or more rounds of just pearl can make a nice horizontal border, but you may find it looks more effective if you insert an all knit round between the pearl rounds for a bit of space (essentially garter stitch) - it makes the area less stiff, and you may find it is a more pleasing effect. This would be more of a sweater element, but might also be something that works well just below the ribbed cuff on a stocking, if you aren't continuing any texture motifs down directly from the ribbing.