Are HoC Glenmore socks not meant for the full-time wearer?

[Mathew MacKillop]

I don't know if this is helpful, but here's the link to Lewis socks and their colors.

http://www.amazon.com/House-of-Chevi...Y9WCNX1PRN7EBF

Many Thanks!

I had originally found those through New House Highland on Amazon, too, and also through Freedom Kilts (I'm in Canada, so getting them without the package having to cross a border would have been nice), but I must have found an old link for the Amazon page at the time since only a handful of colours were available, and Freedom Kilts have relatively few colours on offer to start with, and many of those are out of stock. The link you provided solves that problem for me!

From the research I have done, it seems like the Lewis will be a good place to start. Does anyone have experience of the Rannoch or Sandringham models? These are even pricier, but if they'll last even longer, there are some nice colours available in those, too!

Some threads also report that the more saturated colours of hose tend to fade rather quickly; I really want a pair in claret and mustard, along with more or less all the darker browns, charcoal, etc. Do the HoC hose tend to keep their colours longer than other brands or am I doomed to have pale hose?

Edit: Ouch! For the fun of it, I added all the colours of Lewis hose I want, a couple pairs of Sandringham hose, and a half-dozen pairs of garter ties to an amazon cart, and I'm looking at just short of US$ 900 for the whole lot! For that price, I sure hope I wouldn't have to replace too many pairs too often!

[Thekiltedmohawk]

Ouch! For the fun of it, I added all the colours of Lewis hose, a couple pairs of Sandringham hose, and a half-dozen pairs of garter ties to an amazon cart, and I'm looking at just short if US$ 900 for the whole lot! For that price, I sure hope I wouldn't have to replace too many pairs too often!

Now you have me convinced to investigate more on this before I get myself some Lewis hoses!!

[OC Richard]

I have a pair of Cheviot hose that are my "go-to" socks, worn once a week on average for a couple years now, and they still look pretty much like new, no holes, no, what do you call it? when you get the little balls of wool appear on the socks around the ankles?

My champion kilt hose are the Lochcarron ones I got back in the 1980s and they're still fine, though true they haven't been worn all that regularly.

The shortest-lived hose were the "piper's socks" that our pipe band issued us on the Saturday morning of a two-day Games. By the end of the day Saturday there were holes in both ankles! On Sunday I wore the 35-year-old Lochcarron hose. Somebody gave me another pair of those "piper's socks" and they wore through the ankles and toes after a couple dozen wearings. (These "piper's socks" are sold by a major Scottish firm that shall remain nameless, and I suspect that they are made in Pakistan. I've seen suspicious sporrans and jackets by the same firm.)

[sydnie7]

The little balls of wool that appear at friction points are (is) called "pilling," as in pills.

Both too tight and too loose socks will wear rapidly. If you keep an eye out for thin spots, they can be reinforced before an actual hole develops. Google "duplicate stitch" for working new yarn over a thin spot, Google "darning" for the more extensive work required once there's a hole.

Obviously Richard's socks that wore out in a day are not good candidates for this advice!

[Thekiltedmohawk]

The little balls of wool that appear at friction points are (is) called "pilling," as in pills.

Both too tight and too loose socks will wear rapidly. If you keep an eye out for thin spots, they can be reinforced before an actual hole develops. Google "duplicate stitch" for working new yarn over a thin spot, Google "darning" for the more extensive work required once there's a hole.

Obviously Richard's socks that wore out in a day are not good candidates for this advice!

In my case there were no thin spots on the brick red socks. It's like out of the blue it have holes suddenly. I looked at the other colored Glenmore socks. There's no early warning sign of the thin spot so far. They all look good. I'm puzzled about it now.

[Mikilt]

In my case there were no thin spots on the brick red socks. It's like out of the blue it have holes suddenly. I looked at the other colored Glenmore socks. There's no early warning sign of the thin holes so far. They all look good. I'm puzzled about it now.

If there are no thin spots and just sudden holes, is it possible you have moth damage?

[Thekiltedmohawk]

No moth exists in the house. I'm suspecting it's my washing machine that's the culprit.

[Thekiltedmohawk]

I have a pair of Cheviot hose that are my "go-to" socks, worn once a week on average for a couple years now, and they still look pretty much like new, no holes, no, what do you call it? when you get the little balls of wool appear on the socks around the ankles?

May I ask what kind of Cheviot hose is it? Is it Rannoch? Lewis? Harris? Glenmore? Others?

[jetstar63]

I wonder if the pants forums are drawing this much attention to socks.

[auteurusa]

I suspect your hose may be wearing more quickly due to the way in which they are washed.

I used a concentrated liquid laundry detergent (specifically, Arm and Hammer brand) free of both perfume and dyes. I pulled new jeans that were less than a few weeks old out of the machine to discover holes in the fabric. I took the pants back to the retailer with my receipt for an even exchange believing the cotton to be substandard. Following one washing of the new pants and holes in the same area I exchanged this second pair with the patient retailer. The third new pair were washed with an older pair of jeans (by a different manufacture) and holes were found in the same areas along the outside of the pocket, which is not a high stress wear area. From this comparison of old and new with holes in the exact spots respectively it was determined the concentrated chemical had acted upon the oils and proteins left by my hands on the material. Though I had used the concentrate at the suggested dilution it had dissolved the fabric. Needless to say I switched detergent and have had no problem since.

I suggest switching to a lesser concentrated detergent, or washing hose by hand the way one would with a woolen or kilt. In fact, I hand wash my kilt hose in shampoo since wool is hair, and they have lasted for years. Anyway, wool or not try switching detergent.