Tartan hose book

[okiwen]

I previously contacted a dance hose maker on Ravelry named Bonnietoes and she supplied me with instruction and yarn as a kit. I paid her what she asked for the sake of the education. She was very nice.

I haven't had the chance to knit them yet as I had project ahead in line but she states that when she makes hers for sale ($150-$180) she knits flat and then seams back for custom fit. Hers look amazing. I wish I had a little knit machine 'cause I am molasses slow.

I wish she made a book like this but at a reasonable price. I would buy it.

[room2ndfloor]

Taking a right-angled geometric and wrapping it snugly about an irregularly shaped cylinder (human leg) is no small trick.

The thinner the hose, the more knitting. Knitting a pair of these by hand is a great deal of work. I can knit out an adult-sized tam while watching a regular movie-length DVD; so far the hose are at least four times the work of a patterned cap.

Even before the knitting starts, there's a lot of work involved: gauge swatch, and plotting the pattern for circumference and length. The pattern should center at the front of the shin.

Intarsia knitting, with the motifs in separate color blocks, is more difficult than the fair-isle style where colors are carried in floats under the pattern surface.

Whomever has done all of this arithmetic and plotted out stitch-by stitch shaping instructions deserves the $150, totally aside from the expense of good-quality yarn.

I would like to see the inside of the hose that lady makes, to see how she joins the vamp of the foot with the leg. As with every craft, when it is expertly done, it appears easy.

There's always more to learn in the knitting realm.