Hose are Too Long...

[Tobus]

Being of rather short stature with short but large legs and feet, kilt hose (and sleeves and trouser legs) are normally too long and frequently way too long. Rather than trying to alter the kilt hose, like I would sleeves and trouser legs, I put my hose garter where I want the turn down to be, then I take the hose top at about the 1/3 point and pull it down and then turn down the hose top on top of the pulled down part. By doing that I get the turn down to look right and I have a nice thick turn area, after all it is now a total of four layers thick counting the original hose layer plus three layers of turn down. Works like a champ and, I think, looks good.

Stoff

If I'm reading your reply correctly (this stuff is difficult to describe), that's sort of what I've been doing as well. I'm trying a new approach now, though, to eliminate problems throughout the day.

The difficulty with too-long hose is that there's a seam where the cuff connects to the hose portion, and that has to be at the right place on the leg, with any slack taken up below it. That slack below it needs to be held fairly firmly in place, or else it will loosen during the day and one ends up with saggy hose.

So what I'm doing now is pulling my hose up to get the the turnover seam at the correct height on my leg, with the cuff unrolled up and over my knee. I tie my wool garter tie just below that seam. Then I pull up the extra slack in the hose from below it, and fold it up over my wool garter tie to get it out of the way. Then (this is the new part) I put on an elastic garter band just below the wool garter tie, and then turn that extra fold of hose material down over the elastic garter band, smooth it all out, and finally fold the cuff down over all of it.

It seems quite silly to wear both a wool garter tie with an elastic garter band just below it, but the elastic band helps to keep that extra fold of hose material up and firmly in place so it doesn't end up sagging throughout the day as I walk. Plus, the thickness of the garter band plus the two layers of folded hose material over the top of it helps to even out the bulk of material below my wool garter band, so that it looks more even under the cuff and I don't end up with a big lump at the very top from the wool garter tie.

I think this will be the approach I take going forward when wearing hose that are too long for my legs.

[Blaidd]

I have to confess, I dream of hose that is deemed 'too long'. Even with Cheviot I find that they are a stretch to get to the correct length (even before any type of washing). I only have a size 9 hoof and am only 5' 10'', so not in the tall league! Lucky chaps, I say