Thread help::Knitters please chime in::

[Kilted Rogue]

OK i have a co-worker who is a pretty good knitter. She has already made me a pair of garter ties , and she offered to make me some kilt hose. the catch is i supply the yarn. I dont know to much about yarn. I have asked her her opinion, she sent me to a site called knit picks dot com. they seem to have good deals on yarn. there are a few that i have looked at that i think will make nice looking hose. this line is one i am looking at:
City Tweed
The complete line of wool they offer
I havent looked at there other weights of yarn, but If anyone has any advice on what i should order, i am all ears. i was looking to use the Toirneach kilt hose pattern that has been posted a few times here on XMTS

[room2ndfloor]

OK i have a co-worker who is a pretty good knitter. She has already made me a pair of garter ties , and she offered to make me some kilt hose. the catch is i supply the yarn. I dont know to much about yarn. I have asked her her opinion, she sent me to a site called knit picks dot com. they seem to have good deals on yarn. there are a few that i have looked at that i think will make nice looking hose. this line is one i am looking at:
City Tweed
The complete line of wool they offer
I havent looked at there other weights of yarn, but If anyone has any advice on what i should order, i am all ears. i was looking to use the Toirneach kilt hose pattern that has been posted a few times here on XMTS

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The catch is that you supply the yarn? Aren't you offering to buy the yarn, the needles, and pay her well for her work? Perhaps you’re offering to marry her? I’m not really joking; she has to be sweet on you to offer to make you kilt hose.

The Toirneach stockings, to which you refer, have simple ribs and a fancy cabled cuff. This pattern could take an experienced knitter forty hours to knit. There's as much knitting in a pair of kilt hose as in an entire sweater.

The “City Tweed” yarn you like is NOT suited to making stockings. It is labelled DK (double knitting) which is thinner than the worsted weight. It will work up very soft and will wear out easily in a sock, unless it is reinforced with a thin thread of nylon. The knitting Gauge is 5.5 sts = 1" on #5 - 7 needles (3.75mm-4.5mm). This gauge is more suitable for a medium-weight man’s sweater than for socks.

The Toirneach pattern calls for worsted weight yarn. That will make a thick, dense stocking. Your hose pattern specifies gauge at 24 sts/28 Rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch. The pattern recommends US #2 and #4 needles. That equates to 6 stitches per inch, using the US #4 needles. The gauge for the ribbing, on the US #2 needles, will be even more dense.

In other words, the Toirneach pattern is for thicker yarn, knitted to a much denser texture than the “City Tweed” yarn you like.

I have used the Knitpics yarn, it is generally good quality. Use the search function to find one labelled "sock yarn" so it is suited to the purpose.

[okiwen]

Boy, that's a great response. Complete and very knowledgeable. I wish I knew all that she was talking about as I try to learn to knit. Great post.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I'd recommend Cascade's 220 sport weight, specifically their superwash range, for ease of care.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Another I recommend is Louet - they also have a machine washable sport weight in some nice colors.

[fluter]

Kilted Rogue: go back to KnitPicks, and in the top menu under Yarns there is a link "Sock Yarns." Click there! Many of them are fingering weight (very light, more like "regular" socks).

The closest match for the pattern is Swish Worsted or DK. However this doesn't have the nylon component, it's all superwash wool. Good, because it's machine washable. Not so good, if you are hard on socks! You don't want to wear holes in these on the second wearing.

Down the scale, the Stroll Sport is a thinner yarn than the DK you were considering, but it's viable as a lighter sock, and it should be durable because of the nylon content. You and your knitter should be discussing how thick you like your socks to be, what type fiber is comfortable to you, what fiber she likes to work with, and so on.

If she's an experienced sock knitter, then she should have no trouble using any of those. A wee, small bit of algebra is involved in the adaptations. If her sock experience is not so extensive, it would be good to use a worsted weight that will match up with the pattern.

Perhaps you’re offering to marry her? I’m not really joking; ...

This approach may work. I'm told that someone once asked Mrs. Newsome how much she would charge to knit a pair of kilt hose. She simply said, He had to marry me.

The Toirneach pattern calls for worsted weight yarn. That will make a thick, dense stocking.

I've made it Toirneach with worsted---which does, indeed make a nice, thick, and dense fabric. I love them, but don't put 'em in too small a shoe!

My first-ever pair of socks was Toirneach with a sport weight acrylic yarn, and it's a noticeably lighter fabric, ,but still viable. I don't think they took me 40 hours, but stocking legs are loooong.

[room2ndfloor]

[QUOTE=fluter;989340]Kilted Rogue: go back to KnitPicks, and in the top menu under Yarns there is a link "Sock Yarns." Click there! Many of them are fingering weight (very light, more like "regular" socks).

The closest match for the pattern is Swish Worsted or DK. However this doesn't have the nylon component, it's all superwash wool. Good, because it's machine washable. Not so good, if you are hard on socks! You don't want to wear holes in these on the second wearing.

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There is a thread, "wooly nylon" by Threadart, which is sold for use in sergers. Many sock knitters, including me, knit this thread along with the yarn in the heels and toes as reinforcement. One spool of this goes a very long way. I have a photo of this reinforcement in my album here, the blue hose toes and heels.

This product is available online at Schoolhouse Press (also a good source for yarns) and in sewing stores like Joann's.

[piperdbh]

Sock weight is the best yarn for socks/hose. Worsted is too big and will dig into your heels. That City Tweed stuff is pretty, and would make a good sweater, bonnet, scarf, or any number of other items, but not comfortable hose. Plus, I think cables made from anything other than solid-colored yarn does a disservice to the cables, because it distracts from the detail in them.

[Silent Raven]

i would definitely choose a thicker yarn, Ive made a few pairs myself, just hiking socks not hose (yet) and the first pair i made was good until both the heel and toes wore out completely, but i was just using a standard yarn that i had laying around. for my second pair i got a heavier more appropriate yarn and so far they are great! so sings of wear, and i can wear them a few times and still feel like new. also not sure what method she is using to make the socks but i would suggest to her that she use the 2-at-a-time method. for this you use one really long circular needle and make both socks at the same time, and this way they both are done at the same time as well are guaranteed to be the exact same size! there are many books available on this method. but either way I'm sure you'll have some great looking and feeling hose in the end.

[Kilted Rogue]

Thank you all for the fantastic amount of info that you have provided me. She loves to knit and spin yarn. She makes some of her own yarn but not at a large compactly. Simply put, she loves to knit. and as for payment. I have tried to offer her for her time and she flat refuse it. Knitting is something she loves and sits down and can do a pair of socks in less than a week.

I will check out the other recommendations for sock weight yarns and choose one for a bit of a vote among those with a better eye for this type of thing. Keep in mind i will be wearing these with my Cameron kilt at a wedding in Nov.
that said i am off to do more researching!

Thank you and please if you have more on this to contribute, by all means...