peteyfrogboy

For years I've avoided making bias cut linen hose because linen was expensive, and cutting on the bias was wasteful, and I was generally scared of them. Now that I've finally bitten the bullet and started a pair, like so many other things, they're not as bad as I thought they would be.

Either linen isnt as expensive as it once was, or I've just gotten used to having to spend a certain amount for decent fabric, but this pair of hose constitutes maybe $15 of materials. Not too bad at all compared to buying them, even if I could buy hose that fit properly.

I used one of my old knit cotton hose as a starting point for the pattern. I had taken it apart earlier to use as the basis for my red wool hose, but didn't adjust the pattern very effectively that time around. The cotton hose I'd patterned with the foot cut in one with the leg, but I prefer the fit of a separate foot. The angle of the heels is different for the two different methods, so that was the first modification I made. When I traced the leg pattern onto the linen I gave it several inches of extra width to make certain that I wouldn't start off with it too tight anywhere. I basted the back seam, tested, pinned, basted again, and so on and so forth, eventually taking in about 7 inches at the knee. It fits well all the way through the leg without binding when I bend my knee or causing problems when I put my foot through at the ankle. There are some wrinkles at the ankle and knee, of course, but those are unavoidable.

The other major alteration I made was adding a corner at the top front edge. My pattern had evolved with a curved top edge, sloping downward from back to front and smoothly curving down into the U-shape of the crotch. This mostly worked, but the red hose showed the error of this concept when the frontmost pair of eyelets blew out. The first cut of these hose had the same problem of too much stress at that point, so I added on a square corned there to match the one at the back. Basically this was a matter of committing to a defined length to the top edge, which I had really done years ago anyway when I standardized the spacing of my lacing holes.

I've decided that I want to have at least one outfit entirely made by hand, and, to be honest, I've gotten to where I don't much like using the machine anymore if I don't have to. This pair of hose is the last piece I need to have a complete 15c Italian outfit (minus shoes, which I'm just not going to make at this point). The first part of construction was the main seam at the back of the leg. I cut the edge at my final basting line with about a 5/8" seam allowance, but I added an extra bit of ease when I sewed the seam for real. I offset one side by half of the seam allowance both to give a little extra room and so it would already be graded for when I finished it. I pressed the seam and then flat felled it.

The top edge is lined with lightweight white linen cut on the grain. The bottom edge of the lining is hanging free, with the bottom edge hemmed. I wanted to preserve as much length as possible, so I basted the lining to the top edge and then bound it with a strip of the green linen. There was a bit of guesswork involved as to the exact length that would work with the black wool doublet since I finished the top before making the foot, but my gamble seems to have paid off reasonably well.

All of the foot construction was done by hemming the edges of the pieces and then assembling the edges with an overcast stitch. This kept the interior neat and tidy, at the cost of having to be right about the pattern the first time. I patterned the top of the foot largely by guesswork. I cut a shallow curve on one piece of linen left over from cutting the leg out, finished it, and attached it to the appropriate spot on the leg. I tried it on and traced the outline of my foot, making sure to be generous around the toes. I've had a recurring problem with my toes getting cramped in my hose and eventually poking through. There's no great benefit to having form-fitted toes on my hoes, and a lot of downside to having them too small, so I aimed for plenty of wiggle room this time. I finished the bottom edge of the foot and then traced out a sole on another piece of scrap. Again, I left plenty of room both for finishing and for my foot (plus socks). This was one place where hand sewing really showed its value. To properly accommodate the round shape of a foot, the edges of the sole need to be eased in all the way around, which is much more difficult on a machine. I went around the sole with a relatively loose stitch to get it eased in, then went around again with smaller stitches to get everything secured.