Measuring and then a whole lot of math ...
Do you remember, as a kid, being frustrated having to learn math? Did you ever ask, "When in my life am I ever going to have to know this?" Planning out an argyle sock chart is like one of those word problems: if train A is heading south at 90 mph and train B, blah, blah blah. Don't stress - once you get through this part then the fun begins.
Measurements
The most important measurements to take for planning out your hose:
- calf circumference at widest part
- ankle circumference at narrowest part
- length from just below the knee to the floor
- length of foot
Conversion from Calf Measurements to Stitches
If you take a look at normal socks in your drawer you will notice that they are a lot smaller than your feet. The same goes for tartan hose. You don't want to do the exact math to have the hose exactly the same size as your lower leg. You want some stretch, especially for Highland Dancing. The socks would bunch up inside the ghillies and fall down during the first jump. I usually figure out what the actual number of stitches would be and then reduce down to 80%-90% of that. For a younger dancer who will still be growing I will go with the higher number. I will use the lower percentage for an older dancer who is done growing.
Example: 13" calf at 8.5 stitches per inch = 110.5 stitches 110.5 stitches * 85% = 93.9 stitches
Conversion from Leg Length to Rows
First of all with the length, you can subtract 2 inches for the heel. The argyle pattern stops at the ankle. Then I take the length from the knee to ankle I round up and add an inch or two. This is because the more you stretch horizontally the more you compress the stitches vertically. Try this on a 4 inch by 4 inch test swatch. Pull the swatch sideways and notice that it gets shorter.
Example: 15" length - 2" heel = 13" 13" at 12 rows per inch = 180 rows 180 rows + 12 rows (one inch for compression) = 192 rows
Now what?
From the above calculations, you now know how many stitches wide and how many rows long - approximately, of course! Now you need to pick a size for the argyles or diamonds in stitches/rows. Typical sizes are 33x33, 35x35, 37x37 and 39x39. I have done 43x43 but I think the diamonds looked too big. It is nice to try and match the sett of the tartan. That is, match the size of the bigger blocks of color in the tartan. For small blocks use 33x33 and large ones maybe 37x37.
Once you decide on an argyle size you can divide that number into your calculation numbers to determine how many diamonds wide and how many diamonds long. There is some rounding involved. The number of stitches in a row should be odd. A diamond in the center surround by the same number of stitches on either side - maybe another two full diamonds, if the math works out , or not. A good width for diamonds is between 2-3 diamonds around the calf.
For the rows, the number of diamonds should be rounded to the nearest quarter of a diamond. Example: 4.75, 5.25, etc. This just looks better because of where the cross stitches run.
Example from above calculations using a 35x35 diamond: Stitches: 93.9 / 35 = 2.68 diamonds wide 2.68 - 1 = 1.68 1.68 / 2 = 0.84 0.84 x 35 = 29.4 29 + 35 + 29 (35 stitches in the middle surrounded by partial, 29 stitch diamonds Rows: 192 / 35 = 5.48 diamonds 5.48 rounded to nearest 0.25 = 5.5 diamonds high
Shaping or No Shaping?
Some older dancers have very well developed calf muscles. Younger dancers just starting out may have calf muscles that are not much bigger than their ankles. If the difference between the calf and ankle measurements are more the 3-4 inches then you probably want to "shape" the hose.
Shaping means a bit more math because you will need to have more stitches in the rows at the top and then decrease evenly after the cuff towards the ankle. I will add a separate post and a calculator for this soon.
If the difference is small or borderline you can always use larger needles for the cuff.
Thank you. I have estimated it to be 66.83 stitches for my skinny lil 4 year old’s 8.5 inch leg, so that’s 67 stitches to get the odd number. The other part about the length just made me cry so I’m just going to have to think about that for a minute lol.
That measurement is perfect for two 33×33 diamonds around the leg. If her lower leg is 12-14 inches long I think a four diamond length would look awesome! If she is a little shorter, don’t worry. You can fold the cuff a bit extra and watch how fast these young dancers grow. It boggles my mind how often we have had to buy new costumes that were outgrown. 🙂