Introduction

In this document you will find directions for making “cut hosen” of the type that arecommonly seen in 12th-14th century Western European clothing. When worn by men,they are “thigh highs” that are attached to the braiesgirdle by points. When worn bywomen, they are “knee socks” that are held up by means of a garter fastened just belowthe knee.

Vocabulary

You will need to know a number of terms for this handout to make sense.

Grain/Bias

: A woven fabric consists of a warp and a weft - two sets of threads that sit at90° angles to each other. The direction of either ofthese sets of threads is called the grain; animaginary line drawn at 45° to the grain is the bias.This is illustrated in Figure 1.

Draping

: the process of patterning a garment on the body.

Braies

: Men’s undergarments. These are usually held upby the

braiesgirdle

Points

: Ties that are used to attach hosen to thebraiesgirdle.

Garters

: Strips of fabric, tabletwoven braid, or leather usedto snug men’s hosen and hold up women’s hosen.

Supplies

To make a pair of hosen, you will need:•Standard sewing equipment (scissors, needle, thread, pins, measuring tape,marking pencil or chalk)•Permanent marker or some other way of making indelible marks on fabric•1-3 yards of “scrap” fabric (depending on fabric width, short or long hosen, andsize of hosen-wearer) for making the pattern•The ability to do some basic math•1-3 yards of medium-weight woven fabric (same quantity as above)

Fabric Selection

Cut hosen are by definition made from woven fabrics. Yes, using a knit will giveyou a closer fit, but knit fabrics were not used in this way during the middle ages. Irecommend a medium-weight fabric and have made hosen from both linen and wool;of these, wool is the most historically accurate choice.

Wool also simply works better -

Figure 1: Grain versus Bias

Cut Hosen for Men and Women

Alianor de Ravenglas

I can’t prove that they DIDN’T make hosen out of linen; however, there exist remnants of woolen hosen.

wool is a stretchier fiber than linen, and this carries through to stretch on the bias.Hosen can be almost any color and were often brightly colored.

Patterning Hosen

There was a time when I draped every pair of hosen I made individually. Then Icame to my senses and started makingpatterns. I recommend creating a separatepattern for each individual for whom youwill be making hosen. There are two waysto go about making the pattern. You caneither draft a pattern from measurements oryou can drape the pattern on the individual.In both of the explanations that follow, I willreference the points and lines illustrated inFigure 2; the result of both explanations is apattern that looks roughly like the onepictured in Figure 3.

Draping a Pattern

If you choose to go the draping route,take about a yard of scrap fabric. To drapethe leg piece of the hosen, rotate that scrapfabric 45° (so that it’s hanging on the bias)and pin the top corner to the waistband ofyour victim’s client’s undergarments. Wrap the fabric around the leg, pinning orbasting a seam at the back center. Do this carefully, and avoid thetemptation to make the hosen skin-tight; in particular, the ankle willseem like it is too loose, but it has to be for the ball of the foot to be ableto fit through it.

The main piece (and therefore the back seam) shouldreach the floor and curve under the foot to the point where lines G andF intersect (basically at the instep). The front of the hosen will not lienicely across the ankle at this point - the fabric will be all bunchy andmessy. In this bunchy mess, mark line F (the curve over the instep).Have your client remove the leg and make any adjustments necessary.Once you’re relatively satisfied with the fit of the leg (you will still beable to tweak it later), trim off the excess fabric at the back and insidethe curve you drew over the instep (but not too closely - you still wantroom to adjust and you need to leave seam allowances!). You will nowuse one of the large excess pieces to drape the foot of the hosen. Thispiece extends from the toes to line F (and will be joined to the leg at lineF). Working on the bias, wrap the fabric around your client’s foot and

Figure 2: Points and Lines for Measuring and Draping

Hipbone to ﬂoorB: Circ. of largest part ofthighC: Circ. of kneeD: Circ. of largest part ofcalfE: Circ. of ankleF: Circ. of foot at front ofankleG: Heel to FH: F to toesI: To of knee to ﬂoor

Figure 3:Draped patterncut from muslin

Alianor de Ravenglas Cut Hosen for Men and Women2

Eustace, 2007.

How snug you can make the ankle really does depend on how wide the client’s feet are. My feet arefairly narrow and so the ankles of my hosen can be pretty snug; my husband’s feet are pretty wide at theball and his hosen ankles are always very baggy.

pin/baste a seam along the bottom of the foot. This seam should extend for the fulllength of line H (all the way to the end of the longest toe). Then pin/baste a straightline across the toe of the hosen foot.

Once you’re satisfied with the fit of everything,mark your seam lines and trim the excess fabric, making sure to leave enough aroundthe seam lines for the seam allowances.

Drafting a Pattern from Measurements

The other option available to you is to draft a pattern based on measurements off theleg; this technique still requires a bit of custom fitting to get a very snug fit. Thistechnique begins with the following set of measurements (refer to Figure 1 forillustrations):•Length of the hosen (for long hosen, line A +line G; for short hosen, line I + line G)•Leg circumference at top of hosen (for longhosen, line B; for short hosen, line D)•Leg circumference at knee or calf, whicheveris bigger (line C or line D)•Circumference of foot at instep (line F)•Height of the instep (line F / 3)•Distance from longest toe to instep (line H)Using these measurements, sketch out theoutline of your hosen as pictured in Figure 4. Atthis point you should work with roughly straightlines; you will fit the curves of the leg later. Thelines that you draw in this process will more or lessbe your seam lines; at this point you should cut out the pattern making sure to leaveabout half an inch for your seam allowance. Now it is time to do some more detailedfitting. Wrap the hosen leg around the recipient’s leg asdescribed in the section above and pin until the desired fit isachieved; do the same with the foot. You will want to payparticular attention to the curve over the instep, and you willfind that the “corner” at the heel works best as a smooth curverather than a right angle. Once you have the fit you like, traceout the seam lines (as marked by your pins and/or initialsketched lines) and trim down the excess fabric, leavingenough for your seam allowances. At this point, you caneither leave the pattern “whole” or you can cut it in half andultimately cut your hosen on the fold, as pictured in Figure 5.

Figure 4: Drafted pattern sketched outFigure 5: Drafted pattern

Alianor de Ravenglas Cut Hosen for Men and Women3

This is a change from the pattern pictured in Figure 2; I have found that it’s easier to work with simpletrapezoidal pattern pieces and do this fine fitting on the final garment if at all.

Note again the change in the foot pattern between the pattern pictured in Figure 2; in the new method,the foot is rectangular.