Woman’s Cut Hosen

Alianor de Ravenglas
Abstract
This is a pair of women’s cut hosen of the type that would have been worn during the 13th
century. They were cut based on a custom pattern, which is in turn based on an extant pair of
hosen, and constructed from a linen/cotton blend and assembled by hand using linen thread.
Background
During the 13th century (my preferred time period), hosen were cut from woven fabric, as
opposed to the knitted hosen that are the more direct antecedents to modern socks. It is generally
accepted that women’s hosen were roughly knee-height and held up with garters fastened just
below the knee. There exist a number of pairs of “short hosen” (Carlson 2005, Crowfoot &
Staniland 2001) and there is later pictorial evidence of women wearing knee-length hosen
(Limbourg 1413). Additionally, it is generally accepted within the SCA community that during
this time, women did not usually wear any kind of “underwear” other than a smock/shift
(Eustace); this means that they did not have a braiesgirdle to which to attach long (thigh-high)
hosen.
Materials
These hosen are made from a very tightly woven medium-weight linen/cotton blend. In
order to be perfectly documentable, they would have to be made from wool; I chose to use the
linen blend for two reasons. First, I had enough left over from making other garments to make
hosen and not much else; second; this pair of hosen was something of a test of a new pattern-
drafting technique and I did not want to waste expensive wool in case it did not work. I have
made a number of pairs of hosen in both linen and wool and wool is clearly the superior choice.
They were hand-sewn with a 20/2 linen thread.
Design and Construction
The pattern for these hosen is based on the type known as
“Nockert Type 4” (Carlson 1997) and is functionally equivalent to the
“London Hose” (Carlson 1998; Crowfoot & Staniland 2001). They
have a leg that reaches to just above the knee and a foot that attaches
at the front of the ankle. There are seams along the bottom of the foot
extending up the back of the leg, around the arch of the foot, and at
the toe. This particular pair of hosen was made from a pattern I
drafted based on measurements of my legs and is show in Figure 1.1 Figure 1: Hosen Pattern
Each piece begins as a trapezoid; the leg piece then has an arch cut
out of the short (bottom) end to accommodate the arch of the foot; the foot piece is then fit into
the opening created by that arch and the back/bottom seam. The shapes of the pieces are

1 In fact, I made them to test out this method of drafting a hosen pattern.
 Figure 2: Hosen Pieces

Figure 3: Drawing of Extant Hosen

(Crowfoot & Staniland 2001, p. 188)

illustrated in Figure 2; Figure 3 shows an extant stocking for comparison. There are three seams
in each of these socks. The main seam runs along the back of the leg and under the heel to the
bottom of the arch; the foot of the stocking fits into the oval created from the cut arch and this
seam, as described above and pictured in Figure 4.
The process for assembling a pair of hosen consists of sewing the
bottom/back seam on the foot and the leg pieces separately, then fitting
and sewing the two tubes (leg and foot) together at the arch. The arch
seam and the back/bottom seam cross each other under the arch of the
foot, as can be seen in Figures 5 and 6; Figure 7 serves as a comparison
to the extant example. Once the two pieces are together, I shape the
toes. On this particular pair of hosen, there was not a lot of taper to the
foot piece and so I had to do a lot of shaping on the toes. I do this by
putting the sock on which I am working onto my foot inside out and
pinning along the edge of my toes.
I assembled these hosen by hand with linen thread. I used a
Figure 4: Assembled
combination of running stitch and back stitch; areas that take a lot of
Hosen, Inside Out
stress get back stitch exclusively and the rest gets running stitch with an
occasional backstitch for reinforcement. I finished the seams using a
“run and fell” technique; after stitching the main seam, I trimmed half of the seam allowance and
turned the remaining raw edge so that both raw edges are enclosed by the seam allowance. This
edge is then stitched down using a hemstitch. In addition to enclosing the raw edges, this serves
to reinforce the seams. I finished the top edge by turning a double-hem and stitching it down
with hemstitch. Because I was working with a thread that does not match the fabric, the
finishing stitches are visible; I made an effort to have them show as little as possible, but it’s not
possible to camouflage them completely.

Alianor de Ravenglas Woman’s Cut Hosen

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 Figure 6: Bottom of Hosen, Inside Out
Figure 5: Bottom of Hosen, Worn

Figure 7: Structure of Extant Hosen

(Crowfoot & Staniland 2001, p. 189)

Reflections
This was the first pair of hosen I made from a pattern based on measurements (as opposed to
a draped pattern). The fit is a bit looser than what I am used to wearing, especially in the foot
and the ankle. I have not yet decided if I will end up tailoring them a bit more closely. The
hosen are not comfortable to wear with modern shoes, but feel perfect when worn with
turnshoes.

Alianor de Ravenglas Woman’s Cut Hosen

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 Figure 8: Completed Hosen

Alianor de Ravenglas Woman’s Cut Hosen

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Sources Cited
Carlson, I. Marc. 1997. Hose: Type 4. Some Clothes of the Middle Ages. http://
www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/hstype4.html Accessed 28 May 2008.
Carlson, I. Marc. 1998. Hose: London. Some Clothes of the Middle Ages. http://
www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/london.html Accessed 28 May 2008.
Carlson, I. Marc. 2005. Hose. Some Clothes of the Middle Ages. http://
www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/hose.html Accessed 28 May 2008.
de Chimay, Maitresse Muriel. 2001. Personal Communication. Muriel described to me her
technique for making cut hosen.
de Chimay, Maitresse Muriel. 2006. Personal Communication. I watched Muriel cutting out a
pair of hosen for a customer and she described her method of patterning them to me.
Cockerell, Sydney C. 1969. Old Testament Miniatures: A Medieval Picture Book with 283
Painings From The Creation to The Story of David. New York: George Braziller.
Crowfoot, Elisabeth, Frances Pritchard, and Kay Staniland. 2001. Textiles and Clothing 1150 –
1450. London: Boydell.
Eustace, maistre Emrys. Sherts, Trewes, & Hose .i.:A Survey of Medieval Underwear. http://
www.greydragon.org/library/underwear1.html Accessed 28 May 2008.
Limbourg Brothers. 1413. February. Trés Riches Heures de Duc de Berry. http://
historymedren.about.com/od/booksofhours/ig/Tr-s-Riches-Heures/February---Tr-s-
Riches-Heures.htm Accessed 28 May 2008.

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