Nether garment tights from waaaaaay back when.

Yup.  Seriously. Handknit tights.  Knit circa the winter of 1993-94.  I must have been crazy.

Yarn is 4-ply machine washable wool blend sock yarn, likely purchased at Weaving Works.

Started in Seattle, I'm guessing, and then continued on the road while traveling for a couple of months during March and April 1994, from Seattle to Missoula to Boulder to St. Louis to Dallas/Ft Worth to Tempe to San Diego, taking a break from them during a week or two backpacking and camping halfway down Baja, and then again from San Deigo to Tempe to Durango.  I do remember knitting the second leg during the spring of 1994 while living out of a Subaru wagon and a tiny 2-person North Face Tadpole tent somewhere up Junction Creek outside of Durango, Colorado, waking up some mornings with new-fallen snow on the ground.

They've seen little actual wear over the years, although I remember wearing them once while job hunting that following fall, with Birkenstock sandals and a shorter pleated skirt.  Got a job making sandwiches at a deli and quit halfway through the first day, the only job ever where I didn't stick it out.

These have been packed away, unworn, most of the time since then, me never quite able to part with them after all the work that went into them.  Still, over the years, the left leg has developed a couple of holes (moths?) and a couple of ends have still never been sewn in.

I remember clearly that I counted and double checked rows meticulously while knitting these to make sure the legs matched, but the right leg turned out distinctly longer and looser and so it quickly sags into an elephant ankle after putting them on.  I can only guess that I must have been more relaxed while knitting that leg causing a much looser gauge?  Also, you can see the "laddering" between the needles down the tops of the feet which I tend not to get so much of now.

Pattern or rather, "pithy directions for tights, children and adults":  Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac, the September chapter, "Nether Garments", still the best knitting book around, IMO, and one of the least expensive at $7.95 today and only $3.99 when I bought my copy waaaay back in in 1991.

It appears that I knit these from the ankle up, k1,p1 ribbing, leaving out the waist ribbing, eyelets, and i-cord tie.  There's a line at the ankle where the stitches jog sideways by half a stitch, where I must have unpicked the cast on edge, put the stitches back on the needles, and added the feet on, knitting them top down from there.

Today I wore these for the first time in years under a pair of cargo pants and was sooooo cozy warm on such a chilly, wet, and windy spring day.  They conveniently sit low enough to not peek out over the top of of today's lower riding pants.

Incredible what a couple of warmer days and one rainy morning can do for the greening up the grasses. 

Back home this evening, sun shining out from under a layer of clouds as it started to set, I cracked open the Knitter's Almanac and came across this from EZ herself:

  "...even the shy housewife likes to slip them on under her slacks to go to the store on exceptionally cold days.  I have been known to pull them on under a housedress, add boots, my warm coat, and woolly cap and mittens, and trot comfortably to the A&P, looking (almost) like everybody else."

Debating what to do with these now that I've rediscovered them:  cut and finish them off above the knees and wear them like a pair of knicker length longies under skirts?  Or, darn the holes and wear them under pants,  patched up holes and elephant ankles notwithstanding?  I'm leaning towards the latter.  They still fit great other than the bagginess at one ankle.  Any thoughts?

Has anybody else knit these?  Oh, wait, here at Ravelry, of course, and this pair on Flickr, so amazing and extraordinary that they almost make me woozy.

And, because I know someone will ask:  they're Keen Calistoga in Rum Raisin (and now they come in a some new colors, Deep Lichen green and Flamingo orange.  Carnelian red are quite nice, too.  Dang.)

Comments

[sue]

I'm-so-in-awe-of-everything-you-do,knitting-
and-otherwise!And-I'm-not-a-knitter(yet)so-I-
don't-know-if-this-is-a-realistic-suggestion,
but-maybe-you-could-cut-off-the-feet-around-
the-ankle-and-turn-them-into-footless-tights?

Lovin'-your-blog!Enjoy-your-spring!

:)

[Melody]

Wow- Handknitted tights just blow my mind and they look so "store bought"... I have the same keens and I love them... wear them every single day. Trying to justify a second pair because mine are starting to get a little to worn to wear for "good".

[t]

I have those same shoes, two pair actually, one in black and one in tan. They didn't have rum raisin when I bought mine, and now I am wanting a pair. I have your Imelda tendencies! :)

[Elizabeth]

I'd mend them and wear them under pants. Now call ME crazy but I'd actually consider making these. I love long stretches of repetitive knitting on small needles, very rhythmic and soothing.
That Fair Isle pair is amazing! (Wouldn't try those, though)
Keens are always tops in my book. Must go check out the new colours...

[femiknitter]

Definitely keep them! There is so much work and love in those, it would make me sad to see them go to a home that would not appreciate that. I would darn the wholes and shorten that leg so as to avoid the slouching ankle (cut the sock, unravel some rows, then graft the two together). It does involve some knitting surgery, but I suspect you would be happier in the end.

[April-Lyn]

Darn them! :) You definitely can't let all that work go to waste! They're beautiful! And the elephant ankles are charming the way they are - a touch of your knitting history. Although femiknitter's suggestion of knitting surgery to shorten the leg isn't a bad one either.

The shoes are adorable, too. I might have to find myself a pair when my budget allows for a new pair of pricey shoes again. But which color? They're all gorgeous.

Oh, also, great legs. :)

[meg]

Those are way too amazing to cut up! I am for patching them (and maybe using femiknitters suggestion). They're absolutely charming, so even with patches, they'd look great.

[Carrie]

You could always cut that right side and unravel a bit to relieve the elephant ankle AND fix that hole. I love the idea of hand-knit tights, though I doubt I'd ever knit them or have a reason to wear them in AZ.
Thanks for the shoes, too. I was just this morning thinking that I really really need some new shoes - the $10 payless pair I've been wearing for 6 years needs a little break.

[kate]

Wow!! I can't even wrap my brain around knitting a pair of socks, let alone tights. You are my knitting hero; I bow down to you!

And I was thinking the same thing April-Lyn said: you have great legs! :)

[Michelle]

I've always wondered how those would knit up.
Love that color and with those keens...they rock!

[Jill]

Definitely mend them and wear as often as you can! I have EZ's "Nether Garments" on my must-knit list for late summer to gift to the youngest dd on her 9th bday in the fall. I am so happy you shared yours with us, they are an inspiration. :o) Love the green, btw.

[Julia]

Those are awesome. I vote for darning them and keeping them as tights, because that is just so unique - very you. I know this is a pain in the patootie, but you could snip out the ankle and redo it to be more fitted. It would honestly probably only take about three evenings of knitting, and then they would be perfect and see more use.

[kate]

No! Don't cut them up! All that work...I vote for mending them and wearing as-is. I love them and would dearly love to make some for my daughter and myself, but I'm pretty tall and the task seems daunting. You've inspired me. Maybe I'll give it a whirl this coming winter.

[Jennifer]

I don't know if I'm in awe of you and your amazing handknit tights... or afraid to know that you actually attempted such an endeavor. WOW1 I would never part with a huge undertaking like this. They look awesome with the Keens.

[alison]

Amazing. I think you did very well to finish them and I bet they're warm as toast. I wouldn't have finished the other leg, my interest would have long since legged it.

[Celina]

Wow, that was a lot of work you did. And you need long underwear, so I'd keep them. The color is great & you did work so hard on them. You could just patch the holes with cloth as a "holding measure" for when you get the time to fix them.
I found my copy of this EZ book a week ago, I thought I'd lost it in the moves & was so sad. I love her chatty style, it was her books that really started me knitting.
Celina

[Melissa]

Ha! I love them! I am almost finished with a pair of longies for my husband to wear as thermals when he goes hunting. His have a little strip of elastic that goes under the feet like stirrups. I'm at the waist and they look great. I'm planning on putting in a hem with elastic. I'm thinking in honor of EZ with colorwork on the inside that says "Machine wash, tunble dry low MFP 2008" (because they are superwash wool) I'll be sure to put a pic on my blog! After seeing yours though I want a pair for myself.

[jeni]

keep 'em long! They look so cosy. Maybe you could put them in the freezer for a little while in case of longering moths?

[di]

Oh my- Wow. So much time and care! It's amazing what you can create when you use your time a little more constructively than we tend to these days. So sad they haven't been worn much. Although I like the bloomer idea I don't think I could bear to frog or cut off all that knitting...

[Knittiak]

Wow! These are so cool! Leave them as they are! (You can fix the holes.) Wear them often!

[Erin]

Wonderful. I would darn them and keep them how they are, baggy ankle and all. I love tights.

[Kate]

Thanks so much for posting these! I love moss stitch, so I'm thinking k1p1 rib for miles would be pretty much the same. I can't believe no one has yet said-- they still fit 15 years later??!! You are living right!