Wool leg wrap's the easy way
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 5:24 pm
A while ago I saw this post by Cimrandir and I said I would make some, it took a little more experimentation than I originally expected to get it to work right, but I did and here's what I ended up with:
At first I used the string method of fastening but that had a habit of getting to tight to easily untie, so I switched to wide linen ties that I sewed on with a short tail on one side to make them quicker to fasten, they would probably benefit from being a darker color so I might change them. I also ended up cutting the wool rectangles a bit shorter than I originally made them because I had too many layers at my ankle to comfortably bunch up the fabric
Once I worked out the dimensions making these was seriously easy, they seem to work best with the width of the rectangle the same as the distance between your ankle and just below your knee/above calf muscle, and twice the width is the best length for it (or so it wraps about 1 ¾ way around your leg). The top tie needs to be above the calf so they don't slip down, much the same as fastening Viking leg wraps. The wool I used is a densely woven herringbone upholstery fabric (that the mill actually calls Darkdale, fitting I guess
) but anything would work providing it was reasonably stiff
And as for how well these work, I've tested them out compared to both Viking leg wraps and the leather gaiters I usually use with my kit:
And they work really well, I think that for the foreseeable future I'm sold on the idea, sometimes the simplest solutions are the best
Obviously they'll never be as waterproof, as abrasion resistant or as wind-proof as the leather gaiters (unless I make a leather set of them) and I have no clue how good they would be in snow but if I tie them with the ¼ that is only one layer of wool on the inside of my legs, there's two layers on most of the showing edges and water didn't get through very quickly. I quite like the lightness and breathability of the wool, and of course the lack of noise
In terms of functionality/warmth/durability/waterproofness etc.. they're identical to Viking leg wraps, but they're soooooo much faster to put on, they play better with modern footwear and can be tied over the outside of boots so the water doesn't run straight onto my feet, for me anyway these make Viking leg wraps almost completely redundant
And I think I'll be adding them to my modern hiking kit to
At first I used the string method of fastening but that had a habit of getting to tight to easily untie, so I switched to wide linen ties that I sewed on with a short tail on one side to make them quicker to fasten, they would probably benefit from being a darker color so I might change them. I also ended up cutting the wool rectangles a bit shorter than I originally made them because I had too many layers at my ankle to comfortably bunch up the fabric
Once I worked out the dimensions making these was seriously easy, they seem to work best with the width of the rectangle the same as the distance between your ankle and just below your knee/above calf muscle, and twice the width is the best length for it (or so it wraps about 1 ¾ way around your leg). The top tie needs to be above the calf so they don't slip down, much the same as fastening Viking leg wraps. The wool I used is a densely woven herringbone upholstery fabric (that the mill actually calls Darkdale, fitting I guess
) but anything would work providing it was reasonably stiffAnd as for how well these work, I've tested them out compared to both Viking leg wraps and the leather gaiters I usually use with my kit:
And they work really well, I think that for the foreseeable future I'm sold on the idea, sometimes the simplest solutions are the best
Obviously they'll never be as waterproof, as abrasion resistant or as wind-proof as the leather gaiters (unless I make a leather set of them) and I have no clue how good they would be in snow but if I tie them with the ¼ that is only one layer of wool on the inside of my legs, there's two layers on most of the showing edges and water didn't get through very quickly. I quite like the lightness and breathability of the wool, and of course the lack of noise
In terms of functionality/warmth/durability/waterproofness etc.. they're identical to Viking leg wraps, but they're soooooo much faster to put on, they play better with modern footwear and can be tied over the outside of boots so the water doesn't run straight onto my feet, for me anyway these make Viking leg wraps almost completely redundant
And I think I'll be adding them to my modern hiking kit to
