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How To Put On Pantyhose
Pantyhose Terminology
Fully Boarded hose is a process in which the completed pair of hose is
put through an
additional steaming. The legs are formed into the shape of the leg and
once pulled from
the package you will see that there is a front and back to the
pantyhose. Fully boarded
creates a much more comfortable fit especially at the foot and heel
section.
Semi Boarded hose goes through a steaming press but the shape of the
leg is not evident
in the leg. The pantyhose really does not have a front or back and the
foot and heel are not
formed resulting in just a straight tube like leg. Some hose are flat
boarded which you see
in this photo where the hose is pressed flat but still in a tube shape.
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Flat Seams are hand sewn for each pantyhose and this method
of seaming the panty portion together creates a much more
comfortable fit against the skin and prevents the ever dreaded
center seam from showing under clingy outfits. Found in the higher
quality range of pantyhose.
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Automatic Seams are sewn on machines using a full loop stitch.
As a result giving you a seam that is round and does not sit flat
to your skin. You will find these mostly in reinforced panty styles.
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Putting on pantyhose properly can greatly improve the comfort,
durability and performance
of the pantyhose. You are in fact wrapping your legs in a knitted
product that clings very
closely to your skin and is like no other garment because it has to
take shape to a very
large area of your body. All legs are shaped differently and pantyhose
needs to be able
to fit your legs perfectly to be comfortable for many hours of wear.
Now, let’s get to putting on your pantyhose!
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We recommend that you wear cotton or nylon gloves
while you are handling any sheer pantyhose. This is
your own discretion but we find that most snags and
pulls happen while you are putting the hose on. Take
off any rings and or bracelets is a good idea as well.
You will gather the leg up to the toe area by either
pulling them over your hands or using your index and
thumb to gather the hose to the toe
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Once you gather the hose to the toe you need to make sure the
toe seam is stretched between your thumbs horizontally
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Gently place your toes into the toe pocket of the hose making sure
you are leaving enough room to prevent squishing your toes. Again,
the toe seams must be horizontal across your toes, this will help
with the fit of the foot area as you pull the hose over your heel and
to keep the hose in line with the rest of the leg without any twisting.
When wearing reinforced toe, you will need to make sure all your toes
are within the reinforced yarn to fully benifit from the added
durability.
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As you pull the hose past your heels you want to make sure
that you are not pulling to hard that your toes are being forced
through the yarn. Most runs occur at this point with sharp toe
nails cutting the fine and overstretched yarn. To help prevent
this, you may want to place your foot on the floor with only
your toes touching and then pull the hose over your heel,
this will keep the hose in place at the toes.
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Continue to stretch the hose up your calf and to your knee and then
stop.
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Repeat the first step with the other leg by gathering
the hose to the toe and keeping in mind that the toe
seam has to be horizontal between your fingers.
As a side note, please observe the effect of fine hosiery
and what it does to the bare leg, wearing better pantyhose
always completes an outfit and brings life and elegance
to bare skin.
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Depending on your flexibility you
may find that the height in which you
pulled the hose on your first leg will
vary. You may find it more
comfortable to have the hose half
way up your calf before gathering
the second leg.
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Once you stretch the second leg to the same height as your first leg you
will then start to alternate between legs until you get to your mid
thigh. Being
cautious with the amount of pressure you place on the yarn is very
important
and it is very easy to poke your finger through the yarn. As you can
see in
this photo, the model’s right thumb is putting too much pressure on the
yarn.
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Please stand and continue to alternate between legs
until the yarn has no more length to it. You may find that
the gusset is not extending high enough and you may
want to just stretch the upper leg portion of the hose to
get that extra few inches. Don’t worry about your gusset
being too low at this point, just proceed to put the hose
over your hips and to your waist.
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As you can see in the photo the gusset is about an inch too low but not
to
worry, you will need to start at the bottom of the pantyhose to gain
that
inch and maybe the hose is twisted and just not sitting properly on the
leg
This is where most people find hose to be uncomfortable and the next
step will greatly improve the positioning of the hose.
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Change your gloves for a pair of basic latex or rubber gloves. They
will need
to have a textured palm, not smooth. Starting from the toes you can
actually
grip the hose by your palms and position the hose upward and around your
leg to perfectly position the yarn on every square inch of your legs
right up to
your waist.
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Until now you most likely were in the habit of just trying to pull the
hose
away from your skin and jabbing your fingernails into the yarn just to
get
a hold of it to pull the yarn up your leg and to position them. How
many
pairs of hose have you actually put on without taking one step in them
because you just put your nails or fingers through them?
Not only will you save many pairs of hose by using the rubber glove
technique but having your hose properly in place right off the bat will
make your long day of wearing pantyhose that much more comfortable.
The rubber gloves are a must when positioning support hosiery and
wearing
graduated compression hose properly will greatly improve the effects of
the blood circulation qualities especially at the feet and ankles where
the
compression is at it’s greatest.
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For some of you, putting on pantyhose has been a ritual for many years
and you may have
your own method of doing so but if you just picked up on just one new
tip from this page
then we hope you will use it and continue to wear fine hosiery in your
everyday dress.
Oh, and by the way, the hose used in this photo are Cette Brooklyn’s if
you were trying to
figure it out. Gorgeous, aren’t they?
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