Guide
Height and weight both matter. Here is how the A/B/C/D/Q grid really works.
Hosiery sizing is the only garment sizing that asks for your weight, and that puts people off. It is also the reason a correctly sized stocking fits better than almost anything else you own. Here is what the grid is doing and how to read yours off it.
A stocking has to stretch over a three-dimensional shape that changes diameter every few inches, from ankle to calf to knee to thigh. No single circumference measurement predicts that. Height tells the manufacturer how much length the leg needs; weight approximates how much girth it needs to accommodate along the way. Together they get closer than a waist measurement ever could, which is why the industry standardised on them decades ago and never moved.
The grid is not a judgement and it is not a dress size. It is an engineering input.
| Size | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| A | 4'10"–5'3" | 90–125 lb |
| B | 5'3"–5'7" | 110–150 lb |
| C | 5'6"–5'11" | 135–175 lb |
| D | 5'8"–6'1" | 160–200 lb |
| Q | 5'0"–5'11" | 190–250 lb |
| Q+ | 5'2"–6'2" | 240–320 lb |
Find the row where both your height and your weight fall inside the range. That is your size. Most people land cleanly in one row.
This happens constantly, and there is one rule: size up.
A stocking under excessive tension is thinner, sheerer than advertised, and dramatically more likely to ladder. Stretched nylon has less recovery, so it sags at the knee within an hour. It also sits lower at the waist and creeps down all day. A stocking with slightly too much fabric does none of that — the worst outcome is a small amount of ankle bunching, which is a cosmetic problem rather than a structural one.
If you are tall for your weight, size up on the height column. If you are heavier for your height, size up on the weight column. Height is the harder constraint of the two: a stocking that is genuinely too short cannot be fixed, while one that is generous in the body will still wear well.
Q and Q+ are not scaled-up versions of C and D. A properly made plus-size stocking is knitted at a higher stitch density, because the same yarn spread over more leg would otherwise deliver less opacity than the packet claims. It also uses a wider, higher-recovery waistband and often a differently proportioned gusset.
Manufacturers who simply grade a standard pattern upward produce a garment that is sheerer than stated, rolls at the waist and fails early. This is the single most common failure in extended-size hosiery, and it is worth asking any brand directly whether their Q sizes are separately engineered. Ours are, and every extended size is fit-checked on a model before it goes on sale.
Thigh-highs and hold-ups add a variable the grid does not capture: thigh circumference at the point where the band sits, usually four to six inches below the crotch. Measure there, relaxed, standing.
| Thigh at band | Take |
|---|---|
| Under 20" | Your grid size, or one down if between |
| 20"–25" | Your grid size |
| 25"–30" | Your grid size, wide-band styles |
| Over 30" | Q/Q+ with a suspender belt rather than silicone |
Silicone bands hold by friction against skin, and friction has limits. Past roughly 30 inches the honest answer is that no hold-up will stay up reliably all day, and a six-strap suspender belt with proper stockings is the better garment. That is a physics problem, not a sizing failure.
Unopened hosiery can be exchanged for thirty days. Opened cannot — that is a health regulation rather than a policy choice. So the sensible move on a brand you do not know is to buy one pair, wear it, then buy the six-pack once you have confirmed the size.
Once you know your size in a given style, it stays stable. Hosiery sizing does not drift the way apparel sizing does, and a pair that fits this year will fit next year.