As the inspection is entirely visual, the human element plays a big part in permitting sufficient accuracy of judgment. This also applies to instep-matching, where a stocking is made on two machines, a “legger” and a “footer”. With the advent of the heel-less machine (heel tabs are knitted on afterwards) and the three-carrier feeders, the observation of silk variation is cut to a minimum.

Silk fibre irregularities are classified into five groups. Each group and photograph shows an imperfection up to and including:-

The whole of the stocking (length 30" from heel-linking, or looping) is divided into four areas for the purpose of classification:-

Area A. Covers the welt of the stocking (length 4").

Area B. Includes the area from 20" above the heel-linking to the welt (length 6").

Area C. Covers the area from 8" above the heel-linking to a point 20" above the heel-linking (length 12").

Area D. Covers the balance of the stocking, including the foot.

For grading inspection purposes only, stockings are divided into two styles by weight—sheer and heavy. This latter class includes both semi-service and service weights, tabulated as follows:-

Manufacturers have found out that the colour of the stocking has a marked effect upon the appearance of an imperfection, and, therefore, it is necessary to take a standard colour, i.e., Mistbeige character, and