Knitting

Knitting workshops are indescribably noisy places and the machines are immensely complicated and of fantastic size. Some machines are designed to knit one stocking at a time, but far more common, is the machine built for knitting 30 or 32 stockings simultaneously.

It takes approximately 45 minutes to knit a fully-fashioned stockings and the knitter is kept constantly alert checking the yarn tension and the condition of the fabric as it is knitted.

The temperature and humidity of the knitting shops must be kept at exactly the right point for the type of stocking being made. The medium gauge stocking requires a lower temperature than the finer gauge.

The cones are placed in enclosed cases at the back of the knitting machines; from these cases the yarn is drawn through moistening troughs and over glass wiping rods to ensure the required moisture content. Even the slightest irregularities in yarn moisture are eliminated to prevent serious and frequent breakdowns.

Thermostatic control is invariably used in the knitting workshops, where variations in temperature can have a serious effect on the machines, which,