standard leave the factory; it is the work of the Inspection and Mending departments to ensure that they do not.

Inspection really begins while the stockings are still on the machine and before the knitting has completed, but the term “Inspection Department” is usually taken as referring to the section of the factory where the rough or “grey” stockings are checked. The stockings are still in their original undyed condition but are finished in every other way. The faults that may be found in a stocking are various and consequently the methods of inspection differ according to the type of flaw that is being looked for.

In the inspection department the stockings are first drawn over skeleton leg forms and any holes or flaws are easily picked out by the skilled inspectors. These are marked with wax crayon and dealt with later in the Mending department. The stockings are also placed over expanding “legs”.