ClipArt ETC
"In the year 1589 the stocking-frame, the machine which mechanically produces the looped stitch in hosiery, was invented by the Rev. William Lee, a graduate of Cambridge, and native of Woodborough, near Nottingham. The fundamental principle of the apparatus consists in the substitution of a seperate hooked or barbed needle for the support and working of each loop, in place of the system whereby an indefinate number of loops are skewered on one or more wires or needles. At R is seen a thread of yarn passed over the needle stalks and within the terminal hooks. The yarn, it will be observed, is waved or depressed between each pair of needles, whereby sufficient yarn is secured to form the seperate loops of uniform size, and thus produce a regular equal fabric." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Hosiery

"In the year 1589 the stocking-frame, the machine which mechanically produces the looped stitch in hosiery,…

A short stocking reaching a point between the ankle and the knee.

Boot Sock

A short stocking reaching a point between the ankle and the knee.

A close-fitting, usually knitted covering for the foot and leg made from nylon, silk, cotton, wool, and similar yarns.

Christmas Stocking

A close-fitting, usually knitted covering for the foot and leg made from nylon, silk, cotton, wool,…

"An improvement of great importance in the hosiery trade was effected through the invention of the tumbler needle, patented by Mr. M. Townsend in 1858. The tumbler needle consists of a stem somewhat bulged near the point. The bulged part contains a groove in which there is hinged a short pin. The pin is so placed that, when turned to the hooked or curved point, its own point falls into a spoon-like indent, thus forming a smooth metal loop." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Tumbler Needle

"An improvement of great importance in the hosiery trade was effected through the invention of the tumbler…