KENYA STANDARD      KS 583: 20 20 
ICS 61.020  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Socks  — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© KEBS 2020          Fourth Edition  2020  
 
 
 KS 583: 2020  
 
ii  © KEBS 2020  — All rights reserved   
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
 
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee : 
 
 
Kenya Industrial Research and Dev elopment Institute (KIRDI)  
Egerton University — Department of Applied Community Development Studies  
Technical University of Kenya  
Kenyatta university  
Ministry of Defense -Research and development  
Consumer Information Network  
Sumitomo  
Pest Control Board of K enya  
Spin Knit  
Alpha Knits  
Kamyn Industries  
Achelis  
Sun Flag Textile & Knit wear Mill s Ltd.  
Ken Knit  
Spinners & Spinners  Kenya  
Ministry of Defense Research & Development  
Fashion Council of Kenya  
The N ational Training Institute (NITA)  
Kenyatta University  
Ministry of Health  
Kenya Association of Manufacturers  
Ministry of Industrialization and Enterprise Development  
Kenya Bureau of Standards  — Secretariat  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
 
In order to keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya Standards sh all be regularly reviewed. 
Suggestions for improvements to published standards, addressed to the Managing Director, Kenya 
Bureau of Standards, are welcome.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 2020  
 KENYA STANDARD        KS 583: 2020  
ICS 61.020  
  
© KEBS 2020 — All rights reserved   iii Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Secti on 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 130  of 2001  of the Laws of Kenya, copyright 
subsists in all Kenya Standards and exc ept as provided under Section 25  of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau of 
Standards may be reproduced, stored in a retrie val system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in writing 
from the Managing Director . 
 
 
 
 KS 583: 2020  
 
iv  © KEBS 2020  — All rights reserved   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Socks — Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS)  
 
Head Office: P.O. Box 54974, Nairobi -00200, Tel.: (+254  020) 605490, 602350, Fax: (+254 020)  604031  
E-Mail: info@kebs.org, Web:http://www.kebs.org  
 
Coast Region     Lake Region      Rift Valley Region  
P.O. Box 99376, Mombasa -80100   P.O. Box 2949, Kisumu -40100        P.O. Box 2138, Nakuru -20100  
Tel.: (+254  041) 229563, 230939/40  Tel.: (+254 057) 23549, 22396        Tel.: (+254 051) 210553, 210555  
Fax: (+254  041) 229448    Fax: (+254 057) 21814  
 
 
 KENYA STANDARD        KS 583: 2020  
ICS 61.020  
  
© KEBS 2020 — All rights reserved   v  
Foreword  
 
This Kenya Standard was prepared by the Technical Commi ttee on Knitted Fabrics  under the guidan ce of 
the Standards Projects Committee , and it is  in accordance with the procedures of the Kenya Bureau of 
Standards.  
 
A variety of socks are manufactured locally from a variety of textile fibres mainly nylon, polyester, wool, 
acrylic, cotton and their ble nds. This standard is intended to harmonize socks sizes and stipulate minimum 
quality requirements for socks of the specified sizes.  
 
This fourth edition cancels and replaces the Third edition ( KS 583:2017 ) which has been technically revised.  
  
During the  preparation of this standard, reference was made to the following documents : 
 
IS 5084:1990 , Socks, nylon — Specification . 
 
SLS 400:1976 , Specification for nylon stretch socks. 
 
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance received from these sources.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
KENYA STANDARD         KS 583: 2020  
 
 
© KEBS 2012 — All rights reserved       1  
 
Socks  — Specification   
 
 
 
1 Scope  
 
This Kenya Standard specifies the quality and other requirements for seamless socks knitted in plain, rib or 
fancy stitches.  
 
2 Application  
 
This s tandard applies to seamless socks manufactured from nylon, polyester,  wool, acrylic, cotton and/or 
their various blends.  
 
3 Normative references  
 
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes 
requirements of this document. For dated references, onl y the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
 
KS 207 -2, Glossary of textile terms pertaining to defects in fabrics Part 2:  Knitted fabrics  
 
KS 415 , Glossary of terms  relating to hosiery  
KS 1113,  Specification for staple ya rns  
KS 1114, Specification for textured filament yarns  
KS 2062, Textiles —Yarns from packages — Determination of single end breaking force and elongation at 
break using constant rate of extension (C RE) tester -to be replace  
 
KS 2659,  Packaging of textile products — Code of practice  
 
KS ISO 105 C10, Textiles — Colour fastness Part C10: Colour fastness to washing with soap or soap with 
soda  
 
KS ISO 105 B02,  Textiles —Tests for colour fastness Part B02: Colour fastness to artificial light, Xenon arc 
fading lamp  
 
KS ISO 105 N02, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness Part N02: Colour fastness to peroxide washing  
 
KS ISO 105 X12, Textiles —Tests for colour fastness Part X12: Colour fastness to rubbing  
 
KS ISO  139, Textiles — Standard atmospheres for conditioning and testing  
 
KS ISO 1833 series Textiles —  Quantitative chemical analysis  
KS ISO 7211 -5 , Textiles  —woven fabrics  constuction  — Determination of linear density of yarn removed 
from fabric  by skein m ethod  
 
KS ISO 2061 , Textiles  — Determination of twist in yarns  — Direct counting method  
 
KS ISO 2076, Textiles — Man-made fibres — Generic names  
 
 
KS ISO 11827 Textiles - Composistion testing - Identification of fibres  KS 583: 20 20 
 
2  © KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved   
KS ISO 3758 , Textiles  — Care labeling code using symbols  
 
KS ISO 6938, Textiles — Natural fibres — Generic names and definitions  
 
KS ISO 8388 , Knitted fabrics  —Types  — Vocabulary  
 
KS ISO 11827, Textiles — Composition testing — Identification of fibres  
 
KS ISO 14632 -1, Textiles  —Method for dete rmination of certain aromatic amines derived from azo colorants  
Part 1 : Detection of the use of  certain  azo colorants  accessible with and without extracting the fibres  
 
KS ISO 1463 2-3, Textiles  — Method for determination of certain aromatic amines derived from azo colorants  
Part 3:  Detection of the use of the use of certain azo colorants which may release 4 -amino azobenzene  
 
KS ISO 16373 , Dyestuff  
Part 1:  General principles of testing coloured textiles for dyestuff identification  
Part 2:  General method for t he determination of extracted dyestuffs including allergenic and carcinogenic 
dyestuffs (method using pyridine -water)  
Part 3:  Method for determination of certain carcinogenic dyestuffs (method using triethylamine -methanol)  
 
KS ISO 16549, Textiles — Unevenn ess of textile strands  Capacitance method  
 
KS ISO 105 E04, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part E04: Colour fastness to perspiration  
 
4 Definitions  
 
For the purpose s of this standard, the definitions given in KS 415 and the following shall apply.  
 
4.1 
foot length  
the distance from the tip of the toe to the apex of the heel, that is the distance between C and O ( Figure 1 ) 
 rib length  
 
4.2 
leg length  
the distance from the top of the socks to the apex of the heel, that is the distance between A and O 
(Figure  1) 
 
4.3 
a batch of socks  
for the purpose of this standard, a batch of socks shall mean more than one pair of socks of the sam e type 
and size packed together  
4.4 Socks –The socks which are worn below the knee and above the ankle. These  include crew socks and 
ankle socks  
 KS 583: 20 20 
 
© KEBS 20 20— All rights reserved  3 
 
 
Foot length – Distance from C to O . 
 
Leg length – Distance from A to O . 
 
Figure 1  — Sock  
 
 
5 Types  
 
Depending upon the pattern of stitches, socks shall be of any one of the following three types:  
 
a) Plain-knitted;  
 
b) Rib-knitted; or  
 
c) Fancy -knitted  
 
d)         Terry knitted  KS 583: 20 20 
 
4  © KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved   
6 Requirements  
 
6.1 Fibre composition and proportion  
 
The socks shall be manu factured from yarns made from textiles fibres  described in KS ISO    6938       and 
KS ISO 2076. The f ibre c omposition and proportion of the textile fibres shall be tested and calculated  in 
accordance with KS ISO 11827 and KS ISO 1833, 1 -28. Where the yarn s used is a blend of two or more 
fibres, the fibre composition  and proportion  shall be as declared with a maximum tolerance of ± 5% . 
 
6.2 Yarns  
 
The yarns used shall comply with the requirements of KS 1113  and KS 1114 including the following 
characteristics:  
 
6.2.1 Breaking tenacity  
 
The breaking tenacity of the yarns used to knit the socks, calculated as a ratio of the breaking strength to 
linear density  in accordance with ISO 2062 shall be as given in T able 1 . 
 
6.2.2.1  Linear density  
 
The yarn linear density used to calculate the tenacity shall be determined from a yarn  from the socks in 
accordance with K S ISO 7211 -5  
 
 
 
6.2.2   Elongation  
        
The elongation of the yarns tested  at break shall be as given in T able 1 . 
 
6.2.4  3 Uneve nness  
 
The yarn unevenness of a single yarn when tested  from a package  in accordance with KS ISO 16549 shall 
comply with the  requirements of T able 2 . 
 
6.2.5   Twist  
 
6.2.5 .1 Direction  
 
The twist direction of the yarns shall be designated as either ’S  ’or ‘Z’ . 
 
6.2.5 .2 Coefficient of v ariation  
 
The coefficient of variation,  % of the yarn twist shall not be more than 5% when teste d in accordance with KS 
ISO 2061 . 
 
Table 1 —Tenacity and elongation requirements of yarns for socks  
 
S/N Yarn t ype Requirements  
 
Minimum  tenacity g/tex  Elongation at break %, 
min. 
i) Nylon 6 and 6,6  35.0 30.0 
ii) Polyester  32.0 27.0 
iii) Wool  28.0 20.0 KS 583: 20 20 
 
© KEBS 20 20— All rights reserved  5 iv) Acrylic  25.0 17.0 
v) Cotton  30.0 5.0 
      vi) Blends (See note )   
     vii) Elastic yarn for top 
portion of the sock   ˃ 450 
Test 
Method  KS ISO 2076,  KS ISO 
11827 and KS ISO 
1833,1,2,7,11,12,20,24 & 
25         ISO 2062  ISO 2062  
 
NOTE   The ratings of minimum tenacity (g/tex) and elongation at break (per cent) of the fibre blended yarn used 
in the blended socks, shall not  be less than those of the fibre component in the blend whose yarn has a lower 
rating in accordance with Table 1 i.e. in a nylon/wool or polyester/wool blend, the minimum tenacity and 
elongation at break of the yarn shall not be less than that of the woole n yarn as shown in Table 1.  
 
 
 
Table 2 — Yarn u neven ness 
 
S/N Yarn t ype Linear density , in 
tex CV% , max . U%, max . 
i) Nylon  [6;6,6] 10 – 70 3.5 – 0 2.8 – 0 
ii) Polyester  10 – 70 3 – 0 2.4 – 0 
iii) Acrylic  10 – 70 18 – 8 14.4 – 6.4 
 a) Wool  
b) Cotton  10 – 70 23.5 18.8 
15 – 70 19 – 9 15.2 – 7.2 
iv) Polyester/wool  10 – 70 23.5 – 14 18.8 – 11.2 
v) Polyester/cotton  10 – 70 15 – 12 12 – 9.6 
vi) Other blends  10 – 70 23.5 – 12 18.8 – 9.6 
vii) Elastic yarns  10 – 70 15 – 16 12 – 12.8 
 
 
6.3 Fabric s tructure  
       
The sock shall be of knitted structure  in accordance with KS ISO 8388.  
 
6.4 Manufacture  of socks  
 
6.4.1 The socks shall be knitted on circular machines.  The top of the socks shall be knitted in rib or plain 
stitches with covered rubber thread or any ot her suitable elastic yarn laid in; and the leg and instep shall be 
knitted in plain, rib or fancy stitches depending on the type of socks.  
 
6.4.2 The top portion of socks with covered rubber thread or any other suitable elastic yarn shall be not 
less than 25 mm.  
 
6.4.3  In case the covered rubber thread or any other suitable ela stic yarn is not used at the top of the 
socks, the top portion shall be knitted in a rib of not less than 80 mm and it shall be extended proportionally 
according to socks sizes.  
 
6.4.4 The heel and toe portions of the socks shall be knitted in plain stitches with splicing.  The splicing shall 
be uniform throughout and spliced portions free from creases and/or folds.  
 
6.4.5 The socks shall be securely joined at the toe.  The joining sh all be elastic, smooth and free from knots.  
It shall not give way when the socks are stretched to the full extent of the stretchability of the socks.  
 
6.4.6 The socks shall be free from manufacturing defects, such as mends, ladders, improper splicing and 
both dyeing and finishing defects as specified in KS 207 -2. KS 583: 20 20 
 
6  © KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved   
6.4.7  The dyed socks shall comply with  colour fastness requirements as given in Table 3 . 
 
6.4.8   The top of the ankle socks shall have ela stic with or without blister tab  
 
 
 
 
Table 3  — Colour fastness requirements  
 
S/N Colour fastness to  Numerical rating 
(min .) Test method  
i) Washing  Colour Change  4 KS ISO 105  C10 
Staining  4 
ii) 
 Perspiration  Acid 3 KS ISO 105 E 04 
Alkali  3 
iii) Light  5 KS ISO 105  B02 
iv) Rubbing  Dry 4 KS ISO 105  X12 
Wet 4 
v) Peroxide w ashing  4 KS ISO 105  N02 
 
 
6.5 Size 
 
6.5.1 The socks shall be grouped into five different sizes namely:  
 
a) Small  
 
b) Medium  
 
c) Large  
 
d) Extra l arge 
 
e) Free 
 
6.5.2  The size of socks shall be determined by both foot length and l eg length dimensions given in 
Table  3. 
 
6.5.3  The dimensions of both foot length and leg length shall be taken in accordance with A nnex  A. 
 
6.5.4 The free size shall be grouped further and designated numerical sizes whose size dimensions shall not 
be less  than t hose specified in Table 4 , Row ( v). The dimensions of subsequent sizes shall be  at intervals of  
at least 30 mm.  
6.5.5. The size of the ankle socks shall be determined by the foot length.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 4  — Size d imensions  KS 583: 20 20 
 
© KEBS 20 20— All rights reserved  7  
S/N Socks size  Foot le ngth  
(mm)  Leg length  
(mm)  Method of 
measurement  
i) Small  100 – 125 120 – 145 Annex A  
ii) Medium  130 – 155 150 – 175 “ 
iii) Large  160 – 185 180 – 205 “ 
iv) Extra l arge 190 – 215 210 – 225 “ 
v) Free Above 220  Above  230 “ 
 
NOTE  1  In every size as given  in Table 4 , there shall be an increase of no t less than 20  % in the  foot length and leg length 
dimensions of 100 % cotton socks and blended socks in which cotton is a higher proportion.  
 
NOTE 2  In every size as given in Table 4 and where  elastomeric yarn s e.g . spandex or lycra have been used in  not less than  5% fibre 
content  in the knitting  of  blended socks, there shall be an allowance of ± 10 % on foot length dimensions and leg length dimensions 
accordingly . 
  
 
 
7 Restricted c olourants  
 
Dyed socks shal l be free from colorants listed in KS  ISO 14632 parts 1 & 3 and KS ISO 16373 -2 & 3. 
Dyestuffs shall be identified in accordance with KS ISO 16373 -1. 
 
8 Marking  
 
Each pair of socks shall be marked with the following infor mation:  
 
a) Name/t rade mark of the m anufacturer;  
 
b) Fibre composition and proportion ; 
 
c) Size designation in accordance with  KS ISO 8559 -2 
 
d) Care instructions in accordance with KS ISO 3758 ; 
 
e)  Country of manufacture.  
 
9 Pack aging 
 
Socks shall be packaged in accordance with KS 2659 as follows:  
 
9.1  Each pair of socks shall be folded properly at the heel gore line so as to form two layers.  
 
9.2  Each folded pair shall be wrapped or placed in a suitable material  
 
9.3 A batch of pairs of socks or several batches shall be placed in a pack ing material of  suitable size 
which shall be secured properly.  
 
9.4 Each package containing a batch of socks or several batches shall have the following information 
which shall be indicated on the package, the swing ticket and/or accompanying documents:  
 
i) Name/trade mark of manufacture;  
 
ii) Number of pairs in each batch;  
 
iii) Total number of batches in the package;  and 
 
iv) Fibre composition and proportion . KS 583: 20 20 
 
8  © KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved   
10 Criteria for conformity  
 
Each pair of socks shall comply with  any of the requirements of this  Kenya Standard.  
 
 
 
 
 KS 583: 20 20 
 
© KEBS 20 20— All rights reserved  9  
Annex A 
(normative)  
 
Measurement of socks for size determination  
 
A.1 Conditioning of socks  
 
Before foot length and/or leg length dimensions are taken, the socks shall be condi tioned in accordance with 
KS ISO 139 . Take the measureme nts in an atmosphere similar to that used for conditioning.  
 
A.2 Sample sock preparation  
 
Take the conditioned sample sock to be measured.  Lay it flat on a smooth table.  Remove by hand all 
creases and wrinkles without stretching the sock.  
 
A.3 Measurement s 
 
A.3.1 Take the dimensions of both the foot length and leg length as defined in 4.1, 4.2 and Figure 1, both 
measurements to be taken correct to the nearest 5 mm.  
 
A.3.2 The pair shall be in compliance  with the requirements of Table 3 if none of the value s as determined 
in 4.1 varies from the specified value by more than the specified tolerance.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 KS 583: 20 20 
 
10  © KEBS 20 20 — All rights reserved   
 
Bibliography  
 
 
[1] Uster Statistics  
 
[2] Investigation of the physical and mechanical properties of fine polyester/Viscose -Elastic composite 
Rotor -spun yarn -Rastan Namiranian, S.Mohammed Etrait, Saeed Shalkahradeh Nafar