La Junta tribune., 1917-02-17
STORY OF THE STOCKING
BY Frank g. Carpenter

| of us have worn tam-o'- shanters
made of wool and many of our girls
have had, ! dare say, knitted caps
as bright colored as that of Little
| Red Ridinghood. When out shedding
or skating on cold day. there is
nothing equal to mittens; and no
stockings will keep ones feet so
warm as the thick wooden ones knit
ted by hand. Formerly all the stock
! ings used in the United States We're
made at home. writes Frank G.
| Carpenter in How the World is
| Clothed" Girls were taught to knit
about as soon as they could hold the
needles; and at the time OF the Revo-
lutionary War, many of our girls OF
eight or ten years were able 20 make
their own stockings and mittens. The
young women of that time made such
things to sell; and every woman was
supposed to have knitting needles in
! her hands when she was not doing
something else.
This is the condition in many
countries today. In some parts of
Europe, the men OF the poorer classes
knit; and the Scotch shepherds,
watching their flocks. make stock
tfngs, as. aided by their collie dogs,
they keep the sheep in order.
Knitting is supposed to have been
invented in Scotland. That country
| is cold and damp in winter and warm
clothing is needed. The people had
stockings made OF skins and cloth
long before the invention of knitting.
After knitting was invented, such
garments grew more and more pop
ular. They came into use through
out England, and gradually found
their way across the channel TO
France and to other parts OF Europe
The letters of Queen Elizabeth show
that she once wore cloth stockings
and that. she was greatly delighted
when one of her subjects knit her
pair OF stockings of silk, saying thai
she would wear no other kind there
after.
Knit goods soon grew SO popular
| that men began to invent machines to
make them. II was during the
reign of Queen Elizabeth that Will
lam Lee invented the stocking frame
by which knitting was done by many
many needles. all working at once
The Queen praised him for his in
genuity. but refused to grant him a
patent. She also discouraged the use
OF the machines. because. she said
they would take away the means OF
living OF many of her poor subjects
who were making stockings by hanis
After that there were other in
ventions for the production of var
ious kinds of knit goods. and along
about 1916 the first circular knit
ting machine was made. A few years
later steam was applied to such me-
chinery. and now there are great fac
tories. which knit not only stockings,
mittens, and caps. but all sorts OF
underwear. and Jerseys, sweaters.
and garments OF almost every des-
cription.
In modern machine knitting, all
sorts OF materials. from the finest
1 silk to the coarsest wool. are en-
ployed and the product is enormous.
We might visit such factories in
many parts OF our country. We
should find the machinery alone far
different from that OF the spinning
and weaving mills. and II Il so com
plicated as to be difficult TO under
! stand without seeing H. The stitches
are made by machines in much the
same way as In knitting by hand.
although they are more perfect and
even, a larger number OF needles be-
ing used for each article. a small
sized stocking. made OF fine yarn. In
knit In a cylinder containing about
so needles: and II the stocking Is
to be larger. more needles are used.
In starting the work the knitting be-
gins at the top Of the stocking, and
the leg Is shaped by u regulator by
which II can be made larger or small
er without stopping. There Is another
arrangement which enables the knit
tiers to make the heel OF double
thickness II desired. and also TO knit