During the Middle Ages, socks grew in length to cover the whole leg and become known as stockings. Garters, or bands, were placed over the top of them to prevent them from falling down. In , an English clergyman called William Lee invented the first stocking frame knitting machine. Its main principles are still used in modern-day knitting machines and its creation enabled the mass production of knitted stockings and socks. Lee sent a pair of knitted stocking to Queen Elizabeth I in the hope of securing her patronage.
However, the monarch was horrified by the crude design of the machine-manufactured stockings and declined to give the project her approval. Over time, the Huguenots spread the word of the knitting machine throughout Europe, ensuring their appeal across the entire continent. The History of Socks Posted on August 31 When were socks invented? Some of the earliest socks were toe socks so people could wear socks with sandals.
Fashion faux pas, or nah? How have socks evolved? King Henry VII in 15th century rocking some fancy knee-highs. Source The poor, however, continued using the methods Ancient Greek and Roman people used to keep their feet safe and dry.
An example of knitted socks from around the 11th century. Possibly made in Egypt. When were Knee High socks invented? An example of early knee socks from around the 17th. Source Fast forward to now, a day and age where a lot of people use socks to express their identity. Most of the time, however, your feet love the cozy feeling inside a pair of socks.
In the winter months, socks help to keep your feet nice and toasty. Socks also help prevent your shoes from causing blisters. No one knows for sure. But evidence shows that ancient civilizations made socks from many materials. The ancient Greeks, for example, used matted animal fur. The ancient Romans preferred to wrap leather or thick fabric around their feet.
The ancient Egyptians knitted their socks. By the year 1, CE, socks had become a symbol of wealth. Only the rich members of the noble classes could afford handcrafted silk or cotton stockings. Others had to make do with rough wool socks.
Things changed for the better when English reverend William Lee invented the knitting loom in No longer did socks have to be made by hand. Socks took another leap forward in the late 19th Century. Thanks to the Industrial Revolution , socks were soon being mass-produced for prices that most everyone could afford.
In the 20th century, new materials came along. Many of them became popular for making socks. Today, you can find socks in a variety of synthetic materials, such as nylon, polyester, and spandex. Of course, you can still find plenty of cotton and wool socks, too. No, really! Do you like how they keep your feet warm? How about all the colorful patterns they come in?
Are you ready to have some fun with socks? Find a friend or family member to help you check out the following activities:. You ate a sock?? How did that happen? No one was ashamed to show off their tights-clad legs in public; they were more of an outerwear item than nowadays. At this time in our history of socks, they were made of colorful silk, velvet, and wool and each leg was a different color!
Perhaps this partially explains why we love our special-edition patterned socks --which interweave different-colored threads harmoniously --so much. A new tartan sock could be created to mix threads marking the marriage of one family with another, or the conquering of territory By the 16th Century, hosiery was regulated.
Laws in the s were in place to ensure that no one wore the wrong kind of socks in London, England--yes, they really had the sock police! In , an English clergyman named William Lee helped push the history of socks much further down the evolutionary line. That was when the first knitting machine was invented. So she nixed it--but financial support came to Lee from a very different source and location.
The knitting loom led to more factories across Europe and saw socks made of wool for the working class and socks made of colored silk for noblemen. You could say the product was now spreading like wildfire, and this marked the beginning of rudimentary automated sock manufacturing that would quickly lead to the enormous variety of patterns and colors we have today.
Sock fashion continued to evolve over the next few years. Not only were lengths changing — from mid-calf to knee and eventually up to mid-thigh — but more colors were coming into fashion. Rather than having the tops of the stocking embroidered, decorations, stripes and all kinds of new looks became the norm. Then in the 17th-century, cotton was used for socks. The abundance of this natural material allowed every style of sock and every shade, from the naturals like white, black and beige , through bright colors and deep reds and burgundies.
Enter the Industrial Revolution. This was when progress of all kinds took a major leap. The production of socks was now happening with ease thanks to circular looms.
Many hand-knit workers were replaced by machinery that could churn out socks at a much faster rate than the workers could. It also brought wider access to socks of all kinds. At this time in the history of socks, trousers once again got longer and socks got shorter--and what had formerly been known as a stocking was now being called a sock. But the evolution of this garment did not stop there. In , the invention of nylon introduced a whole new element to many clothing items.
A nylon-cotton blend was what the new socks of the day were made out of. These material blends pushed the manufacturing of these products further into the future. The addition of elastane, or elastic, ended up changing the future of socks once again to where they could be comfortably worn without the need of garters.
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