HOSIERY AND KNIT GOODS IN DUSTRIES IN THE UNITED STATES. Most of the history of the hosiery industry re lates to inventions of knitting machinery. The first knitting machine, invented in 1589 by Wil liam Lee, an Englishman, knit a complete course at one operation. His machine had hooked, spring needles, which are still generally used. In Europe nearly all hosiery is knit on machines, the original type of which was patented in England by William Cotton, in 1864. These machines have fiat frames and spring needles. The leg is knit on a legger, usually of 18 sections, each section knitting one stock ing, and the foot on a footer, usually of 20 sections. The fabric is knit fiat, varying in width to fit the slopes of the foot and leg. On the top of ladies' stockings is knit a welt. The toe and heel are closed by a looping machine, the sole and back of the leg by a sewing machine. The product is called full fashioned hosiery.
A circular machine, invented by Decroix, in France, in 1798, did not come into general use. A latch needle was invented in 1847, by Matthew Townsend, of England, who died in America. Many knitting machine inventions have been made by Americans, and this is true especially as to machines for knitting seamless hosiery. Such a machine was patented, in 1860, .by William Goddard, of New York; and im proved machines, largely automatic, were in troduced, in 1889, by Branson & Son, of Phila delphia. Seamless hosiery is produced by latch needles on small, circular machines, which revolve with great rapidity. The finest quality is knit on machines with 21% needles to the inch, making that many stitches per inch. The ribbed part of half-hose and children's socks, full-fashioned or seamless, is knit on a ribbing machine, and then transferred to the machine which completes the knitting process. Sewing machines close the toe and make the welt of seamless hosiery. With seamless machines hosiery is knit which, shaped to some extent by loose or tight tension, does not conform so closely to the ankle and leg as full-fashioned hosiery, but the cost of production is consider ably less. One skilled man and a boy attend two full-fashioning leggers or one footer, while one comparatively unskilled operator attends as many as 15 to 20 machines knitting plain seam less hose for ladies. The quantity produced is
much greater per operative on seamless ma chines than on full-fashioning machines. The operatives in mills manufacturing both hosiery and other knit goods are mostly women; opera tives on full-fashioning machines are men ex clusively, and on seamless machines women.
Inventions have made seamless machines more and more automatic. By 1910 there were in use machines that had five or six self-acting yarn changes, by which it became possible to Insert a finer yarn on the top of the foot, in the instep and on the lower part of the leg than in other portions of the fabric, to insert heavy strong yarn in the toe and heel and to reinforce them, also to make horizontal stripes. With these machines silk or artificial silk can be plaited on cotton, and an anti-run' back course knit to prevent raveling from garter tears. By a new Invention, the welt is knit on seamless hose•, by another, seamless half-hose, includ ing the ribbed part, is knit on one machine; by another, perfectly fashioned seamless hosiery. with closed toe, is knit on a machine, which is neither flat nor circular, but more like the former type; all of these being recent Amen can inventions, which, on account of restrined patent rights, are not yet in general use.
While hosiery manufactured in Euror nearly all full-fashioned, some circular maclum for knitting seamless hosiery were exported from America to European countries before the European War began In 1914, some even to Germany, until then the largest hosiery manu facturing country in the world, and some to Japan and China. While the domestic product is mostly seamless, the desire of well-to-do Americans for the best fitting hosiery has led in recent years • to a great increase in the domestic production of the full-fashioned kind. especially in silk. The full-fashioned product has been knit on flat machines of the Cotton type, most of which were imported from Ger many, the remainder from England. In 1898 or earlier, however, full-fashioned machines of American invention were used in the United States. Such machines are simpler than those made abroad.