The stocking frame was one of the first technological developments in the textile industries, dating from the reign of the first Queen Elizabeth. It was probably invented in the East Midlands, but certainly knitted garments became one of the main products of the region from the seventeenth century onwards.
The frame was intended for use in the home and the whole family was involved, the men worked the frame while their wives and children wound bobbins and seamed stocking.
This book explains how the stocking frame worked, describes the lives of the knitters and illustrates the kinds of buildings in which knitting was done. Since the hosiery industry was the last of the textile industries to mechanise, many of these family workshops remain.
There are some interesting places to visit both in Britain and Europe where the hand process is still demonstrated.
Contents:
The art of knitting
The growth of the framework knitting
The organisation of the industry
Social consequences
Houses and workshops
The hosiery factory
Further reading
Places to visit
