How Are Cotton Socks Made?

Knitting

Construction of commercial and handmade cotton socks is essentially the same basic process. The yarn is selected according to the use of the socks. Fine cotton is used in dress socks, and rough-hewn, rawer cotton is selected for sport socks. Socks are knitted on circular needles. The circular cylinders of commercial knitters are programmed to make patterns, using various yarns, in a rapid flurry of yarn that is fed onto the hundreds of individual needles in machines. Home knitters select needles to match the various parts of the sock. The needle used at the calf section is usually larger than the one used at the heel, toe and top of the sock. While machines knit a sock every few minutes, hand knitting may take days to make an elaborately decorated sock.

Hand crafters may leave the rear calf (or heel) of the sock open to be sewn after the sock is completed. Commercial companies rely on humans to sew the seams at the toe and the sole of the sock. Conveyor belts move the sock quickly along the production line as sewing machine operators pick up the delivery and quickly use a serger machine to finish both the top and bottom of the seam so that it doesn't unravel over the life of the sock. Sergers also loop the finishing yarn seamlessly so that the extra yarn doesn't bind inside the shoe.

The next step in commercial sock production is to wash and dye the socks. Home construction usually skips this step since the knitter selects yarn that has already been commercially dyed, but both knitting processes use steam to create a sock with a quality fit. Commercial production uses the term "boarding," while hand knitters call this "blocking." Both processes use a small amount of water to add moisture to stretch the sock to fit on a foot form. Commercial forms are sized so that the sock will be a uniform fit. Home knitters must measure the sock to ensure a particular size is met. From the commercial steam machine, the socks are dried on assembly-line foot forms. Pairs of socks must match, and home knitters must hand match each sock. Commercial lines automatically match socks since they are formed on standardized, identical wire frames. Home blocking is usually done on a flat surface.

Once the commercial sock has been paired, it is folded. This is usually by a hand worker. The sock is then placed in the retail packaging. This may be a plastic bag or simply insertion of a hang tag with a hangar for use in a store. The packaging, in the largest plants, is done mechanically by a programmed piece of machinery that may handle thousands of pairs in a day.