How Socks Are Manufactured

Have you ever wondered how socks are manufactured?  The production process of clothing can be rather interesting at times.  The majority of clothing is produced by taking fabric and then sewing it.  But that is only a very small portion of the story.

Not all socks are manufactured the same exact way.  Mills & clothing factories have various techniques as well as different machinery.  However, the majority of sock factories utilize knitting machinery to manufacture socks.

Here is one example of how socks can be produced.

This example is from Mayo Knitting Mill Incorporated. 

The knitting machine has a cylinder that has 84 to 200 knitting needles surrounding it. The yarn is feed into the knitting machine and is knitted around the cylinder. The sock is knitted with the toe open. The toes in the sock are then sewed on automatic sewing machines.  Once the toe is sewn the sock is called a "greige" sock. (learn more about how the greige term is used in the fashion industry.) The socks are dyed in large dye machines. The socks then go to the "Boarding Department". The socks are slid onto metal foot that travels into a heated chamber. This gives the sock its final shape. You can think of the boarding machine as a large iron. The socks are individually inspected for defects and then are paired together. Labels and packaging are then put on the pairs of socks.

Again, above is an example from one sock factory.  Other suppliers use different methods.

Smart Wool sock factory

You can learn about other sock manufacturers from the links below.  If you have a desire to learn more about how socks are manufactured, you can possibly find information on their websites or you can contact them with questions.  We can’t promise that they will answer your questions, but you can certainly give it a short.  The best sock factories & hosiery suppliers are generally helpful if you have questions about how socks are made.

Acme-McCrary Corporation

Carolon

C & T Enterprises

Defeet

Elastic Therapy

Elder Hosiery Company

Footprints International, Inc.

Fox River Mills, Inc

Gold Toe Moretz Inc

Hampshire Hosiery

Hanes Hosiery

Highland Mills, Inc

Huitt Mills

Jefferies Socks

Jobst

L'eggs Products

NC Socks

Prewett Hosiery Mills

Pickett Hosiery Mills, Inc

Pro Feet

Renfro

Therafirm Compression Products

Thor Lo

Twin City Knitting

Wigwam Mills Inc

Wrightenberry Mills, Inc

Sock Production Process from Bridgedale Socks (Ireland).

We hope that this information helps you learn more about socks and how they are produced by factories.

You may also want to learn about novelty socks.