Some of you may remember that a few years ago Freedom Kilts had access to an antique circular sock knitting machine.
If you don't here is a little background of these fascinating machines.
Invented in the late 1800's the hand-cranked circular sock knitting machine was often sold door to door by traveling salesmen before Fuller brushes and vacuum cleaners. They were sold to housewives with a contract to purchase the yarn from the same company who would buy the finished socks back.
Thousands of these machines were made and sold by over 50 different companies. Legare and the Auto-knitter in Canada, Gearhart in the US. There were English, French and German machines.
Here is just one link, to just one site, dedicated to these machines.
http://joybileefarm.com/lest-we-forg...ne-to-freedom/
In WWI The only commercial sock knitting company was producing 5400 pairs of socks a week. Far fewer than the demand. When the call went out through the Red Cross for socks, caps, and scarves for servicemen overseas everyone started knitting. Colleges set up knitting clubs. Andrew Carnegie converted a ballroom of his NY mansion into a knitting factory. Both men and women knitted on buses and trains on the way to work.
It is estimated that 40% of all the socks used by soldiers during the war to prevent trench foot were knitted on Circular Sock Machines in living rooms and kitchens all across the U.S. and Canada.
After the war ladies kept knitting socks earning a little extra income for the niceties of life. With their own money and the pride of earning it themselves it was only a matter of time before they wanted the vote.
The Circular Sock Machine holds a place in the history of the Women's movement.
Until very recently these machines were only available as antiques. Usually found at farm auctions and estate sales they were discovered by home knitters and the eccentrics like me who were intrigued by the machine itself. But re-conditioning a 100 year old machine that has sat in a barn is not easy.
A few years ago a company in New Zealand began producing a new Circular Sock Machine, AKA a CSM.
In 2007 a small gear manufacturing company in Cape Girardeau, MO also began reverse engineering one of these antiques.
http://stores.erlbachergearhart.com/
Here are a few pics of my new Earlbacher Gearhart CSM.
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