Stocking frame facts for kids
A stocking frame was a special machine that could knit fabric. It was like a very early version of a mechanical knitting machine. This machine was used in the textiles industry, which makes clothes and fabrics.
It was invented by a man named William Lee in 1589. He lived in a village called Calverton, near Nottingham, England. Using this machine was called framework knitting. It was a very important step in making clothes faster and helped start the Industrial Revolution. Over time, the machine was changed to knit cotton and make ribbed fabric. By 1800, it could even make lace.
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How the Stocking Frame Worked
William Lee's first machine was made mostly of strong wood. It knitted flat pieces of fabric, not tubes like some modern machines. Each loop of yarn had its own special needle. These needles were made of steel and had a tip that could close, holding the yarn loop.
The needles were on a bar that moved back and forth. Another bar pressed down on the needle tips to close them. Lee's first machine had eight needles per inch, which made thick fabric. Later, he made one with 16 needles per inch for finer materials like silk.
Here are the steps the machine took to knit:
- The needle bar moved forward, clearing the old fabric.
- The new thread was laid onto the needles.
- Special parts called "jack sinkers" moved down to form loops.
- The thread was pushed down by a "divider bar."
- The jack sinkers pulled the thread into the needle tips.
- A "presser bar" dropped, closing the needle tips. The old row of stitches was then pulled off the needles.
- The jack sinkers came down in front of the knitting, pulling it up so the process could start again.
The Story of the Stocking Frame
William Lee's machine copied the way people knitted by hand. He showed his invention to Queen Elizabeth I, hoping she would give him a patent. A patent would give him the only right to make and sell his machine. But the Queen said no. She worried that the machine would take jobs away from people who knitted by hand.
Lee kept working on his machine. His first one made rough fabric, but he improved it to have 20 needles per inch. By 1598, he could knit stockings from fine silk as well as wool. He tried again to get a patent from King James I, but was refused once more.
Because he couldn't get support in England, Lee moved to France. He went with his workers and machines, hoping to get help from Henri IV, the French king. Sadly, he couldn't make his business work there and died in Paris around 1614. Most of his workers returned to England and sold their knitting machines in London.
Even though Lee's business failed, his machine didn't disappear. One of his helpers, John Ashton, made a very important improvement. He added a "divider" part. This helped guide the needles as they pulled the thread, making the knitting process better.
How the Industry Grew
A successful business grew around the stocking frame, especially with French Huguenot silk-spinners who had moved to Spitalfields near London. In 1663, a group called the Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters received a special royal charter. This gave them official recognition and rules for the trade.
However, by about 1785, people wanted cheaper stockings made of cotton. The stocking frame was changed to knit cotton, but the machines became very expensive. This meant that individual knitters often couldn't afford them. Instead, rich business owners bought many machines. They would then rent the machines to knitters, provide the materials, and buy the finished stockings.
As more people started making stockings, competition grew. Some ignored the quality rules set by the official Company. Stocking frames were brought to Leicester around 1680 by Nicholas Alsop. He faced resistance and had to work secretly at first.
In 1728, the local leaders in Nottingham refused to follow the London Company's rules. This caused the center of the knitting trade to move north to Nottingham. Nottingham also had a growing lace making industry.
A big step forward for cotton stockings happened in 1758. Jedediah Strutt added a new part to the frame that made "Derby rib" fabric. This was a type of ribbed knitting. The knitters in Nottingham often struggled to get enough raw materials. They first used expensive thread from India. They also tried spinning cotton themselves, but it was hard because they were used to the long fibers of wool. Meanwhile, knitters in Gloucester were better at handling cotton and became competitors.
The Stocking Frame and the Industrial Revolution
This is where Richard Arkwright came in with his new spinning machines. He first built a factory that used horses for power. But he soon realized he needed a stronger power source. He moved to Cromford and set up what became known as the water frame, which used water power.
Jedediah Strutt, Arkwright's business partner, set up mills in Belper and Milford. So, these areas joined Nottingham in making cotton stockings. Derby, with its mills started by John Lombe, mostly continued with silk. Leicester, which was more of a farming area, kept making wool products.
To make the stocking frame work with mechanical power, it needed to be changed for rotary motion (spinning motion). In 1769, a clockmaker named Samuel Wise got a patent for changing the hand-operated frame into a rotary one. In Nottingham, it was easy to get steam coal from nearby mines.
By 1812, there were more than 25,000 stocking frames being used. Most of them were in the three counties of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Leicestershire. The stocking frame had truly come back to its roots in Calverton.
The Derby Rib Machine
The Derby Rib machine was invented in 1757 by Strutt. It added an extra set of needles that moved up and down. These needles would take a loop and turn it around. This allowed for both plain and purl knitting, which created ribbing. This made the fabric tighter and more stretchy. For example, to make a 3:1 rib, there would be one vertical needle after every three horizontal needles.
Making Lace with the Frame
Lace-like patterns can be made by slipping stitches, picking them up, or knitting two together. On a stocking frame, a special "tickler wire" could grab individual loops. This could create a "run" that could then be picked up by hand.
The frame was changed by adding a "tickler bar" and a "tuck presser." These allowed for "held" and "tuck" stitches. In these stitches, the thread was held in the needle tip and carried up to the next row, where two threads were passed together. In 1764, Messrs Morris and Betts got a patent for a device that could move threads from one needle to another. Using tuck stitches, this created small "eyelet holes."
In 1764, a big change was made to the stocking frame. It allowed the machine to make weft-knitted nets. Hammond, who is believed to be the inventor, used ticklers to move stitches from one needle to the third one over. This created a "cross stitch." He also used a tickler to move two stitches to the right, then two to the left, making a "double cross stitch" like Valenciennes lace. To do this, the tickler bar was attached to "dogs," which were jointed arms. This allowed the tickler to scoop forward and move sideways. New inventions were patented, like Frost's tickler net in 1769 and the two plain net in 1777. These patents were strongly protected.
By 1800, about 2000 frames were being used in Lyon and Paris, France. In 1803, cotton was used with silk, as Houldsworths were making very fine cotton thread.
A Fun Story About the Invention
Later, a legend grew that William Lee invented the stocking frame because he wanted to get back at a girlfriend. The story says she was so busy knitting that she didn't pay attention to him! A painting showing this story was once displayed in the hall of the Stocking Framer's Guild in London. In 1846, a Victorian artist named Alfred Elmore painted his own version of the story. His popular painting, The Invention of the Stocking Loom, shows Lee thinking about his idea while watching his wife knit. You can see this painting at the Nottingham Castle Museum.
See also
- Luddism
- Protection of Stocking Frames, etc. Act 1788
- Destruction of Stocking Frames, etc. Act 1812
- Water frame
- Bobbinet
- Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters where it appears in their coat of arms
