Hosiery

hosiery

Knit or woven coverings for the feet and legs, worn inside shoes. In the 8th century BC, Hesiod referred to linings for shoes; the Romans wrapped their feet, ankles, and legs in long strips of leather or woven cloth. Knitted socks were discovered in Egyptian tombs of the 3rd–6th century AD. The first knitting machine was invented in England in the 16th century. Full-fashioned stockings were knitted flat, then shaped and seamed up the back by hand. In the 19th century, seamless stockings, mostly of cotton, were knitted on circular machines, but they did not fit well; seamless hose did not become popular until the 1940s, when nylon replaced silk for dress hose. Pantyhose were introduced in the 1960s.

---

Hosiery 

a category of knitwear including knitted socks, full-length stockings, panty hose, footgloves, and other articles. The range of hosiery may be classified by consumer type (women’s, men’s, children’s, athletic), material (plain polyamide, elastic, cotton, wool, mixed), and knit structure (plain, stretch, reversible, knitted plush, ravel-resistant), as well as by the manner of manufacture, the trim, and other factors.

Hosiery is usually made on hosiery machines. In order to increase the durability of items made of cotton or wool yarns, the heel and toe are reinforced with another yarn, usually of polyamide. The upper edge of socks and half-length stockings is usually knitted with an additional elastic or spandex-type yarn, which makes the cuff resilient and able to stretch. A tucked knit is used in knitting articles made from plain polyamide yarn in order to reduce raveling. Panty hose are usually made by sewing together two long stockings; a gusset is sewn in to increase the dimensions in the torso, and an elastic waistband is attached. Panty hose made from elastic yarn may also be manufactured without sewing.

Hosiery sizes are measured by the length of the foot in centimeters; there are two subsizes for the length of the sock or stocking.

I. I. SHALOV