Ethical British-Made Men's Socks — Voted by the Community

Socks and stockings have a long history in Britain. By the reign of Elizabeth I, English hand knitters were making stockings in wool and silk, and the Queen herself was given a pair of knitted silk stockings around 1560. William Lee of Calverton, near Nottingham, is traditionally credited with inventing the stocking frame, the first knitting machine, in 1589. Framework knitting grew first in London and then in the East Midlands, where Nottingham, Leicester and Derby became the centres of the hosiery trade. By 1750 England had around 14,000 frames. In 1759 Jedediah Strutt and William Woollatt patented the Derby rib machine, which let frames knit ribbed stockings that had previously been made by hand. The frame reached Scotland around 1771, and a large stocking trade grew in the Lowlands. By 1844 more than half of Scotland's frames were around Hawick or Dumfries. British sock makers today continue this long tradition of knitting, from plain and ribbed designs to cushioned socks for walking and work.