Griswold

The Griswold

The Griswold is a well-known name in the world of hosiery outworking. It was first made popular in the WW1 'socks for soldiers' campaign, and for a time they could compete with factory machines if piece rates were low enough. Eventually this sort of outwork was stopped by automatic sock machines in factories.

As can be seen in the photo, this machine is small and portable, and produces a tube of material which is ideal for sock making. The machine is fed by cones, powered by a handle, needles are arranged in a circle, a cam lifts them in a 'Mexican Wave' as the handle is turned, and the result is rather like 'French Knitting'.

In the following extract a women talks about her father's small hosiery business, making socks, in the Walnut Street area of Leicester in the late 1920's and 1930's: Hear the extract.

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