FF STOCKINGS

What are Fully Fashioned Stockings?
Traditionally all stockings were made with a functional back seam and were known as "Fully Fashioned".
Modern "seamed" stockings are knitted in a tube shape and the seam at the back is added afterwards purely for decoration.

Traditional Fully Fashioned stockings however are knitted flat and the two sides are then joined manually by hand with a fine seam up the back. The seam is therefore an essential part of the construction of the stocking as it holds it together.
Fully Fashioned stockings are also tailored to the shape of your leg by decreasing and increasing the number of needles used for knitting.

Cuban Heel vs. Pointed Heel
All fully fashioned stockings have heels knitted in them during the construction process which gives an attractive finish highlighting the ankle (as well as providing extra strength). The two main types of heel are:

Pointed Heel these heels finish with a point just above the ankle

Cuban Heel these heels taper off to just above the ankle, but then instead of finishing with a point, the heel finishes in a block.

How are Fully Fashioned Stockings made?
Gio manufactures their Fully Fashioned stockings on the original 1950's Reading machines (from the old Aristoc factory). These are 57 feet long and have to be kept at a constant temperature of 80F during the knitting operation. Each machine has 30 knitting heads that can each produce just 15 pairs of 15 denier stockings in an hour.

The manufacturing process:

1. Fully Fashioned stockings are knitted white, each stocking is then sewn by hand on a machine by experienced seamists. The 'finishing loop' at the top back of the stocking is also a result of the finishing process, and is created because the seaming machinist has to finish the seam by turning the stocking top (called "the welt") in a circle.
   
   
2. Next the stockings are dyed in large vats and dried.
   
   
3. Although the stockings are knitted to the shape of a woman's leg, they are also "boarded" - each stocking is put on a dummy of a leg and steamed at a high temperature. This tightens the knit, defines the leg shape and removes creases.
   
   
4. Finally each stocking is checked again for quality control, and then matched with a pair of identical size and carefully packed for sale.

There are now believed to be only 4 manufacturers of Fully Fashioned stockings in the world, two of which are in Derbyshire.

View all stockings.

Click here for more information on the history of stockings.