As the Industrial Revolution rolled in, socks went from being handmade to mass-produced thanks to circular looms. These machines allowed manufacturers to churn out socks much faster than human hands could and also allowed for more sophisticated patterns to be knitted into the fabric. Embroidery is an important part of the process, where the company logo can be added to give each pair of socks more personality and brand recognition.

Most of the sock factories use either flat or circular knitting machines. A flat machine is great for making items that don’t have seams, while a circular one can create an almost infinite number of combinations to meet different design requirements. Some of these machines are equipped with a color changer, which allows the factory to quickly switch colors without having to make new threads. Others are equipped with punch cards with patterns (similar to the Jacquard cards used in weaving since the 1700s). These cards can be inserted into the machine to create the same pattern over and over again.

The most important point for a buyer is to confirm all the socks parameters and details with the factory one by one before starting production. Then the factory will put the confirmed socks parameters into a code and insert it into the sock machine to weave yarns to produce the final socks. The sock yarns can be made with various percentage of cotton, wool, acrylic and nylon according to buyers’ requirement.   socks factory