Stocking frame

A stocking frame was a mechanical knitting machine used in the textiles industry. It was invented by William Lee in 1589. It was the first major stage in the mechanisation of the textile industry.

Related Topics:
Textiles - William Lee - 1589

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The machine imitated the movements of hand knitters. Lee demonstrated the operation of the device to Queen Elizabeth I, hoping to obtain a patent, but Elizabeth refused, fearing the effects on hand-knitting industries. The original frame had 8 needles to the inch, which produced only coarse fabric. Lee later improved the mechanism with 20 needles to the inch. By 1598 he was able to knit stockings from silk, but was again refused a patent. Lee moved to France with his workers and his machines, but was unable to sustain his business. He died in Paris c.1614. Most of his workers returned to England with their frames, which were sold in London.

Related Topics:
Queen Elizabeth I - 1614

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The commercial failure of Lee's design might have led to a dead-end for the knitting machine, but John Ashton, one of Lee's assistants, made a crucial improvement by adding the mechanism known as a "divider". The improved frame was a success. Frames were bought by entrepreneurs who rapidly expanded the mechanised hosiery trade.

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A legend later developed that Lee had invented the first machine in order to get revenge on a girlfriend who had preferred to concentrate on her knitting rather than attend to him. A painting illustrating this story was once displayed in the Stocking Framer's Guild hall in London. In 1846 the Victorian artist Alfred Elmore produced a variation on the story in his popular painting The Invention of the Stocking Loom, in which Lee is depicted pondering his idea as he watches his wife knitting (Nottingham Castle Museum).

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