Sock knitting is a form of flat knitting in which the knitting needles are coiled into a loop at the tip so that when the fabric is put on, they are drawn through the loop while under tension. The term sock knitting is used to describe any type of knitting in which the knitting needles are placed under the action of tension so that the yarn pulled through the loops cannot come out of the needle after it is passed through it. This method of working is used mainly in socks and other fabrics made from cotton or wool.
Sock knitting machines are designed for people who produce flat fabrics for fashion purposes like socks. In modern machines, the needles are coiled into a coil so that they are attracted only by the fabric and not by the action of the hand. single-cylinder K-shaped knitting machines with a 4-inch feed diameter and 180 stitches can be considered as a sock knitting machine. In this case, the machine stitch has a loop feed system and the feed is under tension so that a bright, vivid pattern can be produced.
The two types of knitting processes are the ribber and the capstan. The ribber is a kind of primitive ring stitch where three circular needles are placed at the start of each round of knitting. The first needle, called the ‘thread,’ is drawn through the ring loop after the first round is complete; the next needle, called the ‘crimp’ is drawn through the second ring loop after the first round is complete; and the third needle, called the ‘capstan’ is drawn through the last ring loop after the last round is complete. With the ribber, three successive stitches are made by passing the needle from one circular to the next across the rows of stitches, following a curling pattern.