Sock Construction

It’s curious that something that almost everybody wears every day gets so little attention, but the comfort and durability of a well-made pair of socks can make all the difference to your day.

We’ve created this video to help you learn more about how our socks are made. You can also read about our sock construction below.

For information about the fibres we use to make our socks, click here.

Learn How Our Socks are Made

Formation of the Heel

Our socks contain only a small amount of nylon to add stretch, strength and elasticity to the body of the sock. Many manufacturers use elastane to make socks fit snuggly over feet, and to gain a greater degree of stretch so that one size of sock covers more foot sizes. Having worn and tested other socks, we find that elastane in socks tends to wear out quickly, leaving socks loose and out-of-shape.

Lindner Socks uses no elastane to pull the fabric in tight. Instead, we rely on the shape of the sock and the tension of the knit to do that, keeping our socks as close to the feel of a hand-knitted pair as we can. This is where our old-fashioned machines come into their own.

We believe the most important part of a sock is the heel. It anchors the sock to the shape of your foot and keeps it where it should be. If the heel is properly formed, then there is no need for stretchy synthetics to cling on to your foot and ankle. Many modern socks are formed with a heel angle of 120^o. Lindner Socks are constructed with a heel angle of about 100^o. This should keep them well-fitted to your feet. The natural fibres can stretch throughout the day like a favourite pair of jeans, but should return to a tighter shape after each wash.

Tops

A great benefit of our old-fashioned Bentley Komet and Esta sock machines is that they knit socks one after another in one continuous sausage of socks.

This creates a little extra work for us as it adds the manual task of separating them to the manufacturing process, however the constant tension that is maintained on the socks inside the machine means that we don’t have to begin each sock with a tight band of elastic at the top to start off knitting.

We also have the option of leaving the elastic out altogether, creating Loose Top socks.

For many people, Loose Top socks are not necessary. Our socks with elastic are not particularly tight around the ankles, so they are comfortable to wear all day without digging in. However, people with diabetes, cold feet, circulation problems, wide ankles, or difficulty getting socks on and over their heels may benefit from Loose Top Socks. Many people wonder if their socks will fall down. While the tops may scrunch down a bit, with a well-angled heel to hold the sock in place the sock shouldn’t slide down into the shoe.

For more information about our Loose Top socks, click here.

Toe Seams

All socks made in the Lindner Sock Factory are hand-finished on an overlocker to seal up the toe with strong but fine nylon thread.

Our expert overlockers take a great deal of care to ensure that each seam is formed with minimal bulk, especially in the corners, and is positioned in the right place at the top of the toes.

Any seams that don’t cut the mustard don’t make it to our shelves.

As a pair of socks is washed and worn, the seam actually becomes flatter and more integrated into the knit of the sock.