Weaver’s Cabin volunteers sew socks – Butler Eagle

HARMONY — Circular sock knitting machines are not just for making socks.

Members of the Butler Spinners and Weavers Guild, who volunteer at Weaver’s Cabin of Harmony, demonstrated the operation of the hand-held devices Saturday in front of the cabin on Mercer Street.

Circular sock knitting machines, originally developed in the late 16th century and patented in the United States in the 1860s, were intended to replace the time-consuming and labor-intensive process of making socks by hand.

“Sock knitting machines have been around for hundreds of years,” said Diane McCrae, a volunteer at the lodge, who demonstrated the operation of a 1906 Gearhart machine she restored.

Modern replicas, like the Erlbacher-Gearhart machine used Saturday by other guild members and volunteers, are a bit easier to operate, McCrae said.

Original versions, such as the 1906 Gearhart, have cast iron cylinders that rotate around a yarn carrier with needles with each movement of the crank. Replicas have steel cylinders that remain stationary while the yarn carriers rotate.

In both versions, the yarn is fed into the carrier by a mechanism that keeps the yarn under tension. Turn the crank on either version long enough and the sock slowly emerges from the bottom of the cylinder.

Depending on the pattern chosen, sock artisans, who affectionately call themselves “crankers,” can produce socks of many varieties.

McCrae explains that a variety of other items can be made from yarns of varying weights, such as scarves, hats, gloves, rugs, towels, baskets and clothes for small dogs.

The cottage sells a variety of items, hand-wound by volunteers. The styles and colors vary and no two are the same, she said.

However, these machines are mainly used by hobbyists who make socks, said Jodi Horgan, a volunteer and member of the guild.

She added that Missouri-based Erlbacher-Gearhart, as well as other manufacturers, hold annual “boot camps” where they can promote their products to boot campers.

New circular sock knitting machines can be purchased at fabric stores, craft stores and some department stores, while used and refurbished machines can be found online, she added.