By Bette Holleman aka BadMsM

I love to learn new things, not just on my favorite topics, but just about ANYTHING. I love to know how things work, how they’re made and the history behind it. This weekend, I’m learning how to dye my own stripey sock yarn!

My main love is machinery. It comes from being the daughter (and now the wife) of engineers. It’s in my blood.

My favorites are my collection of knitting machines, the crown prince of which is my antique sock knitter. His name is M. Percy Le Gare (he’s French Canadian, you know!).

Circular Sock Machines (CSMs) were invented in England in 1589, but really came into their own in the 1850’s. The next 60 years saw a lot of design improvements, and in time were sold door to door as a means of helping women ease their workload in the home.

The Le Gare machines, and others like them, were sold circa World War I, as a means to help the Red Cross meet its sock quotas and encourage cottage industry. Knitting rooms were set up to help women learn to use the machines, and the goal was to knit a pair of socks, start to finish, in 40 minutes.

Le Gare was a French Canadian mail order company that sold their CSMs in the US as well as Canada. My CSM, Percy, is solid cast iron construction, and has been completely restored. He knits some nifty socks when properly cajoled. As he nears his 100th birthday, he is once again making himself useful, and promoting cottage industry. In addition to socks, Percy knits scarves and hats, and as soon as I learn how, he’ll be cranking out mittens, too!

How about you? How do you feed your curiosity?

Until next time!

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Tags: antique sock knitter, badmsm, circular sock machines, dye sock yarn, engineers, french canadian mail order, knitting machines, Le Gare, machinery, socks, world war i, yarn

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