Weaver’s Cabin volunteers crank out socks
HARMONY — Circular sock knitting machines aren’t just for knitting socks.
Members of the Butler Spinners and Weavers Guild who volunteer at Weaver’s Cabin of Harmony put on a demonstration of how the hand-cranked devices work Saturday outside of the cabin on Mercer Street.
Originally created in the late 16th century and patented in the United States in the 1860s, circular sock knitting machines were meant to replace the time and labor intensive process of hand knitting socks.
“The sock-knitting machines have been around for hundreds of years,” said Diane McCrae, a volunteer at the cabin, who was demonstrating on a 1906 Gearhart circular sock knitting machine that she restored.
Modern replicas such as the Erlbacher-Gearhart machine that other guild members and volunteers were using Saturday are a little easier to use, McCrae said.
Original versions like the 1906 Gearhart have cylinders made of cast iron that revolve around a yarn carrier with needles with every crank of the handle. Replicas have steel cylinders that remain stationary while the yarn carriers revolve.
In both versions, yarn is fed to the carrier by a mechanism that keeps the yarn under tension. Crank either version long enough and a sock slowly emerges from the bottom of the cylinder.
Depending on the chosen pattern, sock-making crafters, who affectionately call themselves “crankers,” can crank out socks of many varieties.
Yarns of different weights can be used to crank out a variety of other items like scarfs, hats, mittens, rugs, towels, baskets and clothes for small dogs, McCrae said.
A variety of those items hand cranked by cabin volunteers are for sale in the cabin. The styles and color vary and no two are alike, she said.
However, the machines are mostly used by hobbyists to make socks, said Jodi Horgan, a volunteer and guild member.
She said Missouri-based Erlbacher-Gearhart as well as other manufacturers hold annual “crank-ins” where they can promote their products to crankers.
New circular sock knitting machines can be purchased at material stores, craft shops and some department stores, and used and refurbishes machines can be found online, she said.
