Figure 1.--Here we see an american boy, probanly during the 1910s. We are guessing he may have come from a military family. White stockings were siometimes wirn by younger boys when dressing up. White stockings as far as we know always came in flat weaves, presumably because they were seen as a more formal style.

Stockings were mostly worn with flat knit weaves, although this seem to have varied over time. They were also available in heavier ribbed weaves which we also see in old photographs. These ribbed stockings were especially popular for cold weather winter weather. Rib knits came in wide or narrow rib style. The barrow rib was promoted as offered a more trim fit. The toes and heels in better made stockings were reinforced. We have no idea at this time when ribbed stockings first appeared. We also do not know who invented them. They were a useful innovation. Plain stockings are very limited in extension. Plain cotton stockings were worn by women until nylon stockings but also by children. They were very smooth but also fragile. Ribbed cotton long stockings mainly in the feet can double the lenght and it was possible for the child to wear his or her stockings longer because the ribs allowed the child to wear through growth spurts. But the main factor is that they were hard wearing. The ribs varied in thickness. A Canadian reader who collects vintage clothing tells us, "I have some ribbed stockigs from 1927 which are ribbed 3/1 (largest ribs, the finest being 1/1) and very thick and heavy, the ideal for active boys. But they were not very [?extensive} and do not fit the leg very well. They were worn by boys for active outdoor activities. Like longjohns, those stockings became very popular. But one of the problem with 2/1 ribbed stockings is that they let imprints of rib on he legs which the children didn't like." The popularity of ribbed stockings have varied from country to country and seemed to have been the most popular in the more northerly countries with colder Winters.

Flat Weave

Stockings were mostly worn with flat knit weaves, although this seem to have varied over time. Plain cotton stockings were worn by women until nylon stockings but also by children. They were very smooth but also fragile. Flat weaves came to be seen as a dressier type of long stockings. When dressing up for special occassions children commonly wore the flat weave stockings. There was also a seasonal element. Children would be more likely to wear flat weave stockings in warmer weather. Some younger children might wear short sicks, but older children and youths woukd wear long stockings even in the summer. The German Hosiery Museum makes this point quite clear. Plain knit stockings were considered dressier almost everywhere--in Europe and America--and were therefore preferred for formal occasions such as first communions regardless of gender. But there are some notable exceptions. Yehudi Menuhin, the prodigy violinist, wore black ribbed long stockings with short trousers for concert appearances as opposed to the more usual flat-weave stockings that we see on the legs of other boy virtuosos.

Ribbed Weave

Long stockings were also available in heavier ribbed weaves which we also see in old photographs. These ribbed stockings were especially popular for cold weather winter weather. Rib knits came in wide or narrow rib style. The barrow rib was promoted as offered a more trim fit. The toes and heels in better made stockings were reinforced. We have no idea at this time when ribbed stockings first appeared. We also do not know who invented them. They were a useful innovation. Plain stockings are very limited in extension. Ribbed cotton long stockings mainly in the feet can double the lenght and it was possible for the child to wear his or her stockings longer because the ribs allowed the child to wear through growth spurts. But the main factor is that they were hard wearing. The ribs varied in thickness. A Canadian reader who collects vintage clothing tells us, "I have some ribbed stockigs from 1927 which are ribbed 3/1 (largest ribs, the finest being 1/1) and very thick and heavy, the ideal for active boys. But they were not very [?extensive} and do not fit the leg very well. They were worn by boys for active outdoor activities. Like longjohns, those stockings became very popular. But one of the problem with 2/1 ribbed stockings is that they let imprints of rib on he legs which the children didn't like." The popularity of ribbed stockings have varied from country to country and seemed to have been the most popular in the more northerly countries with colder winters. Besides the additional warmth of the heavier ribbed stockings, there was also the question of elasticity. Ribbed stockings tended to fit the leg more snugly and to look neater, although by the 1920s the manufacturers had pretty well solved the problem of making all long stockings fit more neatly by new techniques of knitting.

Home-Knitted Stockings

It was very common for mothers and females relatives like aunts and grandmothers to knit stockings in the 19th century. These home knitted stockings often easy to recognize because they were more bulky than the commercially made stockings. Thos became much less common after World war I, but we note children with hand knitted stockings through World War II. After the War they are rarely seen. A reader writes, "Theoretically, home knitted stockings could be either ribbed or flat knit, but I think ribbed was by far the most common. The third type of stockings that I mentioned in one of the early decades was "textured" stockings which are not obviously ribbed but have a sort of mixture of yarns, looking as though they might be black with little bits of white all over. The problem is a bit complicated because I think almost all long stockings are ribbed if you look closely enough--i.e., even those we refer to as being of plain or flat weave are actually ribbed but so finely that it doesn't show. Ribbing of some sort, even very fine ribbing that doesn't show, was necessary for the elasticity and close fit of stockings worn from about 1900 onwards--and perhaps even earlier."