About this Product
Minnesota Custom Woolens
Meet the Maker
Hello! My name is Vicki and I live on a quiet hobby farm in the middle of Minnesota. Sometimes it's not so quiet! We raise llamas, rabbits, miniature horses and chickens... combine that with the grand kids and it can be a regular zoo around here. I spend my days in my shop with my shop dog, Stella. She may not be a big help when it comes to knitting but she's a great source of entertainment! My knitting machines are all antiques and my shop is the only hosiery mill in the state of Minnesota. The machines date as far back as the 1940's and didn't come with a user manual or instructions so over the years I've learned a lot. Watching the cones of hand painted alpaca wool whirling over my head is mesmerizing! When I'm not knitting socks you can find my nose in a book or my butt on my bike touring the back roads and trails of central Minnesota. Thanks for taking a minute to read about me. I hope you enjoy my shop!
How it’s Made
CREATION OF OUR SOCKS
I’m asked many times what do I mean by handcranked socks so I thought it was time I give a brief explanation. Handcranked socks are those done by hand cranking a circular sock knitting machine. One of the things I love about these machines are its history: During World War I, the Red Cross launched a civilian campaign to help with a sock shortage being experienced overseas. Poor footwear coupled with the cold, wet conditions in the trenches were causing the soldiers to have serious problems with their feet. Wearing extra socks helped a bit, but they were in short supply. Since socks weren’t being mass-produced like they are now, it fell to knitters to make up for the shortage. However, even a fast knitter can only make so many socks in a week. Enter the sock machine: An experienced sock machine knitter can crank out pair after pair, often averaging a pair an hour. Sock machines and supplies were distributed to women who would commit to making at least 30 pairs of socks per week for the war effort. In turn, they were allowed to keep the machines after the campaign was over. After a while, many of these machines sat unused for years, gathering dust in attics and barns across the country. In recent years, a renewed interest has brought many of these machines out of retirement and back into service. In fact, there are a few companies that have started producing reproduction circular sock knitting machines. I have both antique and new machines which each have their different advantages.
Shop Policies
Orders shipped out in 1-2 days
Returns & exchanges accepted
within 30 days
Cost to ship: $5.00
Ships from: Alexandria, MN
