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Manufacturing Process of Thigh Highs
Modern stockings, pantyhose, and thigh highs are made by either two methods: flat knitting or the use of circular machines. Following the original hosiery manufacturing techniques of the 30s - 50s, flat knitting is one of the methods used -- one that was used before the invention of the circular machine. After the fabric has been produced, each thigh high is individually seamed. The top of the seam has a 'finishing loop', a small hole that every seamed thigh high has as a result of the machinist turning the welt -- the thigh high top -- inside out, in order to finish off. Once sewn, the thigh highs are 'boarded'. This is a process where each thigh high is stretched over a flat metal leg form and 'set' with steam. The knit tightens, creases are eliminated and the leg is correctly shaped. Because the process is time consuming, seamed thigh highs are never cheap. Couple this with the fact that around a third of production -- especially during the production of sheer stockings -- is discarded during quality control.
Thigh highs are now most often produced on circular machines that eliminate the need for back seams by knitting tubes that are then 'set' to the shape of the leg. While the first circular machines produced sheer stockings with a reinforced heel pocket, modern machines have eliminated this, offering a better fit regardless of the wearer's shoe size. The addition of lycra to the stocking yarn is possibly the biggest break-through in hosiery manufacturing, the result being thigh highs that combine elasticity with the ability to cling perfectly to the leg.