Katie's Fully Fashioned Stocking Story
I’d been wearing seamed stockings for years before I ever encountered fully fashioned stockings — and, if I’m honest, I didn’t really understand what all the fuss was about at first.
Like many people, I assumed a seam was a seam. I knew modern seamed stockings were knitted on circular machines, and I knew there were “proper” fully fashioned stockings somewhere in the background, but I didn’t yet appreciate why they commanded such a price difference — or why people spoke about them with such reverence.
That changed in the mid-1990s, when I was working at the fetish boutique Skin Two in Ladbroke Grove. We used to import Sweet Caroline fully fashioned stockings made by Magnolia Mills in the USA, and they felt impossibly exotic at the time. The fit was different. The feel was different. Even the way the seam sat on the leg had a precision I hadn’t experienced before.
Of course, once I left Skin Two and lost my staff discount, those stockings quickly returned to being something I admired from afar. Fully fashioned stockings weren’t exactly affordable on a retail salary. So, in a move that now feels very “me”, I decided to set up a small stocking website so I could buy wholesale — and sell a few pairs on the side to justify it.
That little website became What Katie Did.
And we’ve been selling fully fashioned stockings ever since.
What actually makes a fully fashioned stocking different?
The key difference — and the thing that gives fully fashioned stockings their name — is how they’re made.
Modern seamed stockings are knitted as seamless tubes on circular machines, with a seam either knitted in or printed on afterwards. Fully fashioned stockings, on the other hand, are knitted completely flat on vintage Reading knitting machines, with the seam acting as a structural part of the stocking rather than a decorative afterthought.
There are no shortcuts here.
The Reading machines used to make fully fashioned stockings are enormous — over 57 feet long and weighing around 17 tonnes. Where modern circular machines can churn out hosiery continuously, these machines work slowly and methodically, producing around 30 pairs at a time. Each stocking is knitted on its own “head”, with around 500 needles per head — 15,000 needles working in unison.
And those needles? They can — and do — break.
This is one of the reasons fully fashioned stockings are so rare today. There are very few working Reading machines left in the world, and fewer still with the skilled engineers and knitters needed to keep them running. Parts often have to be specially fabricated from scratch. Exporting the machines somewhere “cheaper” simply isn’t realistic — moving something that size, and then recalibrating it, would be almost impossible.
We’re incredibly lucky in the UK to still have two of the (possibly) four remaining fully fashioned stocking manufacturers worldwide.
From knitted flat… to finished seam
Knitting is only the first part of the process.
Once the stockings come off the machines, they’re tumble dried and ironed flat to allow for shrinkage before seaming begins. This preparation is essential — fully fashioned stockings are made from non-stretch nylon, so everything needs to be precisely shaped before the seam is added.
And this is where the seam truly earns its reputation.
Each seam is sewn individually by hand on a specialist industrial overlocker. If you look closely at a genuine fully fashioned seam, you’ll see the individual stitches. The seamstress works at remarkable speed, keeping even tension throughout so the seam runs perfectly straight from heel to welt.
This seam isn’t just there for aesthetics. It’s what holds the stocking together.
Once seamed, the stockings are sent to the dye house. All fully fashioned stockings start life as “greige” — undyed nylon — and are dyed after construction. This gives better colour depth and consistency than pre-dyed yarns.
After dyeing, the stockings are steamed, checked, and inspected on illuminated benches. Because of the nature of the process, two stockings in the same size can differ slightly in length — sometimes by up to two inches — so they’re carefully paired by hand before packing.
Anything less than perfect doesn’t make it into a packet.
Why fully fashioned stockings are so hard to come by
People often ask why fully fashioned stockings are expensive, or why they’re not made on a larger scale.
The answer is simple: this is slow, skilled, labour-intensive manufacturing using machinery that belongs to another era.
The machines are fragile. The yarn is delicate. Mistakes happen. A snag at the wrong moment can turn a stocking into a “second”. Production can grind to a halt if a part breaks. Even with spare machines kept purely for cannibalising parts, delays are inevitable.
But that’s also why fully fashioned stockings feel so special.
They’re not mass-produced. They’re not rushed. And they’re not pretending to be something they’re not.
Why they’re still worth it
After more than 25 years of working with fully fashioned stockings — and selling them since 1999 — I still believe they’re the ultimate luxury in legwear.
They require a little more care. They ask you to pay attention to sizing. They reward you with a fit, a line, and a sense of history that modern hosiery simply can’t replicate.
Fully fashioned stockings aren’t just about the seam.
They’re about craft, patience, and preserving a way of making things that would otherwise disappear.
And once you’ve worn a real pair, you’ll understand exactly why so many of us never look back.