3D printing of a sock knitting machine

3D printing of socks is not yet really a reality. You would end up with plastic clothing that scratches and irritates your feet to no end. However, you can easily 3D print all sorts of nifty little mechanisms, so why not 3D print a machine to knit socks instead? This is precisely what [Joshua De Lisle] did.

The sock knitting machine is a simple device, even though it takes up most of the build area of ​​a common 3D printer. It is well known as the circular sock machine and is capable of producing the comfortable tube socks we are all familiar with. All it takes is a bit of thread and a simple crank of the mechanism, and it's capable of extruding a sock before your eyes.

He goes through his various iterative design improvements and shows us how to build the device using knitting machine hooks to directly manipulate the yarn. The device is also equipped with a digital counter to track the distance traveled by your given sock.

Your friends at the pub might rush for the door when you start explaining to them that you're planning to make your own socks. Don’t let them discourage you; we’ve seen others take this route before. Video after the break.