Early hosiery

Going far back into history hosiery was originally just animal skin bound to the foot and leg to protect them and keep them warm, woven cloth came next cut and stitched to crudely fit the shape of a person legs there as little stretch with these fabrics thus producing a very ill-fitting garment these were often called (Cut Up's) probably tied in some way at the top to hold it in place worn by both men and women.

The first knitting socks appeared around 3000 years ago in the Middle East where knitting is reported as been invented, a concise history of knitting is slightly unclear, it looks like knitted garments spread into Europe and beyond by the trade main routes, initially as traded goods then people started to try and understand and recreate these items.

My history jumps most of these years and start in the 1500 because my interest is with the history of sheer hosiery more than the history of knitting.