1. Sock Monkeys have been part of American culture for nearly 100 years, Sock Monkeys were officially created in 1932 when the Nelson Knitting Company of Rockford, Illinois began to manufacture the trademarked "red heel" to its socks. Mothers began making the monkeys out of old Rockford Red Heel Socks during the Depression.
2. The Rockford Red Heel Socks were the first socks ever manufactured after John Nelson, a Swedish immigrant, patented the sock-knitting machine in 1869. Nelson began producing work socks for farmers and factory workers in Rockford, Ill., in 1890.
3. The red heeled sock was sold as the "De-Tec-Tip" in its earliest production years to assure its customers they were buying "original Rockfords."
4. John Nelson created a loom that enabled socks to be manufactured without seams in the heel. These seamless work socks were so popular that the field was soon flooded with imitators, and socks of this type were known under the generic slang term "Rockfords."
5. This red heel gave the monkeys their distinctive mouth.
6. Around 1951 the knitting company discovered their socks were being used to make monkey dolls. In 1953, Nelson Knitting became involved in a dispute over the design patent on the sock monkey pattern.
7. They were awarded the patent in 1955, and began including the pattern with every pair of socks. In 1958, the "scrap-craft" magazine Pack-O-Fun published, "How to Make Sock Toys", a guide to making different sock animals and dolls with red heeled socks.
8. Frequently cited as being their most popular book ever, this pamphlet went through multiple printings and was being produced in new editions up until the mid-1980s.
9. The sock monkey doll was then used in promotional campaigns celebrating the widespread application of their product by inventive homemakers in the field of monkey manufacturing.
Fox River Mills took over Nelson Knitting Co. in 1992, but still includes the sock monkey instructions with each pair.
10. Sock monkeys are a unique part of Americana folk art, even though their popularity has spread globally via the Internet.
Sources:
Fox River Mills
Wikipedia
Rockford Museum in Rockford, Illinois
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