Leading Italian sock machine builder Busi Giovanni, has been given approval by the Italian Federation of Football for the use of its football sock with integrally knitted pocket for housing shin guards. The news came to the company’s Managing Director Dr. Gianmario Busi, in a letter from the President of the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (F.I.G.C), the governing body of Italian club and international football.

In the letter, the President of the F.I.G.C said the Committee of Referees of F.I.G.C. had given its positive evaluation and that the company had approval to work directly with professional clubs and players as well as with the professional leagues. Busi Giovanni Company Director, Catina Busi said:  “This is a very important step as this new sock can now be used in official matches.”

The shin-guard sock is the product of Busi’s Idea Twin Layer cylinder and dial sock knitting machine which was unveiled at the recent FIMAST show in Brescia. The Botticino (BS) based company showed  its new patented ‘Idea Twin Layer’ cylinder and dial machine which was producing a football sock with integrally knitted pocket for housing shin guards at the show. The model on show was a 4 inch, 168 needles, 36 gauge machine fitted with the optional classic toe linking device.

“As it is based on the 404 Idea Terry machine, the 404 Twin Layer has all the same knitting possibilities as the original machine. In addition to this, using the dial needles and a special patented device which is integrated in the dial itself, the machine can produce double layer socks. It is possible to knit two fabrics at the same time on the Twin Layer, one inside the other. The external sock is produced in the conventional way on the cylinder needles while the internal sock is knitted by the dial needles,” said Busi machine designer Ing. Alessandro Corti at FIMAST.

“This gives the opportunity to use completely independent yarns with different fibre content for the inside and outside of the sock, which according to Busi opens up new perspectives in the field of technical sport socks. The double layer structure can be extended to the complete sock. In this case the two fabrics are joined at the welt, at the heel and at the toe which prevents the sliding of the inner layer in relation to the outer layer.” Ing. Corti added.

Busi’s Export Manager, Federica Ambrosi told Knitting Industry: “It is also possible to knit socks with the double layer in a selected part of the sock, for example only in the sole and/or in the heel. An interesting application is the possibility to create pouches inside the socks, like for example the shin-pad holding pouch attached inside a football sock as produced at the show.”

 Another possibility with the Idea Twin Layer is to create reinforced areas with the double layer having any desired shape which can be placed in any part of the leg and/or foot. On all of the available machine diameters it is possible to install the Rimaglio option that will produce a sock having the toe closed automatically with ‘loop by loop’ linking.