The Pyongyang Hosiery Factory turns out different kinds of functional hosiery goods including curative, athletic and silk socks. The heel-curing socks, among others, is the factory’s first-ever product with a curative function. According to developer Jo Suk Yong, pieces of lining cloth are cut into such a shape that does not hinder the movement of feet and glued to the inner part of the heels of the socks, thereby maintaining the certain humidity of the heels and enhancing the curative effect. “One of the criteria that decide the quality of hosiery is expressed in diversification in terms of kind, shape and colour,” said manager Jo Kum Ju. The factory holds two rounds of new products show every month and offers prizes to highly evaluated technicians and workers. It also shows samples of new products to marketing units and takes orders from them. While bringing out new products, it made major machine parts and pushed ahead with ambitious projects for automating production lines. It formed project teams involving technicians and experienced workers and reviewed the results of their work on daily and weekly bases. It also remodelled elements of weaving machines one by one in order to ensure normal production with local materials. It developed a program for the machines that ensures that spun yarns with colours similar to that of the surface yarn are supplied at option, thus improving the quality of products. As it applied the double-layer knitting texture used in the development of football socks into the production of silk socks, it developed a weaving program so that the inside of the functional socks that comes in direct touch with the skin is knitted with silk yarn and the outside which is exposed to much friction with cotton/polyester yarns. The pattern design that was accepted at a recent show is much sought-after as it looks cool and suits the taste of men. The technicians of the factory developed a variety of socks using domestic raw materials and worked on dyeing techniques according to them. The factory attaches much importance to improving the durability of hosiery. “Technical skills should be enhanced in all the processes in order for the factory to meet women’s increasing demand for stockings according to seasons and improve their quality,” said Cha Kuk Chol, director of the technical office. The looping of the front part of the foot was lowered in the stitch-knitting process for the convenience of women and the heat treatment technology was introduced to make the products look nice. By Chae Hyang Ok PT