What were tights made of, anyway?
they were knit of course. of wool most likely, (cotton was very expensive, and linen has less give, and is scratchier.
and some of the company, (and people of the time) would have closed there shirts/jackets with buckles, not buttons, but cause they thought buttons to be ostentatious displays of wealth. (the puritan who came to NE held the same views, and had buckles on their shoes, and belts, and hats, and every garment, but no buttons!)
tights was pretty comfortable.. stockings were long, and had tips (they came to a tapered V at the top) that that got tucked into a waist band -- and pretty cheap.
while there were guilds for knitting in london, and other big cities-- in the country, common folk knit for income, (and like farm wife of early US, who raised chickens and eggs for sale and 'pin' money) english knitters did the same.
the knitting frame that Queen Elizabeth rejected, never made money (when set up in france) the english home industry of knit gloves and stockings outsold machine knit french stockings (which were actually smoother, and finer, and in many ways superior!)--but just a bit to expensive!
