Machine knitting refers to the use of knitting machines, nowadays mostly digital ones.
According to k2g2 - the definitive guide for krafty knerds and geek girls. wiki, industrial “Knitting machines have an array of needles, each holding an individual knitting stitch. When a carriage passes over a needle it creates a new stitch. (This process being about 100 times faster than hand knitting.) In tubular knitting machines, carriages move on a circular rail, while in flat knitting, carriages move back and forth, changing directions after each row. Although having to go back and forth is a backdraw, since it deceases knitting speed, and exceeds more stress on the machine, flat bed knitting machines have become extremely popular, in applications where flexibility in shaping is required.”
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