An 1886 advertisement for a hosiery firm that depicts its factory floor with workers using knitting machines. Knitting machines produce various types of knitted fabrics, usually either flat or tubular, and of varying degrees of complexity. There are numerous types of knitting machines, ranging from the simple, non-mechanical, to the highly complex and electronic. Pattern stitches can be selected by hand manipulation of the needles, or with push-buttons and dials, mechanical punch cards, or electronic pattern-reading devices and computers.Image: Cooper, Wells & Co.; Restoration: Lise Broer