Circular knitting machine

The circular knitting machine transformed textile production by eliminating seams. Where flat-bed knitting machines produced panels that required cutting and stitching, circular machines created seamless tubes—perfect for stockings, underwear, and eventually t-shirts.

The adjacent possible had evolved from William Lee's 1589 stocking frame through centuries of incremental improvement. By the 1870s, the English Midlands—Nottingham, Leicester, Derby—concentrated the world's knitting expertise. Cam mechanisms had grown sophisticated. Latch needles (invented 1847) allowed faster, more reliable operation. And growing demand for hosiery strained existing production methods.

The circular configuration arranged needles in a cylinder rather than a row. As the cylinder rotated, cams pushed needles in sequence to form stitches. The fabric emerged as a continuous tube, spiraling down from the needle bed. No cutting, no seaming, no waste.

Multiple inventors contributed to the design. Marc Brunel had patented a circular frame concept in 1816. But practical machines emerged in the 1860s-1870s as precision manufacturing could finally produce the required tolerances. The latch needle's self-acting mechanism made high-speed circular operation feasible.

The economics were compelling. One circular machine could produce what previously required multiple flat machines plus seamstresses. Seamless garments were stronger—seams had been the failure point in hosiery. And the continuous process suited industrial production rhythms.

Circular knitting proliferated from hosiery into underwear, jersey fabrics, and eventually the tubular construction that defines modern t-shirts and casual wear. The cotton rib that stretches around a body owes its existence to Victorian needle arrangements spinning in Leicester factories.

By wrapping the stocking frame around itself, engineers had discovered a geometry that matched industrial requirements: continuous, seamless, scalable. The circle had been hiding in the line.