Circular knitting machine is a machine that knits cloth in a continuous circle. The cloth it produces is lighter and thinner than the flat knitting machine. The needle sizes of circular knitting machine products range from 12 to 22. The higher the needle size, the thinner the product.

Circular knit garments are produced in a seamless spiral for a tighter fit, while knit compression garments have seams and use a stronger material to put higher pressure on the legs. Because they have less stretch than jersey and are more huggy.

The flat knitting machine is a machine for knitting cloth into sheets (or flat), with needle numbers ranging from 2 to 10. The flat knitting machine is able to transfer loops from one needle to another, which has a significant impact on the knitting structure. The loops can only be transferred from the needles on the front bed to the needles on the back bed. Thick sweater fabric can be knitted.

Flat knitting is knitting stitch by stitch to follow the contours of the body precisely. The fabrics are joined by flat elastic seams. The fabric is looser than circular knitting. Most flat knitted garments require custom machines.