The development of the knitting industry in the Albstadt area from 1750 to the present day was documented in a special exhibition fot the forst time as part of the Baden-Württemberg heritage festival in 1987.

The title of the exhibition translates as "People, knitting and machines", and aptly summarizes what the Maschenmuseum is about: Alongside economic, social and technical history, attention is alos paid to the everyday life of those employed in the knitting industry. The topics covered range from cottage industry production on local farms to early forms of industrial production, industrialization ans home working by the female workforde through to modern production.