To decrease the tension applied to a textile strand in a knitting machine for forming a knit cover composed of a textile strand on the outer face of a workpiece such as a hydraulic hose.

This rotary knitting machine 20 is provided with a frame 30 having a center axis 35, plural inner bobbin carrier assemblies 200 at the outside of the center axis 35 in radial direction and plural outer bobbin carrier assemblies 300 at the further outside of the center axis in radial direction. The inner bobbin carrier assembly 200 and the outer bobbin carrier assembly 300 rotate in opposite directions. The inner bobbin carrier assemblies 200 are separated from each other by recesses. The outer strand delivered from the outer bobbin carrier assembly 300 traverses between the innermost position and the outermost position, enters into and leaves from the recess and is knit with the inner strand in the upper and lower relationship. The inner and the outer strands are positioned nearly perpendicular to the center axis 35.