The piece that comes off the machine is nothing like what you eventually hold in your hands.
Fresh off the machine,it’s is tight, stiff, a little rigid. The stitch structure is clearly visible, but there’s no life in it yet. It’s only after washing and pressing — the yarn relaxes, the fibres bloom — that the softness and texture emerge.
“Washing” is a technical term in knitwear, and it’s a science of proportion. How many washes, what treatment — every step changes the final hand-feel of the garment.
So the softness you feel when you pick up a sweater? That was made in the wash, not just on the knitting machine. That’s why the same style, same yarn — different finishing, entirely different garment in your hands.