The Workshop

The Tricots Jean Marc workshop has been in business for over 50 years—or rather, the company itself is celebrating its 50th anniversary. It all began in 1972 when the current owner’s grandfather started knitting in his garage with his business partner. The current workshop, where the sweaters are made, was established in 1988. At that time, 20 people worked there, divided into three knitting shifts per day. The workforce grew to as many as 75 people in the 2000s.

Today we have 19 employees, 16 of whom are dedicated to sweater production. The workshop is equipped with 18 Shima Seiki machines and 2 Stoll machines—both from manufacturers that have been among the leading producers of knitting machines for many years.

Each machine has its own specific features and cannot knit all types of yarn. They differ in needle size, which is adapted to the yarn’s thickness:
- 6 machines: gauge 3
- 9 machines: gauge 7
- 1 machine: gauge 8
- 2 machines, gauge 14

The machines range from gauge 3 to gauge 28 (and even higher for very fine T-shirts). The smaller the gauge number, the wider the needle and the thicker the yarn it can knit. The higher the number, the finer the needle and the lighter the knitted fabric.

We have newer machines (5 to 10 years old) and older machines (nearly 30 years old). The newer ones are more technically advanced and allow for complex knitting patterns, while the older ones are sturdy and reliable, so there’s no reason to part with them.

The team consists of 19 people: some have been with the company for less than six months, while others have been here for nearly 40 years. The “big boss,” who joined the company in 1979 at the age of 16 and has been retired for a few years, continues to come to the workshop out of passion. This mix of generations fosters the passing down of expertise and the exchange of knowledge.

Once the sweater is knitted—especially when using yarns made from natural fibers—we need to finish the yarn, plump it up, and make it softer. This step also helps set the yarn so it retains its final size. As a result, the sweater will shrink much less afterward. This step requires different settings depending on the yarn and material used. All of our sweaters go through this step.

To assemble a sweater, we need several sewing machines, sergers, hemming machines, buttonhole machines, banding machines, and knitting machines. We assemble our sweaters using almost all of these machines, depending on the type of sweater.