One of the largest knitting ateliers in Europe
We call them master knitters, as we do artisans who have acquired such mastery of their specialty that their know-how has become essential to the profession. These master knitters are heirs to a trade that has existed since the Middle Ages and consists of making knitwear.
Today, production is partly mechanised, but the human know-how of the master knitters is irreplaceable. Saint James's knitting engineers are in charge of one of the largest knitting workshops in Europe, with no less than 75 knitting looms under their direct responsibility.
Master knitters don't just watch the knitting machines, which operate 24 hours a day, six days a week. They start them, feed them with yarn and carry out technical adjustments, which vary according to the garment to be produced and the yarn used. There is no room for error in this process, which requires expertise and constant monitoring.
The pieces of knitted stitches, called panels, are collected and checked by the knitting engineers when they leave the looms. These master knitters are said to have"the Saint James hand": they manage to spot even the smallest flaw and use high-tech machines as simple working tools. Without the human know-how that oversees them, the knitting looms would be of no use.