Interview of Thom H. Boehm, knitting machine operator and Linkedin influencer
/Thom H. Boehm is a circular knitting machine operator. Followed by several thousand people, he often publish articles on Linkedin both about his work and life in general. He plans to eventually write a book about his knitting experiences.
We asked him a few questions to better understand the world of circular knitting machines.
Thom H. Boehm in the middle of circular knitting machines
Photo @Thom H. Boehm
“Well, for quality, I only know from a knitter’s point of view. I know that often lighter stitches are used to save on yarn, but I much prefer to knit with a tighter stitch, and am under the impression that this will also help reduce shrinkage in the finished product. ”
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
My name is thom h. boehm, and I currently live in Truro, Nova Scotia with my wife and son who is doing his Master’s degree from our basement due to covid restrictions.
How did you fall into the world of textiles?
I got married and moved to Japan at the age of 20 years old. Once there, I picked up the occupation that most foreigners in Japan have, that is teaching of English. I have no college education, but I did have a spousal visa, so my boss in Japan made up a college degree for me and turned it into the prefectural government. I taught on that degree at the same school for almost 10 years. At the age of 30, as a family, we moved back to Canada. Since I had no college degree, factory work was the easiest work to find. I got on at the mill where I work in August of 2001 on the night-shift as a piece-work knitter. Later I apprenticed as a fixer, and now do a little bit of everything, or whatever needs to be done.
Which company do you currently work for?
I work for Stanfield’s Limited in Truro, Nova Scotia. It was founded in 1856 in Tryon, Prince Edward Island, and later moved to Nova Scotia.
Stanfield’s factory - Canada
Photo @Thom H. Boehm
What machines do you work on? What types of garments do they produce?
Depending on the day, I work on jersey, fleece, interlock, two-layer, rib, or thermal machines. Stanfield’s produces a wide variety of products, but many of them still are undergarments or winter woolens. We also produce a lot of fire retardant attire for oil workers, fire fighters, or anyone else who is in need of fire retardant clothing.
What are your daily tasks?
Day-to-day, I cover a lot of ground. Lately, an average day finds me covering often over 10km in one day. The knitting room is large, and often machines I look after are on opposite sides of the room. I operate machines, maintain the machines, take the garbage downstairs, keep my manager appraised of the what is happening on the floor, and general house-keeping. By far, though, this is not the end of the things that I do. I do whatever needs to be done to keep things flowing through the room.
What is your favorite machine and why?
My favourite machine. That is a hard one, as most of them I like in one way or another. Probably my favourite would be MC #62. An old 30 inch Mayer rib machine w/lycra. It was a terrible machine to run back when I was a piecework knitter, but it runs much better these days, and it is an attractive machine with an attractive and affable personality.
Would you like to learn how to use flat knitting machines? (Like those of Shima Seiki for example)
I would love to learn how to use flat knitting machines, but I don’t imagine that will ever happen. I would love to just see a Shima Seiki machine in action, so I could wrap my mind around how they work.
Do you have favorite fashion brands? Or brands you think their t-shirts and sweatshirts are really good?
The majority of my clothing, I buy from the second-hand store. Go to the second hand store and you can see what companies are producing quality goods, as if they still look good when they are hanging at the second-hand store, then usually they are made pretty well. For my t-shirts I often gravitate towards American Eagle, as they hold up well, and I like the cut of the t-shirts. If I am buying something new, then lately I like Puma and have always like Diesel, but I don’t buy new clothing very often.
Men’s fashion is very attached to the notion of quality. In circular knitting, what does "good quality" mean? Is it necessarily a thicker knit?
Well, for quality, I only know from a knitter’s point of view. I know that often lighter stitches are used to save on yarn, but I much prefer to knit with a tighter stitch, and am under the impression that this will also help reduce shrinkage in the finished product. But, sad to say, my knowledge is mostly limited to my small step in the larger process. But, I like as much as possible with the limited resources that I have to produce a quality fabric free of defects.
Tubular t-shirts often get very good press. However, no article explains why a tubular t-shirt would be better than a cut and sewn t-shirt.
What do you think about it?
Outside of my area of expertise, but I can’t imagine that there would be any difference. I mean even with circular knitting, most of our garments are still cut and sewn. I would be more concerned with the quality of the materials and workmanship.
Circular knitting machines
Photo @Thom H. Boehm
Monarch’s circular knitting machine
Photo @Thom H. Boehm
