Taking Ownership of Quality
One brisk Saturday in October, I received a call at my home in Pennsylvania from my friend Joe. He was talking anxiously about a shirt factory in Mohnton that had just closed its doors after 100 years. "They’re sending the entire team home next Friday,” Joe explained. “Erik, these folks know how to make t-shirts. It’s in the water out there. Would you and Sasha have any interest in buying the place?”
The next morning I was on the turnpike, heading east. I walked the hardwood floors, shaking hands with the sewing professionals and technicians. I heard the story of this factory, the continuous downsizing, and the jobs shipped overseas. Here was a factory that had lived through both World Wars, the Great Depression, and 28 of our 46 presidents and was still fully operational. Joe was pulling on my heartstrings, but he didn’t have to. I saw the opportunity. Opportunity to rebuild; opportunity for rebirth. I also saw a sound business opportunity.
I did some quick math, and then I called Sasha. A few months prior, we had decided to build a new t-shirt factory in Dallas, Texas, next to our vertical distribution center. But here was an existing, fully functional version of what we aimed to build. Even better, the Mohnton mill came with knitting machines allowing us to develop our proprietary fabrics from scratch.
A few months later, after everyone had been sent home with their last paycheck, we fired up the Singers and brought the team back to work.
Made in USA
A Local Tradition
The Mohnton mill plays an essential part in the rich history of textile manufacturing and millinery in Eastern Pennsylvania, dating back to its opening in 1873. This is where the majority of American clothing was once made with pride. And now we’re bringing that integrity and dignity back full circle.
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Cyrus Hornberger adds a water wheel to a pre-Civil War rifle foundry at 22 Main Street in Mohnton, PA, turning it into a functioning mill powered by the Wyomissing Creek.
Made in Mohnton , P.A.
Buck Mason Knitting Mills
Cotton fabrics proudly knit on our knitting machines in Mohnton.
Circular knitting machines ensure consistency in fabric tension and texture.
Each machine is fed by several cones of yarn to allow for precise specifications.
Cones of American-grown cotton yarns.
We knit yarns with different properties together to achieve certain desired effects.
Al keeps a close eye on the process, making careful adjustments as necessary.
Some technologies never change. Heavy shears and lubrication are reliable essentials.
Pure white cones of yarn that may eventually take color when we dye the finished fabric.
Laura expertly oversees each stitch in one of our tees.
Cones of Polycore thread have a cotton-wrapped polyester core to provide durable seam construction.
Sewing happens in our factory just down the street from the fabric mill.
Al carefully cuts the milled fabric into the desired shape.
Reliable old Singers put the finishing touches on each tee.
Sally oversees quality control, ensuring each tee measures up to specs.
The final touch; our Made in America labels are added.
The finished product; Buck Mason tees made with pride in Mohnton, PA.
We don’t just design clothes; we make them. Buck Mason Knitting Mills allows us to manufacture entirely domestic, American-made products. Our designers are rubbing shoulders with our makers to improve quality and value for you. We still make a wide range of world-class clothing products all over the world. But the t-shirt was born and bred in the USA, from the laborers and service members who wore them first to the cultural icons who made them a part of our everyday lives. The t-shirt is not just a uniquely American classic; it’s our first love.
In 2013, we set out to build the best-damn-fit-you-ever-tried cotton tee. We revised that first pattern for our signature slub and pima styles dozens of times before we got it right. We made it our mission. We understand that if we’re going to make the best t-shirt in the business, then we need to make them here. We’re currently running one full sewing line at Buck Mason Knitting Mills to produce our slub, pima and toughknit t-shirts, and we’ll be adding more styles later this year.
The Makers
Meet Al Bareika, our knitting mill lead in Mohnton, Pennsylvania. Al's been around so long, he jokes he's as old as the factory itself. With 50 years of experience and a history that predates our ownership, he's a vital part of Buck Mason Knitting Mills, just as much as the vintage Fifties machines we knit our tees on.
Grown in USA
We learned early on that you can't make quality tees without quality cotton and made it a point to forge partnerships with farms that meet our exacting standards. Farms in California, Texas, and Georgia provide the premium cotton we use. From cotton grown and spun in America to our new mill in Mohnton, Pennsylvania, every step of the Buck Mason Knitting Mills process is domestic. That means quality control, but so much more. It means jobs, dignity, and pride.
Shop our full range of Slub, Pima, and Toughknit tees, proudly grown and sewn in the USA: