Description
Fotos © Kokon Yarn
Material
100% merino wool (Mulesing-free)
5 x 100 Gramm Stränge mit ca. 400 Meter – aufeinander abgestimmt gefärbt
Nadelstärke 2,5 – 3,5 ca. 26 – 27 Maschen auf 10 cm.; bzwz. je nach Nadelstärke kompakter oder lockerer.
Special handling of hand-dyed yarns: For hand-dyed yarns, each strand is unique. In order to avoid a sudden difference in the entanglement, it is recommended to always knit with two strands at the same time. One round of string number one, one round of string number two.
Each strand must be wound into a ball before knitting. There are also devices such as a reel and a wool wrapper. If you don’t have it yet, do it like in grandmother’s day, someone holds the strand in their hands while the other wraps the ball.
Information on the merino wool used
South Africa is a huge and beautiful country with a rich history of sheep and wool farming. This long history has established WoolGrowers who have a strong appreciation for how they can take care of their animals and the environment. As a result, the industry consistently produces a high-quality, environmentally friendly product for international markets.
The first merino sheep arrived at the Cape in 1789, and the sheep and wool industry was established on a commercial basis. Throughout the colonial period, Cape Province remained the most important wool production area in southern Africa, and although the sheep industry subsequently spread rapidly throughout the country, Cape Wool has become the international trade term for wool produced on the subcontinent.
By Michelle – the company owner (Text shortened by us)
Cocoon yarn was created to express my love for textiles and crafts, to find an outlet for my creativity and curious spirit, and to celebrate my heritage and history.
I was born in South Africa in Port Elizabeth, the capital of the Eastern Cape Province. From my earliest childhood memories, I was always occupied with crafts, drawing, pottery, painting, embroidery, jewelry making, papier-mâché and many other things.
I have two sisters and until the age of about 6 my mother sewed all our clothes and dressed us identically, which I loved. We were her pride and joy, and she stitched from yellow and white carobikini with small white square buckles to winter dresses worn with turtle collars and tights. I also had two grandmothers who were not only beautifully dressed, but also embroidery and sewing. The love for craftsmanship and handicraft was always present in our home.
After graduating from high school, I studied textile pattern design in Cape Town. I’ve always been crazy about patterns and colors. Less was never enough for me and I could get lost in the smallest details.
After graduation, I was full of wanderlust and had never left South Africa. I was eager to learn from the University of Life and wanted to expand my boundaries. Shortly after my studies, I left South Africa and moved back and forth twice between the Netherlands and South Africa in the following 16 years. During these years I worked as a commercial surface designer in the apparel industry, as a fashion stylist, fashion designer and as a product developer.
After the birth of my second child, the opportunity arose to start my own business. My parents, whom I loved very much, passed away in 2002 and 2010, and in their memory I named my brand after them. My father’s nickname, which he wore throughout his life, was KOKO and my mother’s name was NELL. Kokon was born.
Cocoon is an expression of my creativity, but also a place where I can leave out my ideas on design, color, texture and yarn.
I have always been fascinated by the emotional power of color.
What it feels and thinks when you look at it.
Color is poetry.
Irresistible is also a word that has always driven my creative process. It began when I began to analyze what irresistible beauty in a product means to me and what elements these products contain. In my work, I always try unconsciously to create something of irresistible beauty.
I also love the tranquility, gentle environments, open spaces, few people, nature, far from the hustle and bustle. This love for the quieter and more natural things also runs like a red thread through the creative process that forms cocoon.
My experience from my own wardrobe is that I get more range with single-colored clothes than with colorful ones. As a lover of all things covered in multi-color prints, I am instinctively attracted to clothing that stands out. After many years of not being able to combine anything in my wardrobe, I changed my color scheme to noble base colors and experience the joy of being able to wear a garment for many seasons. This also shapes my thoughts on design and color. It should be timeless and contain elements that always resonate with the wearer, even if fashion comes and goes. Based on this experience, we have kept our color palette correspondingly calm and elegant for the yarns.
I hope the above gives you an idea of who I am and how cocoon came about from it. I hope you will join me on this creative journey.
