YAL 2021 DYER PROFILE: MOMINOKI YARN

We’re thrilled to announce our first Yarn A Long dyer, Mominoki Yarn. Stephen first collaborated with Mominoki Yarn for the 2020 Hiberknitalong, and we’re delighted that they’ve agreed to join us again for the 2021 YAL.

Mominoki Yarn was founded in 2017 by Japanese German couple Chihiro and Lasse.

Chihiro moved from Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan, to Germany in 2007 to work as a Japanese teacher.

She explains that while certain elements of Japanese culture are very colourful, and that children are encouraged to wear lots of colour, there is also a serious, black and white side to Japanese life. Chihiro loved expressing herself through colourful clothing as a child, but switched to neutral colours as an adult, so she would measure up to social expectations. She says she eventually felt that she couldn’t express her individuality anymore.

It was discovering a ball of colourful sock yarn when she moved to Germany that changed her life. She was determined to make socks with it, and soon she was knitting furiously every day, excited to see how the yarn changed colour and the patterns emerge in her knitted fabric. Slowly, her knitted wardrobe incorporated more and more colour, and with it came a desire to carry the feeling of fun and excitement that it gave her out into the world.

Starting to dye yarn was a natural next step for Chihiro, and after a lot of experimentation, she and Lasse founded Mominoki Yarn. All the colours in Mominoki’s palette come from mixing six base colours together. As a child, Chihiro loved to play with mixing colours, and her approach now is no different. She develops her colours through the same feelings and playful approach.

Chihiro’s inspiration arrises from everyday life. When sleeping or daydreaming, nature, melodies and feelings combine into a colour composition, which she translates into beautiful hand dyed yarn.

Browse Mominoki Yarns.