Our Story

1.0

Where it Began

You might assume that Cocooned began with a long-held dream of creating a children’s clothing brand. The truth is, it started with me standing in front of my own closet, frustrated.

I’m taller than average, and while I could find clothes that I liked, I rarely found things that fit me properly. Even when I spent hundreds of dollars on a garment, something was usually a little bit off. Eventually, I decided that perhaps I could learn to make my own.

At that point, I knew absolutely nothing about sewing.

There was one person I thought of: Ms. Cook, a lifelong friend of my granny’s who had sewn beautifully for her over the years. I wasn’t actually looking for lessons. I went to ask if she had a sewing machine she wasn’t using that she might be willing to sell me.

Instead, she offered to teach me.

By the time I showed up for my first lesson, I’d already tried to make something on my own. Of course, I didn’t pick something easy. It was a bright pink wrap dress with puffy sleeves and a sash.

It was a disaster.

I took it with me anyway, hoping Ms. Cook could help me fix it. I still remember her reaction. Kind, but perhaps wondering where on earth we would start.

We didn’t start there. In fact the dress never got fixed but I kept it for the sake of memories.

We chose a much simpler pattern from the drawers and drawers of patterns she had collected over the years, and started again.

One night, my mother reminded me of smocking and suggested that I get a hand pleater.

That was really all the encouragement I needed.

I found an old Sally Stanley pleater online, tracked down the needles for it and started teaching myself. Smocking soon opened the door to embroidery, and before long I was buying books, watching endless videos and spending many late nights practicing.

Eventually, I made my first smocked children’s dress.

It was white, with a Peter Pan collar and green and cream smocking across the front. I was still learning, but I remember being incredibly proud of it because it turned out well.

So I made another one.

The next was baby blue, with white smocking and another Peter Pan collar. I really love Peter Pan collars!

And then I just kept making children’s clothes.

There wasn’t a business plan behind it. I simply discovered that I loved making them. Whenever I finished something new, I would take it to show Ms. Cook, and as I became more confident, the collection of little garments grew.

Eventually, there was a fairly practical question to answer.

I didn’t have children of my own, so what exactly was I going to do with all these children’s clothes?

It seemed a shame to make beautiful things only for them to sit in my closet.

And that was when the seed of Cocooned was planted.