A new yarn spun from paper mulberry
Three years in the mill produced a blend with the handle of viscose, the breathability of linen, and a fibre that grows on Korean hillsides.
Paper mulberry has been used in Korea for well over a thousand years to make hanji — paper that is strong, breathes, and ages without falling apart. What it has never been is a fabric you could put in a garment.
The problem was spinning
The fibres are short, irregular and stiff next to cotton. Every earlier attempt we saw either produced a yarn too weak to knit, or softened it with so much chemistry that the point of using it disappeared.
Our team spent three years on the separation step rather than the finish, and blended the result with lyocell for stability.
What it is good for
It holds more moisture than cotton, dries considerably faster, and takes the same dye recipe — so it does not need a new process in the dye house.
It costs more than cotton and we are not pretending otherwise. What it offers is a genuinely different handle, and a story that is ours rather than borrowed.
Written by the JNN MO editorial team. For press enquiries or to speak to the people behind this work, contact hello@jnnmo.com.
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