Behind The Design -
How A Kabode Quilt Gets Made
When you buy from small companies you make a real difference in people’s lives. Here at Kabode we are super grateful every time you purchase something from our range, so we thought we’d tell you a bit more about the process that goes into making a Kabode quilt.
Kabode is a small business, run by parents. We struggled to find high quality, beautifully made bedding, made from sustainable fabrics, that matched the personalities of our kids. So we decided to make it ourselves!
Inspiration
The process starts with design. We look for inspiration by visiting industry trade shows such as Kind & Jugend in Cologne. Kind & Jugend is the biggest showcase of nursery and kids products in the Western world. Every Autumn all of the kids brands you’ve heard of (and thousands more that you haven’t!) come together in one place to show off their newest products, the things they have in development, and what they have in the pipeline to launch to consumers over the coming year. It’s a bit like London Fashion Week for baby and kids products and it is so packed with amazing things it’s a real treat for a designer!
From walking the halls at Kind & Jugend we can see what trends are up and coming, and soak in inspiration for colour palettes, details and finishing touches to add to the Kabode collection.
Creation
Back in the UK we pull together all of this inspiration and create our designs. We draw them digitally, try out different colour schemes and lay out different pattern repeats until we hit upon something that feels just right. Then we put it to our panel of expert testers - the kids! We always want Kabode designs to be appreciated by grown-ups but loved by kids, so if our panel of underage experts doesn’t like something, it’s back to the drawing board!
Sourcing
The designs are sent to our Kabode team in China, who have the important job of turning the drawings into real soft and cuddly quilts. We believe in doing good and being good, both to ourselves and the planet. We aspire to have a positive impact in the world, not only through our products but through consistently giving back whenever we can. That’s why the filling and outer of each Kabode quilt is made from 100% organic cotton.
Here at Kabode, we use organic cotton certified by GOTS, the world’s leading textile processing standard for organic fibres. We carefully sourced our fabrics so that they would feel great, look great, and survive the washing machine. Unlike supermarket bedding, we don’t use any toxic chemicals on the fabrics, so that they are kind to your child’s skin.
Production
The cotton we use starts life on a farm in China where it is sustainably grown, and the farmers don’t use any hazardous synthetic pesticides. This saves ecosystems and protects the health of the farmers, and means they can grow other profitable crops alongside the cotton without fear of cross-contamination.
The farmers carefully harvest the puffs of cotton and machines separate the fluffy bolls from the seeds. The remaining cotton lint is then pressed into bales, which are sent to a spinning facility.
At the spinning facility, high tech machines are used to card, comb, pull and stretch and finally twist the cotton into ropes of yarn. The yarn is woven into large fabric sheets, which are cut and dyed and used by our team to make our intricate quilts.
These skilled sewers ensure that each pattern piece is measured and cut exactly, and sewn together with precision and care. It wouldn’t do to have a one-eyed quilted lion, so quality is checked continuously to ensure that every Kabode quilt is as perfect as the last.
Packaging
Once the quilts arrive here in the UK we inspect them again to ensure they are up to our strict quality standards, and then they are ready to come to you!
We package all of our products in 100% plastic-free packaging so that you can recycle it - or even better, give it to your kids for junk modelling! We’d love to see some Robot quilt packaging turned into a real robot. Or perhaps it could be made into a bed for a favourite doll, and coloured in to match its owners Kabode bedding?
We are always trying to improve our eco-footprint, so we are committed to upgrading our courier bags from the recycled plastic they are currently made from to a biodegradable and compostable alternative. We are currently roadtesting some options to find something that is eco-friendly, but that can also withstand the postal service to ensure your products get to you in tip-top condition. We’re nearly there!
Finally, the quilt will find its home on your child’s bed, where we hope it will be cuddled, loved and made into forts for many years to come. Kabode products are made to last, and the quilts are intended to be with your child as a familiar and comforting object throughout childhood, and then either passed on to the next child or held onto as a keepsake to be pulled out and cuddled again whenever it’s needed. Through sleepless nights and sick days, to bedtime stories and sweet dreams, the family here at Kabode truly hope your family finds comfort and joy in your Kabode quilt forever more.