She knew how to knit before she could write. A neighbor showed her something, they learned something at school, and later a Russian knitting book helped her, which she still has in the library – she learned about sculptural patterns and technical enhancements in it, such as edge alignment. Of course, she was also inspired by the magazine Dorka, and when she didn’t know something, she asked, as knitting was very popular among people in those times. She inherited her skill, as her mother used to say, from her grandfather who was an artistic plasterer. In her childhood, besides knitting, her hobby was also pottery, as she fired her creations at home in a kiln, and painting, which she was taught for years by the academic painter Michal Tillner. Only her primary school teacher prevented her from pursuing further artistic direction, as she convinced her mother not to send her to the high school of arts, which she really wanted to attend (because supposedly one cannot earn a living with it), but to a business academy.

She subsequently experienced the predetermined certainty of financial security working as the secretary of the director of the Slovak State Insurance Company for a full 27 years until she had to leave this job due to persistent health problems. It was the year 1985 when the decision had to be made about her professional future. Since she never stopped knitting in her life and her husband coincidentally had a contact through an acquaintance at the Center for Folk Art Production (ÚĽUV), she decided to present her portfolio to the artist Klára Brunovská, who was in charge of knitting at the Center at that time. They agreed, and starting from September 1st, Dagmar Kocianová joined ÚĽUV on a full-time basis as a knitter of clothing.

She worked according to the patterns of Klára Brunovská, who created collections of various clothing items (mostly pullovers, hats, and leg warmers) using one pattern in three variations. She keeps all her patterns, which were inspired by various areas of traditional production, stored and still frequently uses them in her creations. Over time, with her approach, she became a leading producer at the Center, and Klára Brunovská began to commission her to create prototypes of clothing. After the departure of this artist at the beginning of the 90s, Dagmar Kocianová also started producing her own products, such as socks, leg warmers, and various types of hats and scarves, alongside designing products for other artists at ÚĽUV.

One of Brunovská’s contributions to Dagmar Kocianová’s work was the knitting technique to which she has remained faithful to this day – adding unspun sheep’s wool to the yarn, which makes the final product softer and richer. The most motivating aspect for her during knitting is the complexity of the pattern or shape. For example, she did not enjoy knitting the back sides and sleeves of pullovers, which were made undecorated. On the contrary, she enjoyed knitting the most intricate patterns. Knitting is her daily relaxation. After a whole day’s work in the garden, she sits down in the evening around six o’clock, turns on the television, and starts knitting. As she says, she cannot imagine sitting in a chair without needles. And she couldn’t spend the whole evening playing solitaire… She usually finishes around half past two in the morning, assuming there is a good program on television.

She has been retired since 1996, but she continues to collaborate with ÚĽUV, albeit under changed conditions, as she mostly decides independently what to offer in the stores. When reminiscing about the old days, she recalls prestigious commissions, such as her involvement in the knitting for the first Czechoslovak expedition to Mount Everest in 1988 (pullovers, leg warmers, balaclavas) where they had to finish knitting the sleeves, as the mountain climbers had longer arms than usual. Or making clothing items for actors (Satinský, Kramár, Kronerová), which eventually appeared in movies and productions.

She did not have any successors – she does not have children of her own, and knitting did not capture the interest of people in her extended family. Nevertheless, she is content with her life, as evidenced by her unwavering activity and productivity.