Ayten Kaya

I’m Ayten. I was born and raised in a small district of Çorum. I have been immersed in crochet and knitting since my childhood. I started learning crochet when I was about 10–12 years old.

In the time I grew up, handicrafts such as lace, oya and knitting were a very natural part of life. Girls especially would learn and make things for their trousseau, and these would be kept for years. I too grew up in such an environment.

My older sister had a big part in my first encounter with crochet. She was the one who first taught me to crochet. The first thing I made was a kitchen potholder. Maybe it was a very simple thing, but for me it became the starting point.

After that I started making lace, and over the years I collected quite a lot of lace. Back then, the lace that was made was prepared for the trousseau and kept in chests. My old lace is still there. There are times when I think, I wish I had a chest too.

Now when I look at that lace, I don’t only see the work I made. I remember my childhood, the life back then, and making things by putting in hours of handwork.

I think what I love most is bringing something I have in mind to life with my own hands.

Over the years I didn’t always make the same thing. For a while I made lace, for a while I worked with oya, for a while I made clothes. I made bags too; especially during the corona period I knitted a lot of bags. During that time when we were at home, my hands kept reaching for some work. Knitting both filled my time and did me good.

I haven’t yet knitted a big blanket for myself. Although I had knitted a baby blanket for my son. But I think my next goal now is to knit a blanket. Let’s see when I will get around to that goal.

I think what keeps me in crochet is partly this variety. While I’m making one thing, I become curious about something else. I think, “Can I make this with crochet too?” and I find myself trying something new.

There is a dress I saw on Pinterest and made. It has a special place for me.

Instead of just liking something I saw somewhere, I thought, “Can I make this?” and started trying. In the end, a dress I could actually wear came out of it, and that made me very happy.

What matters to me is not only that the dress is beautiful. It is an idea first forming in my head, and then, by working at it again and again with yarn and hook, turning into something real. This process makes me very happy.

Actually, I get inspiration from very different things. Colours, fabrics, nature, old clothes, different cultures, sometimes even a small detail of a building…

Pinterest and social media also give me a lot of ideas. But instead of making exactly what I see, I like to think, “How can I change this to suit myself?”

Sometimes I see a small motif, and I try it first. Then I adapt it onto something else. That way a tiny idea can turn into a bag, a garment or another piece of work.

I think the culture of handicrafts is very strong in Turkey. Lace, oya, knitting and crochet have been part of women’s lives for years, and they have often been learned from a mother, an older sister, a neighbour.

I too learned crochet from my older sister. That is why it has a special meaning for me.

Today, though, things have changed a little. Thanks to social media, we can see the work made by people from all over the world. Whereas before we were limited to the designs we saw around us, now we can reach the work of people from different countries. I too keep learning new things and following the work of different people.

I would say, don’t compare yourself with others.

The first thing you make doesn’t have to be flawless. I too unravelled many things and made them again. When it didn’t turn out the way I wanted, I tried again.

I think in handwork you need to be a little patient and not give up trying. Over time your own style forms anyway. And the most beautiful thing is, instead of looking at what others have made and saying “I should make exactly the same”, to discover what kind of thing your own hands and your own taste bring out.

I would say Iceland.

Its mountains, its nature and its cool air really attract me. I am also curious about the knitting culture in the Scandinavian countries.

I imagine it: in the middle of beautiful nature, in cold weather, sitting with someone else who loves knitting or crochet, both chatting and working on what we have in our hands.

Making things in a setting like that would feel very enjoyable to me. With love….