A LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT OYA

TURKISH OYA AND CROCHET

Handicrafts, like all other folk arts are the liveliest and most thoughtful ways of documenting a nations cultural identity.

Anatolia, the cradle of many civilizations, still holds traces of the cultures from these civilizations in every region.The roots of handicrafts in Anatolia date far back in to the antiquities

According to examples of antique oya, all handmade embriodery and oya were of great interest in every Anatolian period and especially in Ottoman times.

Apparently oya, which has a unique place in single and three dimentional fiber crafts, is not only used for decoration. Oya needlework is used as a means of communication too.

Oya is an embelishment, it means to embelish, it also meant “ the house was embelished” in the 2nd Centrury for the Turks

Today in Anatolia, among the lace works that are performed by using means as crochet hooks, needles, shuttles, pins, the ones that are either designed as borders or as motifs having different names according to the tools and techniques used:

1- Needle works
2- Crochet hook works
3- Shuttle works
4- Hairpin works
5- Wool works
6- Wax works
8- Bead and sequens work
9- Cloth leftover works

Supplies used in making oya

1- Silk threads
2- Cotton threads
3- Synthetic threads
4- Beads
5- Cloth,sequins,paper,Horse hair etc.

Sources:

1-OYA CULTURE SINCE OTTOMANS

Author : T.Onuk

2- TURKISH LACE WORKS (OYA) CATALOGUE ( Volume 1 and 2)

Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture