Socks / Gloves and Folk Shoes (Harik)

Studies on knitting provide information on various types of socks in Anatolia and Rumelia and patterns, techniques and features incorporated in socks of Sivas, as well as socks and slippers (çedik) of Ankara-Ayaş, Afyon-Emirağ, Malatya, Van, Rize and Trabzon (1). 

Among these products, socks knitted with one or five needles are especially striking. Socks knitted with one needle are seen in Antalya and Emirdağ-Yunak. This type of applications is mainly produced by male knitters with crochet needles (tığ).

Socks are categorized under two main headings, namely unicoloured and multicoloured socks. Both uni- and multicoloured socks present various ornaments produced via horizontal, vertical and diagonal streams and variations in the quality or quantity of knots. Among knitted textures, ‘plain knitting’, known as sock knitting in colloquial language, is specifically rich in terms of patterns.

High-neck examples of multicoloured socks in Antalya, Isparta, Sivas and Hakkari are especially remarkable. This is also true for low-neck socks known as çedik or patik (bootees) knitted in Konya, Afyon, Behramkale and Çorlu areas.

Among multicoloured socks, one group attracts attention with its embroidered appearance. These forms of application are produced by using embroidery yarns in addition to the knitting yarn and either driving these yarns along with plain knitting lines or wrapping or twisting them around knots. Known as dolama (twisting), iğne ardı (backstitch), zincir (chain) and sarma (wrapping), interesting examples of these socks can be seen in such centres as Sivas, Van and Rize.

In unicoloured socks, apart from plain knitting, socks demonstrate ornamented knitting patterns developed by plain, purled, decreasing or increasing knots. Among these, unicoloured ‘groom’s socks’ knitted meticulously in white wool have different variations such as openwork (hemstitch) knitting referred to with such terms as selvi, kılçık and fındıklı. This is also true for women’s and children’s angora socks knitted in Ayaş.

Among unicoloured socks, Karapınar is famous for its finely span white, yellow, blue and pink wool socks and Afyon is renowned for its white, low-heeled and one-size-fits-all wool socks. In Sivrihisar, socks are in off-white or white with hemstitches applied at legs.

Reşik/Harik

These folk shoes are produced by knitting the face in angora or wool and covering the soles in matting made of hemp cords and mainly in Van, Hakkari, Bitlis and Şırnak under the name ‘reşik’. These products are one of the most interesting types of knitting.

Similar products are seen in Bitlis under the name ‘harik’. A harik master prepares soles in matting made of hemp cords and reinforces the soles with wool. Once sewn to felt shoetrees and glazed, soles are covered with a separately knitted shoe faces. The shoes are then completed with shoestrings.

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