From Chest to Everyday Life: The Living Culture of Turkish Crochet Lace

Lace, a fine openwork textile produced either as an independent fabric or as an embellishment on textile edges, occupies a significant place in Turkish handicrafts. Known as tentene in Anatolia, crochet lace has long been associated with dowry traditions and domestic interiors. Although it remained widely integrated into everyday household environments until the early 2000s, its functional presence has gradually declined in contemporary homes. This study examines the cultural transformation of crochet lace in Türkiye through a qualitative case study that combines documentation of family lace collections with survey data from 56 women residing in İzmir. Focusing on patterns of production, use, ownership, preservation, and perception, the research explores how the meanings attributed to crochet lace vary across generations. The findings reveal a clear shift from functional use to symbolic preservation: while everyday use has declined, ownership remains remarkably high, reflecting the continuing significance of lace as a material carrier of cultural memory, family heritage, and emotional attachment. The study also identifies a weakening of intergenerational transmission alongside emerging forms of reinterpretation through contemporary design practices. Rather than disappearing, crochet lace is being recontextualized, negotiating between tradition and modernity in contemporary Turkish society.