The prestigious fashion magazine ‘Vogue’ recently displayed a sweater knitted by a Bosnian woman for the French label Jean Patou.

Rabija Fejzic is a member of ‘Udruzene’, an association of female war victims who gather to knit as a form of therapy.

She knitted four sweaters and sent them to France. Fejzic said she needed six or seven days for completing the first one.

“Of course this means a lot to me, but I am still not aware of what it means. Somehow I am busy with work and euphoric, so I am not aware of what it actually means,” Fejzic said.

The head of the ‘Udruzene’ association, Nadira Skaljic, explained that she got the idea to establish the association when she returned to Bosnia from France.

“This actually happened when I came here with my son who was a baby then and I bought him a jumper with crochet flowers from a woman who worked in an association that brought together women victims of war for knitting,” she said.

Skaljic’s organisation now has more than 300 members, all women who see knitting as a kind of therapy.

“Women who experienced various traumas, generally women in Bosnia and Herzegovina who are burdened by society and politics, do not think about all of that while they are knitting,” she explained.

“I think that if I wouldn’t be knitting, I would always carry my life’s problems with me, but when I’m knitting, I somehow leave them behind, it calms me, and it is some kind of therapy,” Fejzic said.

Another member of the association, Mujesira Skrijelj, said knitting “relaxes” her.

The association is now organising knitting courses for beginners and also for those who want to hone their skills.