After watching her mother and grandmother crochet everything from bold afghans to intricate potholders, seven-year-old Kyla Leslie was itchin’ for a li’l stitchin’ herself, so she dug out her hooks and gave it a shot. She produced an irregular, ornamental place mat. After that experience, one could say she’d seen the needle and the doilies done. But that didn’t stop her from trying again.

Fastforward 20 years, and Leslie is a crochet master in her own right. For proof, you needn’t look any further than her accessories label, Kove. In just under two years, it’s become one of the hottest things in West Coast accessories—which is quite an impressive feat, considering she basically launched her company on a lark.

“I started it as kind of an experiment/hobby business in early 2010,” recalls Leslie, who recently sat down with the Straight at a West Side café. “I had just come back from travelling and had the time and interest to get back into it. Also, my grandma had passed away [in 2008], so I felt it was a way I could get back and connect with her. And so I put a small collection together, threw it up on Etsy, and just waited to see what would happen.”

What happened is online customers took to Leslie’s pieces almost right away. And make no mistake: she may have learned to crochet from Granny, but Leslie’s Kove creations are not your grandmother’s knits. Instead, the Vancouver designer makes funky, chunky accessories that are as versatile as they are classic.

“It’s a functionality thing,” she says of her designs, which can be custom-ordered from her website in several shades of itch-free, machine-washable acrylic-and-wool yarn or bought at a number of B.C. boutiques, including Fine Finds (1014 Mainland Street), LYNNsteven (225 Carrall Street), and Lushuz (2352 West 4th Avenue). “I like pieces you can pull up over your head like a hood, that you can wear like a scarf, and that can be worn in different ways. I think there’s no point in having a big scarf unless it can do a bunch of stuff for you.

“And then, because I grew up here,” she continues, “I like being cozy. I like being outdoors and enjoying nature and stuff that’s around us. My personal style, it is classic-current. I like things that you’re gonna be able to keep. That’s why you don’t see a lot of stripes in my collection—mostly solid colours.”

One of the best examples of her versatile and contemporary style is the thickly ribbed Mainland Warmer ($90), an infinity scarf that can be converted into a neck warmer or a shrug, among other things. Her Raincity Boot Warmers ($70) are pretty damn cute too. Wear them like leg warmers under your favourite pair of wellies and you’re good to go.

And if you think Kove is just for winter, you’re wrong. Leslie’s loop necklaces are all-season. The Winter Captain Fringe ($56), for example, has spring written all over it. With its several layered strands of bulky chains, you can rock this crocheted jewel with some St. Tropez stripes for an updated nautical look.

So with all the success Leslie has enjoyed of late (her Christmas stock was cleaned out), has she felt that connection to her grandma she was hoping for when she started out? “I definitely have moments,” she says thoughtfully.