Weaving is an ancient craft. The earliest evidence of a weaving culture in the present-day Bulgarian lands dates from 6the – 5th millennium BC.

The Bulgarian people inherited the art and craft of weaving from its constituent ethnic groups, the Slavs and the Bulgars, who founded the Bulgarian State in AD 681. In turn, the Slavs and the Bulgars were influenced by the ancient weaving culture of the Black Sea Greeks and the indigenous Thracians, who lived on the Balkan Peninsula and were also incorporated into the Bulgarian Empire. Later, these inherited traditions were modified by foreign influences resulting from historical contacts, conquests, and trade.

The craft of weaving was passed on from one generation to another within the family. Girls would grow up by the loom. When a girl reached marriageable age, she would make her dowry herself. Thus, the weaver’s yearning for home comfort as well as her creative instinct turned the craft of weaving into an art.

Folk weaving was an important part of the household material culture of the Bulgarians until the beginning of the 20th century. The most ample evidence of the extraordinary diversity of handloom-woven textiles can be found in Bulgarian museums, monasteries, churches and village houses, where parts of bridal dowries have been preserved to this very day.

Coverings are a key type of household and furnishing textiles: kilim-type carpets, woolen, fleecy, goat’s hair and other rugs and textiles used as floor/bed covers or blankets.

Bulgarian folk textiles are characterized by a strong resilience of tradition, following traditional models. At the same time, every weaver has left her personal imprint on them. These textiles possess the charm of an immediate and genuine creative outlook.

The collection presented here consists mainly of pieces made by my mother and grandmother, as well as items from other collections kept in village chests. They date from the period between 1920 and 1950. All are well preserved and in excellent condition.

The materials from which the items are made are fine-quality (fleecy) wool, cotton, hemp, and cloth patches. They are tinted with natural and artificial dyes. The yarns are handspun, using a spindle and distaff, and the so-called mahalka, a large spindle without a distaff. The majority of items have a twisted weft. They were woven on a horizontal loom. The commonest techniques are smooth weaving and tufting. Some of the items are woven by the rarer klyupena (knotting) technique. In terms of structure, the textiles are plain-weave (lito) and double-weave (chetvorno).

The collection contains coloured woolen rugs, kilim-type rugs, fleecy rugs, goat’s hair rugs, and other textiles.

I love Bulgarian folk textiles and would be happy to help more people to get to know and appreciate them. Wonderful old textiles can still be found in our ‘grannies’ chests’. My wish and desire is to collect and popularize this treasure.