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Bulgarian thread

Template illustration of how to embroider the Rooster ornamentRooster

Embroider it

Necessary metrials

  • Embroidery needle
  • Embroidery hoop (choose the hoop size based on your preferences)
  • Tapestry canvas or fabric of your choice
  • Yellow thread (Pantone no. 108 U/C) a yellow thread swirl
  • Orange thread (Pantone no. 021 U/C) an orange thread swirl
  • Red thread (Pantone no. 1795 U/C) a red thread swirl
  • Blue thread (Pantone no. 639 U/C) a blue thread swirl
  • Black thread (Pantone no. 419 U/C) A black thread swirl.

Template

Illustration template on how to embroider the Rooster ornament.

What does the ornament symbolise?

The rooster is a widely loved symbol in traditional Bulgarian embroidery and it can have many meanings depending on the use. Sometimes it can represent the idea for the male beginning and fertility or in wedding rituals the female one. Symbolism for eternally reproducing life. The ornament is placed either individually or in a symmetrical composition one against the other with a plant, flower or other figure in the middle. It is mostly used in the Samokov region on women’s skirts and shirts.

When young women were ready to get married and start a family they would embroider roosters on their chest or across the length of their skirt. The peacock on the other hand, is believed to protect young brides from ‘the evil eye’.
The rooster animal has been used as protection too. People believe that the crowing of the first roosters in the morning, drives away the evil creatures roaming during the night.


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