This embroidery is from Samokov. It is most often found on women's shirt skirts and less often on their bosoms. Of the bird figures, the rooster is the most common in the vezmoto, again mostly in the bachelorette and bridal shirts. This domestic bird bore the symbolism of eternally reproducing life. If a girl had roosters embroidered on the front of her chest on her shirt or along the entire length of her skirt, it meant that she was already fit for a family and offspring. The embroidery, in which the image of a peacock was woven, was made on the clothes of maidens and young brides to protect them from lessons.
The rooster was a symbol of war in antiquity. Because of his sensitivity to the sun and light, he was associated with the god of light, the goddess of the moon and that of the underworld. They believed in the magical powers of its crowing, which drives away evil forces. In our country, as in other nations, it is associated with fertility and the continuation of life. In women's Samokov costumes /shirts/ the rooster is included in the compositions of the sacred tree. The spirit of growth was represented in antiquity by the image of the rooster. This also explains the later folk custom of killing a rooster in the fields after the harvest. With this, we can explain the presence of roosters on the work shirts of the Samokov peasant women.
Regarding the form, according to the local elderly women - "at first the simpler forms were invented, which are very nice, later various elements were added that were rushed." Indeed, in the old embroidery, the image of the rooster shows a rudimentary way of formation. The profile of the static body is outlined by slightly rounded lines. The two birds face each other, which frame a protective border of the fruit embroidered between them, which characterizes the sign of the genus Dulo. The tails are raised up and strongly curled towards the head. The bird itself is smaller, mostly hooded, and shaped with a thin, elegantly elongated neck. The silhouette formed in this way has no unnecessary gadgets. In more recent times, the body has been altered, depicting it with straighter lines, and the embroidery has been embellished by the addition of new elements, as in this case the pines surrounding them.
Pines are usually used to surround the animal figures to recreate their natural setting in nature. A significant difference in the Samokov pines is that they begin at the base with a root, which in a stylized way depicts the connection of the needlework with the earth.
The tree - the cosmic pine connects the earth and the sky, a portal between the earthly and spiritual worlds.
The zigzag stitching in the stitching serves for protection and security.
The fruit held by the birds is part of the "tree of life", which again symbolizes the birth of new life and potency.