Roses in Chains pattern
rnaments, their shape and colors make Pirot’s rug recognizable everywhere in the world. They are full of symbolism
and have Byzantine, Greek, Chinese and Turkish elements modified by Pirot’s
spinners’ imagination and skills. On Pirot’s rug geometric motifs are
dominating and one of the most often is a rhombus – ornament with
pre-historic tradition that also appears on ceramics, metal and bronze.
Stylized form of branched tree in many varieties could be found on all
oriental rugs and it is familiar to all Eastern nations.
French Sweets pattern
f you ask any of remaining women
spinners in Pirot what is the most important thing for rug quality you’d
always get the same answer – wool. It is considered that only wool from the Stara
Planina Mountain’s sheep is appropriate for Pirot’s rug manufacture. There are
two kinds of wool: fleece wool – sheared once in a year from living sheep,
and sheet wool – taken off from leather of slaughtered sheep. Sheared wool
classifies by its quality, it is washed in hot water, rinsed in cold and
dried. After that, wool is manually combed and categorized: wool of fine
quality is for weaving and the rest is for making woolen clothes.
pinning is done by a spindle and a
distaff. Thicker fibers are used for rug base and they are not colored,
unlike the thinner ones which are used for woof. Spun wool from the spindle
is rewound on winder for straightening and after that it is winded into
spools, which are later painted and whitened. Women from villages used to
paint wool by themselves in nut’s and ash’s barks, as well as in onion
scales.
It’s been painted with natural colors for a long time, but recently aniline –
final colors appeared. Old herbal colors were bright red (cinnabar), livid
(indigo), bright blue and dark green, green, black, coffee-brown and yellow.
After painting yarn is being carried to the Nisava River or a brook for fine
washing and after that it is strained and dried.
eaving has been done mostly between Djurdjevdan (May 6th) and Mitrovdan
(November 8th), it’s been done outdoor, and weaved rugs have had different
dimensions. The beginning and the end of rug weaving were followed by some
customs. Yarn preparing should have started on Monday as well as weaving itself,
and the one who rugs were made for used to bring “zatkavalnik” – plentiful
breakfast or lunch. After the rug is done a girl from ordering party’s house or
the bride, whose wedding preparations a rug was for, would bring a round bread,
cheese and onions. 
