Goat-hair weaving

Goat-hair weaving, known as mutafchiystvo, is a craft in which masters make various products from goat-hair yarn, including bags, sacks, saddlebags and rugs.

By the mid-19th century, goat-hair weaving had reached a high level of development in Bulgaria. Before the Liberation from Ottoman rule, it was popular in all larger settlements. It flourished particularly in Panagyurishte, where about 200 workshops brought together around 1,000 masters, journeymen and apprentices, among the most important specialists in the craft. Other regional centres included Veliko Tarnovo, Tryavna, Kazanlak, Stara Zagora, Dupnitsa, Samokov and elsewhere.