Digital Color Images as a Tool for the Sustainable Use of Embroidery Elements from Folk Costumes

Abstract

The aim of the research is to improve the public’s assessment and understanding of the cultural values and history of Bulgaria. The main issues related to the sustainable use of elements of the cultural heritage are defined, and the accessible literary sources related to the digitization of the folklore heritage are reviewed. Shape indices, color, and textural characteristics were obtained from digital color images of the elements of Bulgarian folk costumes. The most informative indices of these features were selected. A kernel variant of the principal component analysis (kPCA) method was used to reduce the data volume of the feature vector. A Naïve Bayes classifier, discriminant analysis, and the support vector method (SVM) were used for classification. The classification accuracy was assessed. In the analysis of the decorative elements of Bulgarian costumes, it was found that the accuracy of classification depended both on the method for reducing the volume of data and on the separability of the classes of data, depending on the classifier used. In the analysis of microscopic images of textile fabrics from Bulgarian costumes, it was found that the accuracy of classification for the studied objects depended both on the method for reducing the volume of data and on the used classifier. In the considered cases, a classification error below 10% was obtained using a non-linear kPCA kernel and SVM with a non-linear partition function. It was proven that the results of this development can be used in the creation of modern cross-stitch patterns, textile patterns, and clothing. The practical application of these research findings has the potential to benefit various stakeholders, including cultural heritage institutions, researchers, artisans, designers, and the general public, promoting a deeper appreciation and sustainable use of costume embroidery elements. Research can continue in the direction of the sustainable use and preservation of embroidery elements of Bulgarian costumes, enriching the understanding of cultural heritage and promoting appreciation for it in future generations.