Embroidery Definitions — definitions of embroidery techniques, stitches and needlework terms from Apparel Search
Hardanger embroidery is a form of embroidery worked in white yarn on a colored Hardanger cloth, using drawn thread work, and it is a form of counted-thread embroidery. It originates from the Hardanger district in western Norway. Among the special techniques used are cording, woven bars, picot and the four-sided stitch.
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It is a form of counted-thread embroidery
It originates from the Hardanger district in Western Norway.
Amongst the special techniques used are:
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Hardanger is built in an order that protects the work. The solid geometry comes first: blocks of flat satin stitches are worked across the counted cloth, outlining the areas that will later be opened. Only when those blocks are complete are the fabric threads inside them cut and withdrawn — the satin blocks act as a secured frame, so the cut area ends exactly where the design intends and cannot unravel further. The exposed mesh of remaining threads is then woven into bars, sometimes with picot loops along them, turning a hole in the fabric into the laciest part of the design. Reversing the order would leave nothing firm to stitch into, which is why Hardanger patterns are always sequenced block, cut, weave.
Hardanger designs tend to be geometric, and flowers within them highly stylised, because the technique's units are squares: counted blocks, square cut areas, bars woven across a square mesh, and the four-sided stitch forming adjoining squares. Rather than treating that as a limitation, the tradition builds its richness from repetition and contrast — dense white blocks against open woven mesh, corded outlines against flat ground. The coarse fabric and thread usually used keep the counting legible and the woven bars strong; this is openwork meant for household linen and garments that will be washed and used, not only framed. Its modern popularity rests on that combination of strict structure and forgiving scale: the work is intricate, but every step can be learned from written instructions and checked by counting.
Hardanger cloth is woven for this work: an evenweave with paired threads that group naturally into the blocks and bars the designs require, traditionally in counts coarse enough for the woven bars to be strong. The definition's white yarn on colored cloth describes one traditional presentation; the better-known modern presentation reverses it to white on white, grouping Hardanger with whitework. Either way the structure is identical — satin blocks, cut areas, woven and wrapped bars, picot edging — and the color choice changes only the mood, from folk contrast to heirloom restraint.
It originates from the Hardanger district in western Norway, and takes its name and its evenweave Hardanger cloth from that region. It is the style of drawn thread work most popular today.
Cording overcasts several threads to make a cord; woven bars weave the needle over and under three threads until they are completely covered; picot twists the thread once round the needle before inserting it; and the four-sided stitch forms adjoining squares.
Flat stitches form the backbone of the design in geometric blocks; in the open areas both warp and weft threads are removed and the remaining mesh is secured with weaving or wrapping, or with a limited number of simple filling patterns. The designs tend to be geometric, and any flowers are very stylised.