What is Hardanger embroidery?

Hardanger embroidery, also known as Hardangersm embroidery from Hardanger), originates from the Hardanger region of Norway. It is a cutwork embroidery, traditionally worked in white thread on white evenweave linen fabric. Many people come to Hardanger embroidery from a background of cross stitch. Hardanger, like most cross stitch, is a counted embroidery. Hardanger offers new challenges to cross stitchers as it has a much wider range of stitches, and a very different look. While cross stitch is pictorial, Hardanger is not: its designs are based around pattern, texture and areas of openwork.

Historical Hardangersm

The history of Hardanger is unclear, but it is likely that it was originally created as a "homemade" version of the needlelaces that were popular in the 1600s and 1700s in Europe.

Early Hardangersm was often worked in horizontal bands in pieces such as aprons and ecclesiastical linen. It had cutwork in simple shapes such as diamonds and triangles. These were edged with satin stitch (klosters). They also used cable stitch, often as a pulled thread stitch. There was additional satin stitch to decorate, and eyelets (though not in the centre of kloster block clusters). Along the edges of the band was usually a section of needleweaving (a long drawn thread section with hemstitched edges with threads woven back together in patterns). The entire design usually had four-sided stitch worked as a pulled thread stitch along the tops and bottoms of these bands. Examples of work such as this can be seen at Vesterheim Norwegian American museum in Decorah, Iowa, and in a Norwegian book entitled "Hardangersaum" by Gudrun Stuland, (Oslo: Fabritius & Sonners Forlag, 1960).

Within the parameters described above, there was a large amount of room for creativity in design. The designs are hugely varied, and very beautiful. The filling stitches used in the cutwork needleweaving were very simple - often just plain woven bars, sometimes with knotted picots, or diagonal twisted bars.

What has changed in contemporary Hardanger?

The buttonhole edge so common in contemporary Hardanger did not develop until much later, and it is one of the main things that has changed hardanger designing. According to information collected by Lucy Lyons Willis, early Hardangersm stitchers never used a stitch like this because it would have used up too much precious thread. The buttonhole edge has meant that now Hardanger pieces can be pretty much any shape you care to have! This is a large difference from the original bands.

Colour of both thread and fabric is also a major difference between old and contemporary Hardanger. Historical Hardanger embroidery was traditionally a whitework embroidery - using white thread on white fabric. Contemporary designs sometimes use fabric which is coloured or thread which is coloured. Often they incorporate metallic threads, overdyed threads, and beading. The palette of colours is limited only by one's imagination and the threads and fabric available. Contemporary Hardanger sometimes is worked in combination with other techniques such as cross stitch.

Contemporary Hardanger embroidery is often less intricate than older pieces, but is used for a much wider range of applications. Ornaments, cushions, tablecloths, bookmarks, framed pieces, needlebooks and doilies are all common applications for contemporary Hardanger.

Learning Hardanger embroidery

The best way to start learning Hardanger embroidery is by enrolling in a class at a local shop, community college, or embroiderers' guild, or by using a step-by-step instruction book such as "Hardanger Basics and Beyond" by Janice Love, or "Elegant Hardanger Embroidery" by Yvette Stanton. There are also basic instructions to be found at some Hardanger focussed websites.

Hardanger is a great way to move further into embroidery, such as from an introduction of cross stitch, which is where many people first encounter the wonderful world of embroidery. With its elegant cutwork designs, Hardanger is a beautiful style of embroidery for stitchers to explore. Why not try it today?