Hardanger 101~Lesson 7~Finishing & Care

Now that we're all done stitching and the loose threads have been removed from the back of the piece, we just have two more things to do before it's ready to use.

Trimming

First, you need to free it from the surrounding fabric. To do this, cut all the way around the piece, leaving an edge 2-3 threads wide. Then, with your fingers gently separate, or fluff, the remaining threads. It will then look like this:

Next, you need to carefully trim the loose threads as close to the buttonhole as you dare. I usually work on the back side of the fabric when I'm trimming. I also fold all but the section that I'm working on away from me. Only work on small sections as a time, and be mindful of where the tip and full cutting length of your scissors are at all times. As I mentioned before, some people secure the buttonhole with a sewing machine before they begin trimming, but that is optional.

This is the result. As you can see, there are tiny bits of fabric showing outside the stitches. It is more noticeable with the contrasting colors then it would be with white on white. It will also become less noticeable after you wash it.

Washing

The last thing you need to do is wash and iron your piece. This will remove any oils transferred from your skin and get rid of the wrinkles. Using a very mild soap (I just use a few drops of dish soap) in a sink of cold water, gently swish the piece until it is thoroughly wet. Since there shouldn't be any stains on it yet, there is no need to do more than swirl it in the soapy water.
Rinse it well under cold water and pat it with a clean towel (preferably the same color as your piece and lint free). Don't squeeze, twist or wring it out. Lay it flat to air dry a little. When it is still slightly damp, use an iron set on medium and a cover cloth to press it flat. Once you are finished, the piece should regain some of the stiffness that the fabric had originally.

Care

If you take care of it, this piece should last long enough to become an heirloom. Wash it in this way each time it is necessary. Store it flat. Larger pieces should be stored flat or rolled loosely, never folded. Try to keep them out of direct sunlight (unless it's a sun catcher, like this piece!).

And now, I want to see your pictures! You can add a link to a photo of your piece, or request my email address.

Of course, today would be cloudy.

Hardanger 101~Lesson 6~Woven Bars and Picots

Today will be our last day of stitching on this piece. You're almost done!

There are many different filler stitches for Open or Cutwork. The most basic is Woven Bars. Since there is very little openwork on this piece, I am also going to teach you how to add Picots to your woven bars today. Picots are simple and fast, but they can turn boring sections of woven bars into something more interesting.

The Woven bars (also called wrapped bars) are marked in purple on the chart. I told you there weren't very many of them.

Using #8 Perle cotton thread and a size 26 needle, tuck your thread under on the back of the fabric and bring your needle up in the center of the 4 remaining fabric threads in one of the cut work sections--two threads on each side of the needle.

Direction

I prefer to work right to left on woven bars, but it does not matter which side you start on as the results will be the same. What does matter is which direction you will be going after you finish each wrapped bar. You always want to place your first wrap stitch on the side that you will be moving to next. For example, if the next wrapped bar that I need to do is below the one I'm starting now, then I will place my first wrap around the lower two threads of the bar. If the next wrapped bar is above, then I will wrap the top two threads first.

By doing this, when you finish the last stitch in your wrapped bar, your thread will be oriented to start the next bar correctly. It will lay nicely on the back without leaving any gaps.

Woven (Wrapped) Bars

Wrapped Bars are exactly what they sound like. From the center of the 4 threads, you will first wrap your Perle Cotton around 2 threads and bring your needle back up in the center, and then wrap the other 2 threads and return to the center. Wrap them tightly (but don't strangle them!). You will continue to do this until the bar is filled with stitches. It is as simple as that.

In the photo, I wrapped the top 2 threads first because I am going to move to the next section above when I am finished. When I pull my needle through, it will complete the first pair of wraps.

There is no prescribed number of stitches that you must do in order to fill a wrapped bar properly. This is one area where personal technique will determine how many stitches you need. Thread count, thread thickness, and the tension of your stitching all play a part. The only thing that I can recommend is that you make sure you use the same number of stitches on each bar. For me, I know that 9 stitches per bar (or 9 pairs, really) is just about perfect. Any more, and after awhile, the bars start to get pushed out of shape by the extra stitches. Any less, and the bars don't look full.

We will discuss this again later with a larger section of openwork.

Picots

To add a Picot to your woven bars, complete your wrap stitches to the center of the bar (4 pairs for me). Then, lay a loop of thread above the bars, insert you needle down through the middle of the 4 fabric threads and up through the loop. Like so:

When you pull your needle through, your thread will be sticking up through the tightened loop above the bar. Now you will complete the wrap as before, by passing your needle back up into the center. This will leave a little bump of thread on the side of the wrapped bar. Repeat on the other side, and then finish wrapping the bar normally to the end. When you complete the picot, you can use your fingernail to hold the thread in place. Also, don't pull the thread so tight that it flattens the picot. If necessary, you can use the tip of your needle to tease the picot out a little.

Once you finish all of your wrapped bars and picots, your piece will look like this:

And because you are now Finished with stitching, you can trim all of the little tails off the back of your piece!

Backstory

Ta-Da! No more hairy mess.

Hardanger 101~Lesson 5~Openwork Cutting

Today I am going to teach you about cutting your fabric in preparation for stitching the Openwork, or Cutwork sections. I intend to over explain it; not because it is difficult, but because it is vital that you know exactly what you are doing so that you don't ruin all of your hard work to this point. Clip one wrong thread and it's over. So, please read the entire lesson before you begin cutting on your piece.

On the chart above, the red lines identify the thread you are going to cut. The picture below will demonstrate further.

The green thread shows you exactly where you will cut. The oranges lines identify place that you should Not Ever Ever Ever cut. A simple rule of thumb is that your cuts will Always run perpendicular to the ends of your satin or buttonhole stitches. You will Never cut parallel to existing stitches. Notice the direction the green thread runs in relation to the stitches around it. If you cut on the orange lines, the satin and buttonhole will unravel and your piece will disintegrate. Have I instilled a sufficient amount of fear yet? Good. Then we can move on without the "I'm not doing this to be mean, but for your own good" speech.

When you cut the threads, you need to insert the point of your scissors under the threads you're going to cut and bring it back up to the top of the fabric, as in the picture below. You need to know where the points and the full length of the blades are before you snip the threads, so that you don't accidentally clip fabric or thread that is out of sight. You will be able to see the metal of the scissors through the holes of the fabric. Then you'll know if there is anything between them and the threads to be cut that should not be there.

Once you've done this a little bit, you'll get the hang of it. You may even wonder why I'm making such a big deal out of it (especially since I picked a piece without much cutting for your first attempt). But if you ever have to pull a lot of stitches and reweave fabric to salvage a piece, you'll understand. I've been doing this for years, and still when I'm cutting, I turn off the TV, etc, and my family knows not to even talk to me until I've released the breath I'm holding.

Once the threads are cut, you will gently pull out and discard them. I always start by pulling the shortest lengths first. In this piece, they're all short though.

This is what your piece will look like when all the cut threads have been removed. Tomorrow we'll start the Wrapped Bars and Picots.

In a future lesson, I will probably cover cutting and weaving larger open sections. These are so small they almost don't count.

Hardanger 101~Lesson 4~Cable Stitch

Cable stitch is not unique to Hardanger, but it is fun to do. It is a double row of stitches that covers a lot of fabric quickly and adds a delicate look to your piece. Hopefully, this lesson will be easy for you. The Cable Stitch is highlighted in purple on the chart below. I must confess that I am tempted to add a mere smear 16 stitches to the piece so that I can complete the Cable Stitch in one continuous series instead of four short runs as they have here. However, I'll be a good girl and follow the directions...this time.

Cable Stitch is one of the few stitches that is done on a diagonal path, instead of at right angles to the threads of the fabric. Each stitch only covers two threads of fabric, but 2 is half of 4, right?
You will be using the Perle Cotton size 8 and a size 26 needle. It will be a little trickier to tuck the tails of your thread under, but you'll figure it out.

Double Cable (Which is just plain, ordinary cable stitch. Don't get intimidated by the Double.)

Come up in your starting hole (1) and go down two threads over and two above (2). Up two threads to the left (3), and down two thread over and two above (4). Up two threads below (2), and down two over and two above (5). Continue. You will always bring your needle back up in the same hole as your last completed stitch.


One thing that I did not think to mention before (and am hoping that most of you have enough experience with a needle that you already knew this, so that you won't be mad at me for the neglect) is the second half (or down stroke) of a stitch, and the first half (up stroke) of the next stitch are done simultaneously. In other words, I do not pass my needle down through the fabric, move my hand to the underside to pull it through and then pass it back up in the next hole before moving my hand back to the top side of the fabric. My hand almost always stays on the top side of the fabric. The tip of my needle goes down and immediately back up in the next hole, and I pull both through from the top of the fabric. In the photo above, you can see that the needle is in two holes at the same time. When I pull the needle through, it will complete the stitch begun in hole 4, and start the next stitch in the row below.

Turning Corners

When you have completed the last stitch in a row and need to turn a corner, bring your needle up in the hole that will complete the next stitch (even though you haven't started it yet). Then take your needle down where that stitch would begin, and bring it up at the beginning of the next stitch. Essentially, you are doing the first stitch in the row backwards, and then all of the rest of them will go forward as normal. The only difference will be that now you will be starting the top row first instead of the bottom row, as you did before the corner.

Backstory

The back side of the cable stitch looks like stair steps. Note also, that the reverse side does run in the same directions as the threads of the fabrics, not diagonally like the front. Romana also mentioned that it is a series of uncrossed cross stitches, for those of you who know how to do that (I haven't a clue about cross stitch, so I'm just passing along her observation.).

I really get the feeling that I am making a simple stitch needlessly complicated. Hopefully, you'll be able to follow the pictures, if not my descriptions. Feel free to holler at me if you need me to try again with my explanation.

Triple Cable 

I am happy to announce that the Triple Cable stitch is simply two parallel lines of Double Cable, where the bottom row of one shares the same holes as the top row of the second.  In order to stitch Triple Cable, first complete your series of Double Cable. Then, starting again at the beginning, stitch a second series of Double Cable parallel to the first. Since you will be sharing holes with the first row of stitching, make sure that the threads only lay next to each other and do not cross. You will also want to be mindful that your tension is consistent for both rows.
I am including a photo, even though there is not any Triple Cable on this piece.

And here is what our piece looks like now:

We may be able to finish this piece this week!

Hardanger 101~Lesson 3~Buttonhole Stitch

The other night I started thinking that if our roles were reversed, I would not want to wait an entire week for the next lesson. I would want to keep moving. So, I'm going to try to post several lessons each week--at least until we finish this first piece. The beauty of the internet is that if I start moving too fast, you can always come back to it when you're ready. Again, you might want to read through the entire lesson before beginning.

*Note: I have gone back a made a couple revisions to the last lesson, to include a few tips that I forgot. I have marked those in a different font so that you can identify the changes if you have already gone through the lesson. This will be my practice from here on out: different font, and notify you that changes have been made.

Without further blabbing...

The Buttonhole Stitch:


Buttonhole stitching is perhaps even more foundational to Hardanger than the Satin Stitch. It is how you finish the edge of your piece securely so that everything doesn't fall apart the moment you cut it from the fabric. Arguably, you could even do a piece with only this one stitch.

This is a tiny cross bookmark that I made for my youngest, using just the buttonhole stitch.

The Buttonhole Stitch is highlighted in blue on the chart.

Take a few minutes to study the chart, paying special attention to the relationship between the satin stitch that you have already finished and the buttonhole that you will be starting. By noting where the buttonhole starts, stops and turns in relation to the satin stitch, you will be able to self correct very quickly should you make a mistake. Again, this is where that Rule of Four should be cementing itself in your mind. (Romana, are you hearing The Master's drumbeat in your head yet?)

Buttonhole Stitch is very similar to the Satin Stitch, with one important difference. When you are bringing your needle up through the holes along the outside edge of the piece, you will pull it through the loop of slack thread, creating a ridge of knots around the outside edge of fabric.

Your first stitch will not appear to have the ridge. Don't worry. It will show up when you come full circle. If, like this piece, the buttonhole stitch is in small sections all the way around, then you can finish by simply taking your thread down for the final time in the same hole that you began the ridge with in the beginning. This will be the first "up" hole on the outside edge of the buttonhole stitching.
If your piece has long continuous lines of buttonhole stitching, then you can finish the series by making one final buttonhole stitch directly on top of the very first stitch, so that there are no gaps. There may be another way of doing this, but if so, I've never learned it.
Also, some people prefer to secure the buttonhole by sewing just inside the ridge before cutting the piece out. Again, we're back to the problem of not being able to carry a machine around in your purse, and so I've never done this. In spite of this neglect, my pieces have never fallen apart, even through being washed. (care instructions will come later)

Corners

There are two ways to do your buttonhole corners: Square or rounded. If you use five stitches on each corner, the look will be more blocky and square, which is the more traditional look. If you omit the middle stitch, and only use four stitches, your corners will be more rounded and feminine. I prefer the rounded corners, but for this piece I am sticking with the traditional and making the square corners.
Take a close look at the chart above. In some places, there are 4 stitches drawn and in some places there are five. The chart is very inconsistent. Choose one way and use it throughout your piece. Unless it creates a specific design element, there is no reason to go back and forth between the two on a single pattern.
If you'd like to try both just for kicks, you could do square corners around the outside of this piece, and rounded corners on the buttonhole in the center.

Here is a close up diagram of a buttonhole corner:

For rounded corners, you would eliminate stitch 3.

Joining Threads

It is very easy to end one thread and begin another with the Satin Stitch. It takes a little more forethought with the Buttonhole, for two reasons. First, you want a continuous line, so that there is no weakness in your pieces. Second, you're keeping the back in mind, right?
With buttonhole, it is best to end a thread halfway through a stitch, just after you have changed directions. I think a picture is in order, because I can see your furrowed brows from here.

I completed the series of stitches to the left, and changed directions. I will now be stitching down. When I ended my thread, I went down through the fabric, but never came back up to complete the stitch. Instead, I tucked the thread under and started a new thread. Then I came up in the hole of the last completed buttonhole stitch, passed my needle under where I left off and finally completed the stitch.

If you have sections of buttonhole stitch that are too long for one thread, you end your thread as I did here, without changing directions, but leave the last stitch a little slack. After you have started your next thread and completed several stitches, you can go back and pull the slack out using the tail of thread on the back side. You should not need to do that on this piece, however. The sections are short enough, that you should be able to plan your threads to end between sections. Just keep in mind that buttonhole eats up thread more quickly than satin stitch.

When you have completed the outside buttonhole, you can go ahead and stitch the inside buttonhole as you see it on the chart. You will be stitching clockwise now, instead of counter-clockwise as before. You will notice, there are four sections where the stitches are 8 threads wide instead of the usual 4. Stitch them the same way, but be extra mindful of your tension.

After you have finished all of the buttonhole stitch, you may go back and finish up the satin stitching that we left for later (the orange highlighted bits).
You are now finished with the size 5 thread and ready to move to the smaller stitches.
This is what it should look like now:

As you can see in the photo, and probably on your own piece, the fabric begins to get wrinkly as you work with it. Once you are finished, you will wash and iron it and all of that will be corrected. So ignore it for now.

Backstory

It's getting to be quite the hairy mess on the back now, isn't it? Since I am finished with the middle, I have already trimmed a few thread tails from the center, or it would be even worse.

How are we doing so far?

Hardanger 101~Lesson 2~Satin Stitch

Now that you have had a chance to gather all of your supplies together, and are eager to start, let's begin our next lesson. Today we'll talk about prepping your fabric, stitch charts and the satin stitch. In six lessons, you will have your first completed piece, which you can use as a sun catcher, or as a small doily. I would recommend that you read through the entire lesson before beginning.

Before working with your fabric and thread, it is always a good idea to wash your hands to remove any oils from your skin.

Prepping Your Fabric

The piece we will be working on has a finished size of 3 3/4 " x 3 3/4". You want a working piece of fabric that is at least an inch larger on each side than your finished piece. For your first piece, you might want a little extra margin, or a piece about 6" x 6". I always tape around the unfinished edges of the fabric with masking tape before I begin, making sure to cover 3-4 threads on both sides with the tape. This will keep your fabric from fraying as you work and provide a little stability. Since you will eventually cut it off, it will not matter. Or, if you'd rather, you can sew a running stitch around the edge with your machine. The sewing machine is not my friend, and so I prefer tape.

Charts

I am going to give you the chart for this piece, and each lesson, I will highlight the particular stitch that we are working on. Hopefully, by the end of the lessons, you will be able to stitch with ease for either charts or photographs, because sometimes charts are not available. I am also hoping to give you some basics so that you can create your own charts. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Cut several lengths of size 5 Perle Cotton thread. Keep them between 12-15 inches long. Any longer than that and the thread will become overworked and your stitches will start to look fuzzy.
For the most part, you will use a 24 gauge needle for size 5 thread, and a 26 gauge needle for size 8 thread.
To start this piece, pick a starting point that is at least 20 threads from the left side of your fabric and at least 36 threads from the top (at the red arrow. You will be stitching the highlighted green areas). Bring your thread up from the back of the fabric, and leave a tail about an inch and a half long on the back of the fabric. For the first few stitches, you are going to hold the tail with your left hand* as you stitch over the top (or bottom, depending on how you look at it) of it with your right. This will hold your stitches in place. (see picture below) You will only need to do this with the first thread in a series. After the first thread, you will simply draw the next thread under the last few completed stitches to hold it in place. Ideally, you want the tail of your thread tucked under about 4 Kloster blocks (or the equivalent), and if it changes direction, that's even better.
It is also better to end a thread at the end of a block or section of stitching, rather than in the middle. On longer stretches of stitches, it sometimes can't be helped.

That is also how you will end a thread. When you still have several inches left (or at least slightly more than the length of your needle), draw the thread back under your completed stitches (on the back of the fabric) so that about an inch and a half is tucked in. When you are passing your needle underneath the completed stitches, notice how the texture of the fabric translates through the tip of the needle to your finger. When you can feel the tip of the needle moving over the fabric, you will know that your thread is passing beneath all of the other threads, and not through them. This is an insignificant detail, since you can't see the results from either side, but if you ever have to pull a thread out, you will be thankful that you didn't create a tangled mess when you were tucking under loose ends. 
You can clip the thread shorter if you need to, but be sure to leave a piece long enough to hold onto--you'll need that later. I will include a picture of the back of the fabric when today's stitching is done.

Satin Stitch

The satin stitch is one of the foundational stitches for Hardanger, and it has several manifestations. For today, you will only need to know the Kloster blocks, but I'm pretty sure that once you can do those, you will be able to do any of the others by simply following charts. Ship's Heads are a beautiful form of satin stitching, but some people find them frustrating. You do have to be meticulous with your counting, but I don't think they are all that hard.

Kloster blocks are simply small sections of satin stitch that are five stitches over four threads of fabric and four threads wide.Come up in your starting hole (1), and go down four threads over, on the same parallel (2). Then come up directly below your starting stitch (3), and down directly below where you went down before (4). Do this until you have 5 parallel stitches. See? Easy. 5 over 4, and 4 wide.  That's a Kloster block. Now skip 4 threads and do it again, only this time, at the end bring your thread back up in the same hole as the start of the 5th stitch (5). Turn the fabric 90* and stitch another block. When you finish that block, turn the fabric back to it's original orientation and come up 4 threads to the left of the last place you went down, but on the same parallel (6). You have now successfully made a left and a right turn, and are ready to finish stitching your satin stitches with the chart. As you can see on the chart, there are four sections where you will need 13 stitches instead of 5.

Some tips:

• Count carefully. You will pick up speed over time, as you eye becomes familiar with what the stitches "should" look like. Now is not the time for speed.
• A majority of Hardanger stitches cover the fabric in multiples of four threads (of fabric). This is essential to many elements of the embroidery. So start pounding the number 4 into your brain. 
• I find it easier to keep the tension and appearance of my stitches even if I turn the fabric so that I am always working in the same direction-in my case, down and counter-clockwise.
• If you find that you thread is getting twisted, simply hold your fabric up and left the needle hang until the thread stops spinning. You will eventually learn to pass your needle on a certain side of the thread as you enter each stitch to avoid the twisting. However, this is one thing that I can't talk you through, because if differs for each person, depending on how you hold your needle. (I may yet figure out a way to take a picture to demonstrate though.)
• The satin stitch is probably the easiest and fastest of all the stitches, but it is also the gauge you will use for many of your other stitches, which is why you do it first. It is possible to begin a piece with the buttonhole stitch, but if your satin stitch is already in place, it will be easier to catch mistakes in the other stitches quicker. Again, this goes back to your Rule of Four. I think you will understand as we go along without further explanation.
• Tension-With all of your stitches, you want to keep the tension of your thread even. The fabric should stay as smooth as before you placed any stitches, with no puckering. And the stitches should lay flat with no sagging. Don't get frustrated if this doesn't come to you at first. Before you know it, it will be automatic.

Backstory

One of your goals should be to make the back side of each piece as pretty as the front. In order to do this, you must be aware of the path your thread is going to take, even on the back. You don't want beautiful stitches on the front and wildly wandering threads on the back. Where you start and stop each thread will play into the final result. Let's examine the photo:

I am not really happy with the little section of thread highlighted in green, but I left it for demonstration purposes. When the piece is finished, that little diagonal thread will be obvious (to me, at least). And if you are working with contrasting colors of thread and fabric as I am here, it may even be visible through the fabric For the other sides, I preferred to cut a slightly longer thread and complete each side as a separate unit instead of continuing from where I left off. When I'm done, the whole thing will look cleaner. I may even go back and redo that section (Yes, I'm a little anal retentive with it comes to this stuff.) Paying attention to these seemingly insignificant details will come more naturally to you over time.
The other thing to note is how most of my thread tails point toward the middle of the piece. I did that on purpose because I don't like the tails hanging into sections where I know I will be working in the future. There are three tiny tails that hang over where I will be cutting and working wrapped bars later. I'll have to deal with them when the time comes.
You might ask why I don't just cut them off completely. I will do that when the piece is finished (just before I cut it from the rest of the fabric), but I need to be able to at least get a fingernail on the tails now. Sometimes, when you are tucking another thread under, you have to be able to hold them down, or they will pull through with the second thread.

Do you see the satin stitches highlighted in orange on the chart? This is yet another manifestation of the satin stitch, but instead of being parallel, each stitch pivots from the same corner.You will use this pivot technique on corners (buttonhole and otherwise), and also with the eyelet stitch. However, I am going to wait until the buttonhole stitch is in place before stitching that part, because it will be easier to hide the tails under the buttonhole. As you can see, thinking about the back side of your piece can determine how you go about making the front.

And so, this is what we have so far:

 *I am right-handed. Therefore, all of these instructions will be from a right-handed mindset. If you are left handed, I'm sorry. I have no idea how to instruct you and will have to assume that by now, you are used to reversing directions on your own.

**If at any time, my instructions are not perfectly clear, please let me know. I want to make this tutorial the best it can be.

Hardanger 101

Enough interest has been expressed for me to try to post a tutorial, of sorts, for the Norwegian Hardanger embroidery. I'm going to try to create a new lesson once a week to give everyone time to find materials, and practice the stitches described. I anticipate at least a dozen lessons. If you have any questions, or I don't explain something clearly enough, please don't hesitate to ask about it. Here goes!

Lesson 1--Introduction, Equipment, and Resources

Traditional Hardanger is a type of embroidery done on an even weave fabric in tone on tone colors. That's a starting point at least, and where we are going to begin. It can be done with as few as three types of stitches, or as many as a dozen or more. We'll just keep going until we get bored. See? Some of you are already done.

Fabric
Even weave fabric in 22 to 32 count is typically used for Hardanger. Since it is the largest, and easiest to find locally, we'll use 22 count. White and Ivory are the traditional colors. I have found small packets at both Michael's and Hobby Lobby. Later, I will give you online and mail order sources for supplies.

If you are unfamiliar with embroidery fabric, the thread count indicates the number of threads per inch. In this case, there are 22 threads per inch. If you look closely at a single thread of the fabric, you will notice that it is made up of two parallel strands. This means that it is possible to "split a stitch", or bring your needle up between the two strands when stitching.

It will become second nature to avoid this because it can throw your whole pattern off. Calling it to your attention should be enough to help you watch out for the mistake.
The fabrics can be made of cotton, blends, or linen. I would caution you against beginning with linen. The threads of a linen fabric are not consistently even. This will not be a problem after you've had a bit of practice, but probably isn't the best choice to start with.

Thread
Perle Cotton thread (most commonly available from DMC and Anchor) in sizes 8 and 5 is the thread we are going to learn the stitches with at first. One ball of thread is equal to two skeins. Traditional pieces are white thread on white fabric or ivory on ivory. For demonstration purposes, I am going to stitch with a contrasting color on ivory (ivory photographs slightly better than white). White and ivory also have the advantage of being easiest to find locally. Contrary to logic, the number sizes of fabric, fibers, and needles all increase as the physical size shrinks. Don't ask me why. I didn't make that decision, but a size 8 thread is smaller than a size 5. Don't we wish dress sizes worked the same way?

As with the fabric, look closely at a single strand of thread and you will notice that it is made of two fibers twisted together. Just like with the fabric, you can also "split a stitch" by dividing the fibers of your thread with the needle. Admittedly, this is much less common. It takes a really talented goof up like myself to accomplish such a task.

Needles
You will need tapestry needles in sizes 24 and 26. The good news about tapestry needles is that they have a blunt point, so if you have a habit of jabbing yourself  like I do when I stitch, you will be less likely to draw blood. A pin cushion for your needles is optional, but recommended. Your family will thank you. I have several needles tucked under the flap of my scissors case so that they travel flat and without the need of a pin cushion.

Scissors
The only other thing you will need is a pair of embroidery scissors. They vary in price from cheap to ridiculous. Just make sure that you invest in a good pair with sharp points. In Hardanger, the points of the scissors are equally as important as the blades. You will also want to make sure that they have some type of guard for when you are not using them. I bought a pair of 3 Claveles for $25 about 12 years ago and they are still sharp. Do not ever allow anyone to use them for anything other than embroidery. Construction paper snowflakes are out of the question.

Hoops
I don't care if your beloved grandmother does tell you otherwise, do NOT use a hoop with Hardanger embroidery. It is damaging to the fabric and will make your piece look like a used hankie.

Magnifying lamp
A magnifying lamp can be a huge help when working on the close weave fabric and fine stitches of Hardanger. It's easier to get used to using one in the beginning than having to retrain yourself later. I would recommend one on a stand rather than the ones that hang around your neck, but that's just personal preference.

Patterns/Charts
I will provide the patterns for the pieces we will be making together, but there are many good resources for pattern books and the other materials to feed your Hardanger needs. Below are some favorites.

• Nordic Needle is a superb mail order source for needlework supplies of all kinds. Nordic Needle works well when you know what you want. They also have the largest selection of pattern books.
• Stitchville USA, located near Minneapolis, is a stitcher's paradise. It's a great place to visit to see all of the possibilities in fabric and thread. An advantage is that if you have a specific fabric, they will help you choose the right thread for it (or vice versa), even over the phone.

So, to summarize, here is a list of things you need to acquire:

1. A piece of 22 count white or ivory fabric, 12 inches square
2. 1 skein of matching Perle Cotton thread in size 8 and one in size 5
3. Embroidery scissors
4. Tapestry needles, size 26, 24
5. Patience

Piece de Resistance

From the moment that I first saw the pattern for this doily, I wanted to make it. That was more than a decade ago. The French term "piece de resistance" literally means "piece of resistance". It represents the best part of something, or something which resists the normal conventions of comparable items. Not only is this piece my best effort to date, it also resisted me every step of the way.
When I purchased the book of charts, I had quite a number of pieces behind me and was long finished with lessons. But those four Edelweiss flowers were a perplexity. So I called up my Hardanger teacher, but she had never tackled them before either. Fine. I struggled, but I managed to figure it out myself. The first one that was acceptable took an hour and measured less than an inch square.

That nifty Danish Picot Buttonhole stitch was another story. Several people that I talked to said something like "Oh, I haven't quite gotten to that level yet." Gulp. I'll make it short and just tell you that it took a phone call to Nordic Needle in Fargo before it became clear. It is very delicate and adds a great deal to otherwise straight lines, but it was also costly in time management.

The Triple Cable stitch, thankfully, covers a lot of space quickly--provided that you keep your mind on your counting. Satin stitching is also fast. The Maltese Cross filler stitch...not so much. I learned several new (apparently very advanced) stitches and the whole thing only took 29 hours.
Then, while I was cutting the completed piece out, I nicked the buttonhole stitch. If you know anything about stitching, you'll know this was a fatal mistake. Buttonhole stitching keeps the fabric from unraveling and the fabric holds the buttonhole stitches in place. You cannot have one without the other. Imagine trying to tie your shoelaces with the top half of the eyelets missing. I was devastated. But I couldn't scrap the piece. It took me a long time, but I managed to carefully pull the clipped thread and rework a new one.
A trained eye might be able to find the flaw, but it would have to be looking pretty close. However, I think the doily will always be fragile in that spot, so I would never want to wash it. I framed it instead. Ta-Da!

The piece is worked with white Perle Cotton thread over a very soft, 28 count Lugana in pale sage. It looks fantastic in my kitchen.
I'm pretty sure it's an indication of some type of syndrome, but I've already started another one to enter in the county fair.

Butter Pecan

Yes, it's another Hardanger piece. I've been working on again/off again on this one for weeks. I lost track of how many hours it took, but I'd guess somewhere between 15-20. It's worked on a 28 count Country French linen called Hazelnut (which I bought at Stitchville in MN and have fallen in love with). There is not as much color variation between fabric and thread as the picture would lead you to believe. The eight spider web blocks are fun to do, but take about 25 minutes a piece. It measures about six inches square. I have no purpose in mind for this piece, so it will probably be tucked away for gift.

The next piece that I want to make has 4 Edelweiss blocks on it--which terrifies me. I've only done one before and it took over an hour. But the piece is magnificent and I've been drooling over the pattern long enough.

Spoils of War

On our recent trip to Ohio, the girls and I stopped at an antique store named Benkin's in Tipp City. The store itself has a lot of interesting history and character (from furniture store/mortuary to general store). I have a particular weakness for antique linens and I scored big this time. Linens don't always wear as well as the sturdier furniture or dishes and it is always sad to see someone's beautiful hand-work stained and ragged from neglect. I love seeing all of the different techniques and styles. I came away with Huck and Swedish embroidery, crochet, lace, cross stitch and a few other interesting samples that I can't even identify yet. The most exciting piece was a pale yellow Hardanger runner in perfect condition. The prices were surprisingly low. I'm sure most of the materials were worth more than what I paid for the finished pieces. I'm not at all convinced that they are all truly antique, but I don't care. For what I spent on them, I can even afford to let M use some of them for her tea parties. You should have seen her eyes when she saw the Water Lily table runner. She loves water lilies and I knew she would love that one.
I hope you enjoy seeing my spoils of war (sorry I didn't iron them first).

Sweet Tarts--Project of the Week

Just in time for Valentine's Day:

You might not be able to see it, but the fabric has an opalescent sparkle to it. It is a 28 count Lugana. I worked it with size 5 and 8 perle cotton #3743. The finished size is 5 3/4 inches. It took over 25 hours (at least, that's where I lost track).

Now that Christmas gifts are behind me, I have no idea what I'm going to do with this piece. I'll either sell it on Etsy or stash it for a birthday present. If I can part with it, that is.

*note: I have decided to sell this piece on Etsy for charity--more details tomorrow.

Bookmark

This "Iced Cranberries" bookmark works up very fast, 2 1/2 hours tops, partly because there is no open work on it. It makes a great last minute present because it is more personal and takes about the same amount of time as shopping.

Cream Soda

Working on Norwegian Hardanger Embroidery is one of my complex pleasures. It's complex because of the many types of stitches and myriad ways that you can make mistakes. It forces you to concentrate; allowing you, for a time, to block out other distractions. It also forces you to sit still; something that I'm not always capable of doing.
This is one of the pieces that I worked on as a Christmas present. It it identical to Ginger Ale, but uses different materials. I've made this one enough that I have the pattern memorized, which makes it work up a lot faster than you would think. The finished size is 6 1/2 x 8 inches and took about 12 hours (an hour less than last time).
I've been experimenting quite a bit lately with using different fabrics and threads in various color combinations, but this one is as traditional as it comes: tone on tone in either white or ecru.

Ginger Ale

Here is another Hardanger piece that was completed this afternoon. It was worked with Perle Cotton thread on a 25 count Lugana fabric called "Fairy Dust", which is the palest of yellows.

One of the imponderables of fiber arts is DMC's choice not to make this thread in both sizes needed to complete a Hardanger embroidery piece. Almost all Hardanger uses both a size 5 and a size 8 (or 8 and 12) and Perle Cotton is the thread of choice. This one only comes in size 5. And while I am aware that this occassionally happens, of course, I didn't check for such a contingency before I started this time. And of course, I didn't discover the problem until I already had all of my satin and buttonhole stitching complete. Consequently, all of the open work and solid motifs are done with a variegated Silk'n Colors called "Mint Floss" which runs from almost white to a very pale mint green, which is difficult to see in the photo. Hence, the name "Ginger Ale"...with just a hint of lime. Naming embroidery is not my strong suite and I lean heavily toward food or ladies' names.

Finished size is 6 1/2 x 8". Total time 13 hours (or 5 Star Wars and one LoTR movies).

I'd like to note that I really do enjoy the DMC fibers and usually don't run into this kind of trouble. Happily, this time I was able to compensate and end up with a piece that I still like. And I learned my lesson for next time too.
I'd also like to put in a plug for Thread Gatherer fibers, and especially their Silk'n Colors. While not a traditional Hardanger thread, they are a feast for the eyes and positively delicious to work with. Maybe that's where the food names come from? Yumminess.

Brown Sugar

The saying "With great freedom comes great responsibility" probably originated from the observation that with great freedom, people tend to be idiots. With the new found freedom of the ACL brace, I spent entirely too much time on my feet yesterday and paid for it last night. Looking on the bright side though, I was able to finish my latest embroidery project while packed in ice.

"Brown Sugar" is 5 inches in diameter and is stitched with the Caron Watercolor variegated fiber called "Avalon" (not that that helps anyone) on a 28 count linen fabric called "Hazelnut". The brown has just a suggestion of pink in it, making it appear both soft and old. I can just picture it on a dresser among antique perfume bottles and pearls.
Linen fabric has the unique property of being made of strands that are uneven in thickness, making counted stitch work ridiculously challenging. This is only my second time working on linen and it went much smoother than the first time.
Unless I decide that I can't part with it, this doily will be listed in my Etsy shop later today.

On Your Marks...

Just in case you didn't get enough yesterday, here are some more Norwegian Hardanger Embroidery bookmarks. Incidentally, both letter "As" in the word hardanger are pronounced with the "ahh" sound. The "G" sounds like the g in girl, not gym.

The ivory bookmark on the left is another of my own designs. White on white and ivory on ivory are the most traditional styles of Hardanger. We named this one "Kelly", after my niece, because it has a lot going on just like her. It contains buttonhole, satin and cable stitches. Satin stitching can take on many different shapes; from straight lines, cloister blocks, and other geometrics, to the fancy ship's heads pictured in the blue and sherbet pieces below.

The blue, as yet unnamed, bookmark is an original design worked with the silk thread. Below is a close up of the same design done in different colors.

All of these designs are still fairly simple because none of them contain any open work, like the pieces pictured yesterday.


The ivory and blue bookmarks are done on a 22 count fabric, while this sherbet piece is done on a 28 count Jobelain fabric. That's 22 or 28 threads per inch. Typical cross-stitch fabric is 18 threads per inch. This would explain why I get headaches if I work on it too long!