Lesson 2 of the beginner guide to hardanger

Completed step 1 of the beginner guide to hardanger embroidery course?

If not see the right hand column of this page for links. OK, this time we will stitch a sweet little design that covers three different stitches; kloster blocks, wrapped bars and doves eyes.

What will I need

Hardanger 22 count fabric - 8" square
Pearl no. 5 and 8 (5 is the thicker one), you won't need much
Tapestry needles 22 and 26
wooden embroidery hoop

Start by downloading the beginner guide to hardanger pattern.

You will need Adobe Reader (the latest version is recommended) installed on your computer in order to open and read this chart. You can get Adobe Reader here (a new window will open so you can download without leaving this page).

If you want to open the file in your browser window, you can just click on the link. However, if you want to download the file to view later, then right click on the link and choose "Save Target As" or "Save File As." Then select where you want to save the file on your hard drive.

Once you have saved the file, locate where you saved it, and double click to open.

In order to print, open the downloaded file, and select the "Print" option from the menu.

Stitching the kloster blocks

Start by finding the centre of the fabric by folding it in half both ways and lightly creasing the centre. Count up 19 threads from the centre and two to the left to reach point A on the chart. This is our starting point. Thread up your needle with a longish length of the pearl no. 5 and tie a knot in the end! I know, everyone says you shouldn't use knots, but we are not going to leave it in our work. Push the needle through from the front of your work up in the left hand top corner, then bring it through again at the point marked A.

Work the first five satin stitches as numbered on the top section of your chart. Count the number of fabric threads you are stitching over carefully: 4, 5, 6, 5 and then 4 fabric threads. Count over four fabric threads and repeat the sequence of stitches to work the next kloster blocks, as shown in the diagram below. When you reach the corner avoid carrying the thread across the diagonal marked with a red X on the diagram. Instead reuse hole 19/21 and take the next stitch out to the side as shown.

If you find you are running short of thread, try not to join in a new piece whilst working a kloster block. Finish the block first, then start a new piece of thread. Why? Well if you start a new piece part way through a block it will be noticeable as the shine wears off the thread a little due to being repeatedly pulled through the fabric. The new thread of course will still be shiny.

The photo below shows our beginner guide to hardanger project at this stage, with all the kloster blocks completed. (Click here to return to the stitch index.)

The next stage of our beginner guide to hardanger is cutting

Now this is the point where, in my workshops, I remind people to breathe! It is quite important as I don't want students passing out in class. Holding your breath seems to be an automatic reaction to the cutting part of learning hardanger.

Right, so take a sharp, pointed pair of scissors and lets begin cutting. The fabric threads to cut are shown on the chart by red lines inside the kloster blocks. Only cut threads at the end of the satin stitches, not alongside them! It is safest to slide the scissor blade underneath all four adjacent threads at once, then double check that you only have four, before cutting them in one movement. Cut as close to the satin stitches as you can but do not worry about any small tufts left afterwards. These will bury themselves in the satin stitches when the piece is washed.

When the required threads have been cut your beginner guide to hardanger project should look like the photograph below.

Working the overcast or wrapped bars

There are two main forms of bar in hardanger embroidery. In this beginner guide to hardanger we are going to use wrapped bars.Re-thread your needle with the thinner, no. 8 thread. We will use this to wrap the remaining threads together, creating a neat openwork grid.

Start the overcast (wrapped) bars by following the red diagonal row on the chart. Pull all four fabric threads together firmly by taking the tread over then under. Make sure each stitch lies flat beside the previous one, not on top of it. Fill the bar, taking note of the number of wraps taken so that you can use the same number on each bar. When you reach the kloster blocks at the end of the row thread the needle up through the back of the nearest block to reach the starting point for the next row. This row will finish at the point marked A on your chart.

On the next row I have coloured the bars that complete a square, green on your chart. These are to act as a reminder that whilst working this bar you need to complete a dove eye stitch. Before we move on to the dove's eyes wrap half of your first "green" bar.

How to work a dove's eye

To complete our beginner guide to hardanger we will work 4 dove's eyes. The dove's eye filling stitch is made up of 4 buttonhole stitches. In this design we want to work our buttonhole stitch around the centre of each wrapped bar. (In other designs that use needleweaving, the needle would pierce the bar in the centre.) The dove's eye is worked on the fourth side of a square, i.e. when the other three sides are wrapped, needlewoven or have kloster blocks in place.

The diagram below shows a completed dove's eye worked inside kloster blocks. It is important to make sure that all four loops in the dove's eye cross in the same direction to keep things neat.

To work the stitch, come up in the centre hole then take the needle under the adjacent bar (you can work clockwise or anticlockwise). Bring the needle back up inside the loop you have just made, pulling the loop into shape until it fits comfortably (not loose and baggy but also not stretched too tight). Repeat this process until you reach the fourth bar.

To complete the stitch take the thread under the first loop you made and back down into the middle. Then finish wrapping the fourth bar. Try to make all your dove's eyes the same size with the same amount of tension.

Your beginner guide to hardanger project is now complete!

All you need to do now is decide how to use it. Perhaps you could mount it in a coloured aperture card, or make it into a pincushion or the front of a needlecase. You may like to use it in a box lid or even as a Christmas tree ornament. Have fun, and I'd love to see a photo of your finished piece.