Beginning Hardanger

The elements of Hardanger are the Klosters and the grid made of spaces and bars. Klosters The Klosters are four or five Satin stitches over four fabric threads. A Kloster with four of the fabric threads cut at the numbers 1 through 4. Chart of Satin stitches that form Klosters Following the numbered steps as shown on the chart is a good way to make Satin stitches so that no sewing threads cross between Klosters. Cutting the Outside Corners If I have the working thread running from the outside corner of one Kloster to another Kloster's outside corner I may eventually cut that thread. So I try to get in the habit of doing the Satin stitches as shown above. The Grid The fabric threads in the center of a design/shape are a number that can be divided by four, four threads can be cut and removed to make a space or left in place to be wrapped or woven into bars of the grid. Bars and Spaces I count Bars and spaces whenever I am stitching. The Klosters can be confusing because they can either be five Satin stitches or four. If they are side by side the first Kloster is five Satin stitches, then the next Klosters are four Satin stitches because they share the duty of enclosing the fabric threads. So by looking at the design chart and counting the first row of bars and spaces I know how many fabric threads are needed in the grid. Shared Fabric Threads If you examine the photo you will see that the top Kloster is on the same vertical fabric threads as the bottom Kloster. The Klosters face each other across the fabric as can be seen by following the pink thread or looking between the Klosters marked with the red one. Each line on this chart represents a fabric thread. This chart is the one used to make the picture above and it has the cutting lines shown in gray. Read about cutting by clicking on the underlined topic. The Grid The grid of bars is in the center of a Kloster design. Groups of four fabric threads are called bars. It does not matter if the bars are wrapped or unwrapped, woven or unwoven, whenever you say bars you are referring to four fabric threads that can be wrapped or unwrapped. In this photo the fabric threads have been cut and removed creating the grid of bars. The grid of bars is the essential design element of Hardanger. It is composed of spaces and bars. There are two ways to prepare bars for further embellishment, weaving or wrapping them. I do the weaving or wrapping in a hoop or a frame that has side straps so I do not create any distortions in the embroidery fabric, but this is technique that can be done in hand just as well. Weaving the Bars Some of the bars in this photo have been woven. Weaving To explain weaving I am using a pink thread in the photo above so that you can more easily see what I am doing. I begin by weaving the tail of the thread under a few Klosters on the back of the embroidery then, on the front of the fabric I bring the threaded needle up between the four fabric threads of the bar so that I will have two fabric threads on each side of the needle I go over the two threads on the left of the needle then under them, and come back up between the four fabric threads, and then I go over the two fabric threads to the right of the needle, then under them, Bring the needle up in the middle of the bar as shown in the photo above and continue in this fashion to weave the bar. Count the number of weaves I did to fill the bar and then do approximately that number of weaves for each bar. This will prevent the fabric from being distorted and make the bars appear very even. That is all there is to weaving a bar. I keep repeating the over and under weaving until the bar is filled. Diagonals When I weave or wrap the bars I find that doing them in diagonal lines will improve the final appearance of my work. It is better to follow a diagonal path as I work because I always move forward with the working thread and do not have to pass the thread through overly tight spots to get the working thread into the correct place to do the work. And if I have a problem I know what I did and can go back and undo only what is necessary to correct the mistake. An example of working on the diagonal can be seen by looking at the Cutwork Heart. Diagonal Weaving of Bars Usually I start to weave up from the lower right bar to the upper left bar. Then I weave back down from the upper left to the lower right bar. At this point I will have to take the working thread under some Klosters on the back of the embroidery to get to the next diagonal. Diagonal Wrapping of Bars To wrap the bars and achieve what is pictured below I need a balanced tension among all the wraps of the bars. By using the diagonal method and counting the number of wraps each bar I will get balanced tension and not have bars that look like the ones below. Oops! Bars with Diagonal Wraps don't look like they were wrapped while I was watching "The Wizard of Oz". How to Wrap Bars on the Diagonal I started wrapping the bars at the front upper right corner of the grid shown in the photo below at the red one. I used DMC #12 Ecru Perle Cotton to wrap the bars. And I am visualizing that I am standing at the red one and looking out to the intersection at four. Before I get started I wanted to mention that Bullion Knots has a lot of information on how to keep the thread twisted properly. Please read it too when you get a chance as it will help make your wraps look better. Front Upper Right Corner of the Grid To wrap the bars on a diagonal path I bring the threaded needle up at the red one go up behind the bar to its top, then go down in front of the bar, these two steps are one wrap move left across the bar to do the next wrap. I try to remember not to overlap any wraps, they should lay next to each other with no space in between them, and they should not cross over each other, Wrap the bar four times for the front of the bar and three times for the back of the bar. This will leave the needle and working thread positioned for the diagonal step at 5 o'clock, At the red four take the threaded needle diagonally under the intersection of bars from 5 o'clock to 11 o'clock and wrap the next bar, four a, by coming up to the left of the bar at the red four and going up over the front of the bar four times and across the back of it three times. At the red A take the threaded needle to the back of your work and run it through the back of the Satin stitches to the red two, At the red 2  I will be going down this row to row 3 . Start on the right side of the bar at the red two and wrap it by going across the front (over) of the bar four times and then the back of the bar with three wraps, What I want to do here is use the position of the needle to start wrapping the next bar. At three take the thread under the intersection on a diagonal from 11 o'clock to 5 o'clock and wrap over the bar at three-four eight times. What I want you to see is that the wraps at the start of the bar will eventually leave the working needle in the correct position for the next bar. So I need to think about the position my needle will be in on the next row so I can pass the thread diagonally under the fabric intersection at the next bar. Back side of the fabric intersection Take the working thread diagonally under the intersection at four from 11 o'clock to 5 o'clock, wrap over the bar at four-five eight times, again thinking ahead, I need to decide the best position to start wrapping the bar so the needle can cross the next intersection diagonally. Continue in this fashion. Remember to count my wraps, I did eight wraps on the full bars. The backside of the wrap is always one less so that I can take the working thread across the intersection of the fabric on a diagonal. The wrap count is critical to a balanced net like appearance of the bars. By counting the wraps and doing the same number for the same type of bar consistently, the grid will automatically balance itself. Backside of Wrapped Bars Do you see the diagonals? They look like this \\ over the intersections on the back side of the embroidery. I would also like to mention that on the backside on the embroidery, I like to bring the working thread out of the back of the Satin stitches or Klosters between the second and third fabric thread of the bar, I don't split the perle threads of the Kloster and I have the thread positioned between the second and third fabric thread of the bar I will be wrapping. This position is really good for preventing a loose wrap at the start or end of the diagonal row, that has always been a problem for me and the tension on the thread running through the back of the Klosters prevents the loose wrap. You can see this where there are threads emerging from the bar at the top of the photo? Please go on and try a couple of projects, they are free and can be reached by clicking here ©1999, Linda Fontenot, www.AmericanFolkArts.com