| This openwork embroidery takes its name from the Hardanger Fjord in Norway. White folk blouses and aprons were embroidered with opulent geometrical designs. Characteristic of Hardanger are the satin stitch blocks that outline and secure the edges of openwork sections that are filled with a grid overcast or darned bars. 
Remove threads
 
Bars with picots Loop stitch filler
 Maltese Cross
From needlework ideas
No. 143
Hardanger klassisch 
From needlework ideas
No. 158
Hardanger kreuz & quer | The basic system is surprisingly simple, but a plethora of bar variations and filler stitches furnishes rich ornamentation. You can also combine the openwork areas with different decorative borders and satin stitch motifs for a sheer endless variety of patterns. Fabric types:
You can use practically all smooth, even-weave needlework fabrics for Hardanger embroidery. It is imperative, however, that the warp and weft thread count is the same so that the openwork grid remains perfectly square.
Recommended fabrics:
3770 DAVOSA (approx. 7 threads/cm) is the perfect fabric for learning this technique. The weave is particularly even and easy to count, making it ideal for practising the 4-thread Hardanger block pattern.
3256 BELLANA (8 threads/cm) has become established as the most important Hardanger fabric. Get inspired by our broad range of colours.
The special fabrics 3711 ARIOSA (7.5 threads/cm) and 3409 FEIN- ARIOSA (8.5 threads/cm) are especially popular due to their special surface texture. If you like your patterns to be less opulent, then we can recommend these interesting fabrics for your needlework project.
Advanced Hardanger aficionados tend to go for finer fabrics, such as 3835 LUGANA (10 threads/cm) or even the pure linen fabric 3609 BELFAST (12.6 threads/cm).
3947 OSLO (8.7 stitches/cm) is the original classic Hardanger fabric as it is used in Scandinavia. A panama weave with intersecting thread pairs are the main characteristics.
Embroidery thread:
Pearl cotton is generally used in a weight to match the fabric threads. The openwork is more effective if you use a finer thread for the bars and filler stitches than for the satin stitch outlines. Rule of thumb: Pearl cotton #3 and #5 for fabric with 7 threads/cm, #5 and #8 for 8 threads/ cm, #8 and #16 or matching 4-ply yarns for 10 to 12 threads/cm.
For Hardanger, thread and fabric colours are usually kept tone-on-tone. The satin stitch borders appear bolder when worked in a slightly lighter shade; the holes in the openwork grid look larger if the bars are worked in a slightly darker shade than the fabric. | 
