Hardanger Cross
Hardanger Cross
Cross Stitch Needles
Tapestry needles or cross stitch needles are blunt-pointed so that they can pass between the threads. One other characteristic is their large eye to hold many threads of floss. They come in different thickness. You can find different sizes of needles for many counts of fabrics. Needles for cross stitch are the smaller size – 24, 26, 28.
Needles will eventually discolor and mark hands and fabric so remember not to leave the needle in your fabric. There are different qualities of nickel plating. Gold needles are the best as they will not discolor. However they are more expensive.
Different sizes below for aida and evenweave fabrics:
Needle size 18: 6 count aida fabric
Needle size 20: 8 count aida fabric
Needle size 22: 11 count aida fabric AND 22-25-27 count evenweave
Needle size 24: 14 count aida fabric AND 28 count evenweave
Needle size 26: 16 count aida fabric AND 32 count evenweave AND 22 count hardanger
Needle size 28: 18 count aida fabric AND 36-55 count evenweave
If you are not sure what size of needle to choose for your fabric, do this little test. The needle should be small enough to pass through the fabric easily but it should require a little pressure to push it through.
Tip: If you are stitching with French knots, use an embroidery needle. This is a sharp thin needle that will assist with securing the knots into the weave of the fabric. The embroidery needle also has a smaller eye than the tapestry needle.
I hope you found this information useful when choosing needles for your cross stitch projects.
About the Author
Visit Yiotas XStitch for counted cross stitch patterns. Download free cross stitch charts and read useful tips and articles about cross stitch.
Hardanger Embroidery Information & Pictures
My home growing up was with filled with Hardanger embroidery. When I was older, I realized what a treasure these linens were and I now keep them carefully stored and display them for special occasions only. My grandmother was from Norway and despite emigrating to a new country and helping run a fishing camp, she still found time to carry on this lovely tradition.
You can see some examples of the linens by clicking this link (opens new window).
Hardangersøm (or Hardangersaum), is Norwegian for ‘embroidery from Hardanger’, and refers to the style of needlework that many of us know as Hardanger embroidery It takes its current name from a town on the southwestern coast of Norway, in a mountainous area at the head of the Hardanger fjord.
Hardanger is a form of cutwork embroidery which is believed to have originated in Asia and Persia. Hardanger has also been referred to as Norwegian lacemaking because of the way it looks. Portions of the background fabric are cut away and discarded, with the edges worked over in buttonhole stitches. It is worked on white even weave fabric, usually linen or cotton, using linen or pearl cotton threads.
The patterns were used as a favourite decoration worked in bands of embroidery across tablecloths, napkins, towels, bedspreads, pillows and curtains and clothing items such as aprons, shirts, and Norwegian folk costumes.
In simpler forms of hardanger, the holes themselves decorate the fabric but in more advanced techniques, the holes can be filled in with threads in various patterns to create a more elaborate design. You can see both examples in the pictures.
The traditional designs are geometric and based on several shapes: square, rectangle, triangle, diamond, diagonal, zig-zag and cross. These shapes are put together to form many different designs but never created pictures. Patterns varied greatly from one family to another and from village to village. Eventually specific designs came to be associated with specific places.
Hardanger uses many easy-to-learn stitches of two basic types. The first is counted thread embroidery with simple stitches which can be altered slightly or combined in many interesting ways to create limitless designs. Together with drawn-thread or cut-work embroidery, this leads to a stunning effect!
It often featured:
*diamond, triangular or square motifs of cutwork
* satin stitching in rectangular blocks (kloster blocks) and other shapes
* pulled thread work in the form of four-sided stitch
* cable stitch
* eyelets
About the Author
Karens Variety is a craft patterns retail site with a large selection of new and used crochet, knitting, needlework, cross stitch, plastic canvas, tatting, embroidery, macrame, dolls and sewing patterns, craft books and reproductions of vintage patterns and pattern books. Newsletter with Free patterns. Monthly Contest .http://www.karensvariety.com