​​Ethnic Textile Art

Hardanger is a technique that originated in the Hardanger area of Norway over 400 years ago.  It was originally called Norwegian Drawn Work, and was traditionally stitched on white Linen fabric, using white Linen threads.  Over time these items would age and take on the Ecru-on-Ecru appearance, which is often seen in the museum exhibits of today.       

 

Because linen was very costly, this form of “fancy work” was seldom done, except on garments worn for special occasions such as weddings and holidays.  The design itself was also influenced by the cost of the materials used.  To work a design, certain threads would be drawn out of the working cloth, and then these threads would be used to stitch patterns in other areas.   The process of completely covering a large article (such as a table cloth) would take many years.  If necessary, the cloth would be used for a special occasions in whatever condition it happened to be in at the time of the event.

 

In the 1890’s, a cotton evenweave fabric was developed that now carries the name Hardanger.  At about this same time, European thread manufacturers first discovered these Scandinavian designs.  As a way of increasing the market for their products, the thread manufacturers began to offer free copies of these traditional designs that had been handed down in Norwegian families from generation to generation. 

The popularity of Hardanger gradually spread to other parts of Europe and then to the United States with the immigration of the Scandinavian groups.  It shares many similarities with the needlework of other ethnic groups, with the same stitch often being called by dissimilar names in many different cultures.  For example, the classic eight-pointed star is often seen in Hardanger as well as the needlework of many other ethnic groups. 

 

Hardanger is one of the few ethnic techniques widely known today, largely as a result of manufacturers providing an ever-increasing number of threads and fabrics that can be used to stitch these traditional designs.

 

Contemporary Hardanger designs are divided into two major categories: European Hardanger, with white-on-white or ecru-on-ecru designs; and American Hardanger, which often is stitched on colored cloth.  Other characteristics seen in American Hardanger is for a variety of different threads to be used in the design, as well as the use of large unstitched areas that are further embellished with beads, charms, sayings in cross-stitch or other decorative designs.