Hardanger Embroidery Pattern

A geometric, counted-thread whitework technique from the Hardanger region of Norway, worked traditionally in white linen thread on handwoven white linen fabric, combining satin-stitch blocks called kloster blocks with cutwork areas where threads are withdrawn and the remaining threads wrapped or woven into decorative filling stitches. The technique is believed to trace back to seventh century Persian embroidery, reaching Norway by way of Renaissance-era Italian reticella lace, where it flourished as a distinct Norwegian style, originally called Norwegian Drawn Work, between roughly 1650 and 1850.