Hardanger mythbusting – yet again

You may know that Hardanger mythbusting is one of my favourite subjects. There are many myths about Hardanger, and I like to promote accurate information, thereby busting as many of those myths as I can.

Some Hardanger myths include the following: Hardanger must be done on 22 count fabric, because that fabric is called “Hardanger fabric”. Ah, no. Hardanger was traditionally done on linen fabric of between about 35 and 60 count. It was very FINE compared to the chunkiness of 22 count! Many people think that perle cotton is the thread you should use. Ah, no. They traditionally used linen thread, not cotton at all.

And on to today’s myth, which is one that I have heard many times from various places:

“Kloster block is a redundant term because kloster means block.”

Ah, no. It doesn’t.

The statement had never sounded correct to me, as to me it seemed like kloster was probably from the same root word as cloister. So I did a bit of research, and asked a couple of Norwegian friends (one of whom is a language nerd!) for some help with the Norwegian language aspects of this, seeing kloster is a Norwegian word.

Kloster comes from the same Latin root word as cloister – claustrum or clostrum. Clostrum means “lock, enclosed place”. A cloister is the covered walkway in a monastery (or similar) and usually forms the border of a garden. It is the area of a convent or monastery that is closed off from the public.

It refers to a something closed off; something separate. In Hardanger embroidery klosters traditionally form the border of a cutwork area. They close off an area.

The word block, used in the terms kloster block and satin stitch block, refers to a building block. Block is not a Norwegian word, and they don’t use it with the word kloster. (More on that later.) In Hardanger, we use a succession of these blocks of five stitches over four by four threads, to build up a line of stitching.

If people choose to call them kloster blocks, it isn’t saying the same thing twice. It is more saying “building blocks which enclose a cutwork area”.

In Norway, they call it klostersøm, which roughly translates/transliterates to kloster seam, which is equivalent to “border stitching”. The statement is correct in that they don’t use the term kloster block, but that is not because kloster and block mean the same thing, because they don’t.

If you’re a person who calls them kloster blocks and you have had someone tell you that this is incorrect, I suggest you’re fine to go on calling them kloster blocks if you wish. It isn’t a Norwegian usage, for sure, but it also isn’t wrong. If you prefer not to upset these people, then you can call them satin stitch blocks or just klosters.

If you wish to help the person who has “corrected” you, in their misunderstanding, you’re welcome to refer them to this blog post. I don’t mean to offend anyone; I wish to promote accurate information.

With thanks to Cathinka and Tore for their assistance with this learning.