On the whole, I would say, no. It’s a very large project with some very complicated stitches.
However, that’s not a definitive no, because I don’t know you. I don’t know how determined you are! If you know your way around a needle, thread and counted embroidery in general – maybe you’ve done cross stitch but never tried Hardanger – then you are not a complete embroidery novice.
There are some simple stitches, but there are also some incredibly tricky ones. It’s a large project, and even for me – working long days on it with a high level of competence and experience – it took a long time.
I wouldn’t want you to come away from attempting such a large project feeling like you’ve failed. If you’re a beginner, please consider if you have the enthusiasm, perseverance and determination to get through to the end, even when things might be going badly along the way. Do you have a group of needleworking friends who can be your cheer squad?
However, you might be the sort of person who if you attempt a large project and do not finish it, you don’t see that as a failure, because instead you choose to focus on and celebrate all the things you DID learn along the way!
Me, as a beginner, I probably would have tackled something like this, though maybe it would have even been beyond me (admittedly my first Hardanger was HUGE). I probably would have thought, “I could do that!” even though I had never tried anything like it before. I have a can-do attitude to most things!
As a beginner, the other thing you could consider is working just one of the bands. The band with the five diamonds near the top might be a good one to start with, because it will teach you satin stitch klosters, eyelets, cable stitch, cutting threads, woven bars, wrapped bars, Greek quarter crosses, and a few specialty stitches (and more, but my list doesn’t have to be exhaustive!).
If you are still unsure, you are welcome to ask questions. But really, if you’re a complete beginner, YOU are the only person who can assess if you should consider attempting the Hardanger Filling Stitches sampler!
White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations' quality needlework books and embroidery products.
I must confess to a tendency to barrel in, boots and all, with embroidery techniques, but somehow I’ve always left the counted work to my mother!
Yep, I barrel in too! Never a thought in the world that I might not be able to do something!
Perish the thought!
It does help to be the sort of person who learns easily from books, or has access to helpful books (like yours!).
One of these days I will get around to my Mountmellick-inspired take on the bird carvings mentioned in Elizabeth Goudge’s “Gentian Hill”…