Help me fix my stitch! – cutting and withdrawing threads in Hardanger

Diana asked me: “[For Hardanger] when you pull the threads, do you do it on a ring, or frame, or flat surface, or just in hand? I was taught that it should be done on frame (or at the least a ring) and bit by bit, not all of them, filling section by section as they are out.”

I started answering her question, but then realised I might be answering the wrong question, so my answer starts with a clarification, and then I proceed to answer, trying to be as complete as possible:

When you say “pull the threads”, do you mean “remove the threads”?

To me, pulled threads are to do with pulled thread stitches, like cable stitch, eyelets, and channel stitch. I do them in hand, because I can get better tension and open up the holes more. They don’t destabilise the fabric. If anything, they make it more sturdy.

For openwork (cut work), I only do small sections at a time. Generally I do it in hand, but for my most recent book, “Hardanger Filling Stitches”, I found that some specialty filling stitches were best worked in a small hoop. Until cutwork is rewoven/wrapped, it is quite unstable, hence working only small areas at a time.

When I cut the threads I definitely do it in hand as I can better access the threads I need to cut, with the scissors. My experience is that having the fabric in a hoop or frame when cutting means that people get whiskers along the edges of their stitches, as they can’t get close enough.

When I remove the threads, it is still in hand. As long as you’re careful, pulling them out should not distort the fabric.