When I started embroidering Hardanger, I bought 2 instruction books from Janice Love: Basics & Beyond + Fundamentals made Fancy. They are superbly written and illustrated. I can’t recommend them enough for everyone who wants to learn Hardanger. These two books have become my bible and are the best instruction manuals I ever came across.
Basics and Beyond includes all main instructions, various satin stitch motifs, cutting, needleweaving and basic fill stitches for the cut areas, starting with the very helpful section about things you should know, which include explanations about how to use the book, how to interprete the graphs and information about materials. The book also helps you to cope with mistakes and illustrates what mistakes you can make, and how the stitch should look correctly. It also includes 5 lovely easy projects, based on what you have learned from the lessons. I particularly love the Points for Perfection, which really give you the edge.
The second book, Fundamentals made Fancy, builds on the first one and teaches you much more complex fill stitches and weaving, plus adorning stitches like Portuguese Stemstitch. You must have the first one in order to use the second one, because the instructions for the basic stitches from Basics & Beyond are not included in this one. The structure is the same like the first book, with easy to follow explanations, graphs and illustrations. It also contains a lovely project, a Victorian Needlebox, with all instructions.
They are a must have for the Hardanger Embroiderer, and even after so many years designing I still refer to them. Both books cater well for the visual person, who rather likes to follow graphs and illustrations, as well for those, who can easily follow written instructions accompanied by graphs.
You can purchase both books from Nordic Needle and many other craft stores.
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