Drawn Thread

Drawn thread work is a type of openwork embroidery used to create lacy panels on evenweave fabrics. Horizontal threads are pulled out of the fabric and the remaining verticle threads are held in clusters with needleweaving or hemstitching.

Reticella, an Italian form of counted thread work, is a type of needlelace popular in the 16th century. Most of the fabric threads are pulled out, leaving a grid over which additioan, diagonal threads are laid; this delicate framework was then embroidered with buttonhole and other stitches. Stiff collars of lacy reticella appear in portraits of this time period.

Hardanger, a popular form of Norwegian needlwork, is another distinctive form of drawn thread work probably origninating in Asia then coming to Scandinavia by way of Persia and Italy. Hardanger combines openwork squares, some decorative filling stitches and regular blocks of satin stitch.