Openwork pattern

No. 445 (star No. 1)
category: Openwork pattern with Cable stitch grid
stitches used: Rose stitches and Needleweaving over 1 and 3 squares; changing the direction
center: square
material used: 13.5/cm thread-count Weddigen linen
Coton à broder No. 20 (Coral Knot stitches, Rose stitches and needleweaving) and No. 30 (Chain
stitches and Cable stitch)

In Schwalm whitework it is also common to fill openwork cable stitch grids not only with endless patterns, but also with figures: manikin, birds, tulips, hearts and, of course, stars.

The star patterns are the same as those found in Norwegian knitting patterns, but there is any room for imagination.

Stars are mainly worked within circles. Usually, the stars are stitched with Rose stitches, sometimes with a combination of Rose stitches and Needleweaving, and rarely with needleweaving only. This is because a single square filled with a Rosestitch remains as a square, a single square filled with needleweaving appears oblong. For a star, it is preferable that the squares do not appear oblong.

There are smaller and wider star patterns. You should always use a pattern that matches the number of squares in your grid. It is not attractive when the tip of a star is not fully visible. It is better that there are unworked squares around the star. Also, these remaining squares can be filled with single stitches.

Starting at the centre, always alternate withdrawing and leaving two vertical threads. Do the same with the horizontal threads. So that the star looks pretty and turns out well, it is necessary to place it right in the middle (with the same number of squares to the right as to the left). If your linen is not absolutely evenweave, it is better to ascertain the centre by counting and not by measuring.

The established grid is stabilized with Single Faggot stitches – which is simply Cable stitch from the front – worked from the back side of the fabric.

My established grid has 23 squares along the center axes. So I chose the following chart:

The darker golden squares are filled with Rose stitches, the lighter golden squares are filled with Needleweaving. (It would be also possible to work all with Rose stitches, but then the patterns will appear somewhat different.) The black lines show the direction of the needleweaving.

Starting at the center – marked red – work outwards, following the chart.

When the star is finished, the remaining squares up to the edge can be decorated with further stitches. There are different possibilities, as the following charts show:

There is room for imagination – please try to find your own pattern!

I chose the following pattern:

Embroidered it looks like this:

No. 443
category: Openwork pattern with Cable stitch grid
stitches used: Needleweaving over 1, 3 and 5 squares; changing the direction
center: square
negative pattern to No. 442

Starting in the middle, always alternate withdrawing and leaving two vertical threads. Do the same with the horizontal thread; it is best to start below the concave point of the heart (upper point). The established grid is stabilized with Single Faggot stitches – which is simply Cable stitch from the front – worked from the back side of the fabric.

Starting at the concave point (the middle of the motif), the pattern (alternating rhombi with 1, 3, 5, 3 as well 1 and blocks with 3 X 3 squares) will be woven in a stair-step manner. You will notice how the direction of the weaving changes with each weaving pattern.

To move from one block to the next, empty squares are left. To hold them clear and open, the working thread has to be wrapped around the bundled threads of the grid in the same direction of the Single Faggot stitches. This way the wrapping is barely visible.
If you require more detailed instructions, please refer to “Basic Principles of Schwalm Whitework” or “Openwork Needleweaving Patterns”.

Diagonal pattern rows are worked one after the other until the entire shape is filled.

Washed, starched and ironed the finished pattern shows its charm.

Another 175 Needleweaving patterns can be found in my book “Openwork Needleweaving Patterns”.

In several of my books I showed many different filling patterns and described, in detail, the steps of working. In contrast to the surface filling patterns presented in Early Schwalm Whitework, all the numbered patterns are withdrawn thread filling patterns.

There are:
10 filling patterns in “Basic Principles of Schwalm Whitework”
68 in “Limetrosen I”
84 in “Wickelstiche I” (actually 85, but 1 is also listed in BPSW)
79 in “Limetrosen II”
26 in “Openwork Pattern Samplers”, and finally
174 in “Openwork Needleweaving Patterns” (actually 175, but 1 is also listed in BPSW).
That makes
441 unique filling patterns in all!

But there are even more nice filling patterns (simple drawn thread, Limet, or Openwork).

In my books, excluding the Sampler book, I only presented patterns that used a single Schwalmtypical embroidery stitch. However, Schwalm Whitework gets its wealth by the innumerable ways to combine those single stitches.
Should one use Rose stitches, Needleweaving and a combination of both for Openwork patterns, the variety of stitch combinations for Limet patterns is nearly inexhaustible. Here are some possible combinations:
Rose stitches and Four-Sided stitches

• Rose stitches and Satin stitches
• Rose stitches, Four-Sided stitches and Satin stitches
• Satin stitches and Four-Sided stitches
• Satin stitches and Wave stitches
• Satin stitches and Square stitch variation
• Rose stitch and Single Faggot
• Single Faggot and Diagonal Cross Filling
• Satin Stitch and Square Eyelet
• Rose stitch and Square Eyelet
• Rose stitch and Satin stitch
• Single Faggot, Diagonal Cross Filling and Rose stitch
• Honeycomb Darning stitch and Rose stitch

And all of these combinations may be variously arranged – straight or diagonally, in diagonal steps or put together in squares or rhombi.
I think it might be possible to glean about 1000 different patterns; let me give it a stab.
Now and then I will present one more filling pattern.

Here is the first. It is an easy-to-work pattern and it is called No. 442 (“H” pattern). It would be difficult to find a real name for each pattern and so some will only be called by a number.

No. 442 (“H” pattern)
category: Openwork pattern with Cable stitch grid
stitches used: Needleweaving over 1 and 3 squares; changing the direction
center: square
positive pattern to No. 443

Starting in the middle, always alternate withdrawing and leaving two vertical threads. Do the same with the horizontal thread; it is best to start below the concave point of the heart (upper point). The established grid is stabilized with Single Faggot stitches – which is simply Cable stitch from the front – worked from the back side of the fabric.

Starting at the concave point (the middle of the motif), the pattern will be woven in a stair-step manner. You will notice how the direction of the weaving changes with each “H”.

One diagonal pattern row is worked to the next until the entire shape is filled.

Washed, starched and ironed the finished pattern shows its charm.

Worked within a wider shape, shown here in the heart-design of a lampshade, the effect of the pattern can develop better.

If you require more detailed instructions, e.g., preparing the pattern areas, withdrawing the threads, or working specific stitches, please refer to my book “Basic Principles of Schwalm Whitework”.
Another 175 Needleweaving patterns can be found in my book “Openwork Needleweaving Patterns”.