Drawn Thread

Drawn thread is a form of whitework where threads (normally either warp or weft but occasionally both) are withdrawn (pulled out) from the fabric and the edges secured, normally by weaving the cut threads into the ground fabric.  The aperture will normally be square or rectangular as it is dependent on the grain of the fabric.  The remaining warp or weft threads are embellished with stitches.

Drawn thread stitches are normally stitched on a relatively open evenweave fabric.

N.B. Some authors use the term ‘drawn thread’ for what we would call pulled thread stitches (those where the threads are pulled into patterns, but not cut and withdrawn).

Some authors differentiate between removing either the warp or weft threads, and removing threads in both directions.  The former is known as single open-work and the latter cut open-work.  Confusingly, the latter is sometimes translated as Punto Tagliato, which is the normal translation for cutwork.