Editing Drawn thread work (section)

{{Short description|Creative textile work}}
[[Image:Embroidered white work drawn thread work detail.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Linen towel with drawn thread work accented with embroidery in [[stem stitch|stem]] and [[satin stitch]]]]

'''Drawn thread work''' is one of the earliest forms of open work embroidery, and has been worked throughout Europe. Originally it was often used for ecclesiastical items and to ornament shrouds.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Caulfield|first=S.F.A.|title=Encyclopedia of Victorian Needlework|publisher=Dover Publications|year=1972|volume=1|location=New York|pages=157–161}}</ref> It is a form of [[counted-thread embroidery]] based on removing threads from the [[Warp (weaving)|warp]] and/or the [[weft]] of a piece of [[even-weave]] fabric. 
The remaining threads are grouped or bundled together into a variety of patterns. The more elaborate styles of drawn thread work use a variety of other stitches and techniques, but the drawn thread parts are their most distinctive element. It is also grouped with [[whitework embroidery]] because it was traditionally done in white thread on white fabric and is often combined with other whitework techniques.