It’s been a while since we last glimpsed this red-on-white, never-ending, ever-present, long-neglected project of mine – the Hungarian Redwork Runner.

It’s called the Hungarian Redwork Runner not because it’s technically Hungarian redwork. It’s a Hungarian design, worked entirely in red, with two stitches only: the chain stitch and the Hungarian braided chain stitch.

If this is the first time you’ve encountered this project here on Needle ‘n Thread, you’ll find all the background information on it, including the pattern and variations to the pattern, under the Hungarian Redwork Runner Index.

A little bit of ready info for you, though: I’m using two types of thread – coton a broder #25 and pearl cotton #8, both DMC threads, in color 321. All the chain stitching in the piece is worked with the coton a broder, and all the Hungarian braided chain stitch is worked with pearl cotton.

The last time we visited the project for a progress report, I had finished exactly half of the runner, and, using Photoshop, I created a mirrored image to give you an idea of what the finished runner would look like.

I mentioned earlier, too, that I tried the tambour hook for the chain stitch elements on the project, to see if I could speed up the chain stitching. Unfortunately, the difference in tension and the look of the chain stitch with the tambour hook made it impossible to take that shortcut.

But one discovery since then was that the reverse running stitch, which we covered yesterday, works up more quickly than the regular chain stitch, but poses no problem when it comes to a noticeable difference in look or tension.

There’s still quite a bit of work to do on the runner.

It’s become my “15 Minutes” project and my “grab and go” project. Whenever I have a chance to work on it for 15 minutes or so, I do. And if I need a project to take with me when traveling or when going somewhere that a wait will ensue, I grab it. So it doesn’t get a lot of attention, but a little bit here and there will eventually get it finished.

You can read more about the Hungarian Redwork Runner in the Index for this project. You can also find more Hungarian embroidery designs here on Needle ‘n Thread.