Gjentagelsen - cushion - Tanja Dinesen Skudstrup (TS)

Gjentagelsen - cushion - Tanja Dinesen Skudstrup (TS)

"Gjentagelsen" (The Repetition) - cushion - Tanja Dinesen Skudstrup (TS) is an embroidery kit for a graphic cushion with a strong dark blue-and-white expression. The motif consists of repeated forms arranged in dense horizontal rows. The inky blue stitches stand out strikingly against the light linen background.

The motif carries the text and thought: “What is repeated is never the same.” Here, repetition becomes more than a pattern. It becomes an exploration of rhythm, movement and renewal.

The Repetition – inspired by Kierkegaard’s scribbles

This embroidery is inspired by Søren Kierkegaard’s manuscripts. Among them are pages of text covered with his characteristic scribbles. He did not delete his words. He concealed them.

Yet he kept the manuscripts. Since then, they have been the subject of much curiosity. What lies hidden beneath the lines? Which thoughts did he wish to hide, and why?

This exact duality is the starting point for The Repetition. The motif balances between the visible and the hidden. It almost resembles writing, but cannot be read directly. Instead, it becomes a pattern of signs, traces and rhythm.

Repetition as rhythm and renewal

The hand-drawn scribbles have been translated into cross stitch. Each stitch builds on the one before it. The pattern grows through repetition, yet no form becomes exactly the same.

As Kierkegaard describes in The Repetition, a moment can never be experienced in exactly the same way twice. Repetition is not a copy. It is a renewal.

The same happens in the embroidery. The repeated forms create calm and system. At the same time, small differences, shifts and living details appear. This gives the motif depth, even though the colour choice is simple.

Cross stitch as structure and reflection

There is also a small thought in the choice of material. The pattern is stitched in cross stitch, one of the most classic embroidery stitches. Perhaps this is simply a coincidence. Perhaps it is a quiet reference to the philosopher who challenged his time’s understanding of Christianity and the church.

The endless crosses of cross stitch become structure, rhythm and reflection here. The stitches are repeated again and again. Yet the motif does not become static. On the contrary, it gains a special movement, because the eye keeps finding new details.

Embroidering the design has an almost meditative quality. Stitch by stitch, a living pattern appears. System and freedom exist side by side. Each repetition becomes a new movement and a new moment.

A graphic cushion with strong contrast

The finished embroidery measures 30 x 35 cm. The format suits the motif’s dense, horizontal structure well. The inky blue border frames the pattern and brings the whole surface together.

The colour choice is simple and clear. Dark blue and light linen create a classic contrast. This makes the cushion easy to use in many types of interiors. It can stand sharply in a modern home or create calm together with natural materials.

In this kit, the motif is designed as a cushion. However, the idea of the pattern could, in principle, continue infinitely. The repetitions invite personal interpretation. They can be imagined together or separately on textiles such as cushions, pictures, bags, tablecloths or clothing.

Like Kierkegaard’s scribbles, the pattern can spread freely across the surface. Each repetition can create a new story.

Haandarbejdets Fremme and Tanja Dinesen Skudstrup’s design

The embroidery is stitched with Danish Flower Thread. The thread gives the inky blue stitches a soft and textile expression. This makes the motif feel alive, even though the palette is completely simple.

The cushion is embroidered on Haandarbejdets Fremme linen 10B. The fabric has a classic structure that suits the small repeated forms well. Here, the pattern, contrast and border all stand out clearly.

Haandarbejdets Fremme is known for embroidery kits with fine materials and carefully developed motifs. In The Repetition, classic cross stitch meets a philosophical and graphic expression.

Tanja Dinesen Skudstrup has created a motif where repetition becomes form, story and immersion. The Repetition - cushion - Tanja Dinesen Skudstrup (TS) is an embroidery kit for those who love graphic patterns, simple colours and embroidery with a clear idea behind it.