Combines a number of embroidery techniques including satin stitch, tambour (chain stitich),and pulled stitches to create a lace like surface. If done on netting it would resemble Limerick Lace

The following information is from Eva from Haltern, Germany

End of 2000, I had the opportunity to see the original exhibition of Dresden White Work in Schloß Pillnitz (Pillnitz castle) near Dresden. the exhibition travelled to other German cities later, but I feel it was especially wonderful to see it where it might have worn. Lots of beautiful lace - yes, it looked like lace, although it is not, from the techincal aspect.
Shoulder clothes, engageantes, handkerchiefs and other accessoires of mainly 18th century costumes were shown. Behind glass, but with magnifiers to have a more detailled look. I could have spent hours there, but my children had enough after one hour... I bought the catalogue - it's more, it's a book with a historical overwiew of developement of manufacturing, trade and patterns.

This kind of embroidery was developed to comptetite real lace by faster (cheaper) means.
Hard to imagine this was fast! the pulled thread embroidery was done on finest silk or musslin, as fine as 30-40 threads/cm (up to 100 threads/inch)!  Number of threads in warp and weft often were different. The patterns are rich, floral, curving, with lots of different fillings. As far as I understood, no threads were cut and drawn in Dresden White Work.

This is a great difference to Schwalm Embroidery. Schwalm Embroidery uses pulled thread stitches, but also drawn threads. Motives, often classical, like hearts, tulip, granat, birds, are formed by coral stitch. inside chain stitch fixes the threads, than they are cut in one or two directions. The remaining grid is filled.

There are other differences. Dresden White Work was Haute Couture, made by professional designers and skilled workers for the use of the rich and the noble. The designs changed, like fashion changed and the style of lace changed.  On the finest cotton or silk fabric the stitches were made with cotton or silk, I can't remember linen now, but won't deny it.

Schwalm embroidery was done by peasant women, in their spare time, and made for personal use. They decorated blouses, skirts, aporns, but mostly household linen, the dowry of the girls. Linen was the fabric and the yarn, too, in modern times DMC 16, 20, 25, 30..  Patterns are combinations of traditional elements.

Schwalm Embroidery is beautiful work. I like it, enjoy doing it from time to time (I grew up about 100km from Schwalm). But with all it's beauty, it is far from lace, while Dresden embroidery has the character of lace.
The roots of Schwalm embroidery are dark - there is a second small area in Hessen not far from the Schwalm, where a similar tradition exists. How did a technique like that come to a (really poor) rural area, spread among the female population and develop and keep regional characteristics? Fascinating questions..

Some beautiful pictures of Hessenstickerei (Schwalm embroidery) are on Renate Fernau's homepage: http://www.hessenstickerei.de/ She wrote a book named "Hessenstickerei", in German, which I have amd use,
beside Christine Bishop's book.  I thought "Hessenstickerei" had a brandnew english edition - but I can't
find it nowhere. maybe I dreamed?