We’ve looked at medieval fingerloop braiding, now who’s heard of nålbinding?

There are about a bazillion ways to spell it, and very few good tutorials online (that I’ve found so far, at least, and if you know of some good sources please share in the comments), but this ancient art seems worth exploring! And when I say ancient, I mean it’s speculated that it’s older than knitting and crocheting. Wow.

The word nålbinding I believe is Danish in origin, but artifacts have been found all over the world from Scandinavia to Egypt to Israel to Peru! These artifacts include accessories such as socks and mittens and hats and range from very delicate small stitching to chunky and thick. One constant, however, appears to be that they’re often made of wool, because the spit-splicing method is used to join new lengths of yarn.

So, of course I had to try it out. Take a look at my first pathetic attempts. They kinda just look like tangled clumps. 😂

After a bit of practice, however, I managed this:

I’m not entirely sure I’m doing it right (I’m trying the Oslo stitch but there appear to be quite a few types of stitches) and I know I haven’t counted my stitches properly, but it’s at least the shape it’s supposed to be.

As you can see, there are loops on my thumb, and you use those loops along with the large needle (I’m using a bone bodkin type thing ’cause that’s what I had on hand) to make your stitches. I’m trying for a hat here, and the way you increase in each round seems much like how you increase in crochet (2 stitches in each stitch of the first round, 2 stitches in every other stitch of the 2nd round, etc.).

So, why bother trying to learn this if you already know how to knit or crochet? Well, if you’re like me then learning new things is just fun, and if you’re into historical dress or historically accurate re-enactments this could be very helpful. Aside from that, though, apparently the fabric this technique makes does not unravel like knitting and crochet do and it’s therefore optimal for making things that may require steeking or that may get lots of wear.

Had you already heard of nålbinding? Have you tried it before, and if so, what have you made? I’m very interested to learn more about this, and I hope this post was interesting for you, as well! If I can finish the hat I’ll post about it again.

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you’re all doing well!