Make a Nalbinding Needle

I am posting this one as a hint for myself, but I thought - hey, maybe others would be interested in this intriguing skill. I can't knit. Can't crochet. But nalbinding looked fairly straightforward, and produces really warm products. So I actually want to learn.

But I don't have a needle. So my dear Lord Ronan volunteered to make me one. Months ago.

So I thought "Maybe I need to make my own, that would be better for me anyway." Then, if I break it, I can make another 'cause I'll have the skill in my brain & hands. Anyway, I'm sharing this with you because it's something cool you can do while sitting watching TV or in Court or in a waiting room.

How To:

MAKE THE NEEDLE

• http://www.instructables.com/id/Nalbinding-Needle/

• https://stolte.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/making-nalbinding-needles/

DO THE STITCH

• https://vikingladyaine.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/nalbinding-getting-started-with-the-oslo-stitch/

• http://historic-crafts.blogspot.com/2011/04/nalbinding-how-to_10.html

A little background on nalbinding:

• LOTS of cultures did this. "The oldest nalbinding fragment, supposedly a piece of a mesh sieve made of plant fibers, is from a cave in Israel, Nahal Hemar, approximately 6500 BCE. Fragments found in Denmarkdate from 4200 BCE. In West China, Tarim basin area (Zaghunluq), several well preserved mummies with beautiful clothes have been found, from 1000 BCE. The finds include two hats, supposedly made by nalbinding technique."

• Women in Scandinavia learned to nalbind in their tweens to make items for their trousseau and for gifts.

• Apparently, in Karelia (Finland) men hunting or fishing made their own nalbinding stuff for such activities, as if was considered bad luck otherwise. Also, it would have been a good skill to have while you were out there in the cold to be able to make a new set of mittens or socks or a hat.

• "In southeastern small municipality, Joutseno, the couples getting married were supposed to pay the church clerk for the wedding ceremony either by giving money, or nalbound mittens. Knitted mittens were not considered as good as nalbound ones, and probably some couples had tried to offer knitted mittens to the church clerk, as one church clerk in Joutseno, in 1860's, had announced from the pulpit, that the payment for the wedding ceremony must be either money or nalbound mittens."

• Refskegg was my inspiration. With no prior needle skills, he took this up and made BEAUTIFUL nalbinding hat and mittens. Not perfect the first attempt, but the second - Wow!