This tutorial may help you cast on your first stitches for a nålbinding round start.

Nalbinding is a Scandinavian fabric-making technique which pre-dates knitting. Learn about nalbinding pattern directions, and how to make York and Oslo stitches.

One way to arrange starting loops for a chain of nålbinding.

These premium needles are ideal for nålbinding or any other kind of stitching with yarn! Needles are handmade of perfectly smooth bone, with a nice long oval eye, and measure about 5 inches long. Of my two styles, this one has a larger eye. Price is for one.

I am very happy to present as the first post on this new version of Historic Crafts the long awaited how-to on nalbinding. Nalbinding is also known as nalebinding, nailbinding, nålbinding and needlebinding and it is something that readers of Historic Crafts have shown an interest in knowing more about from the beginning. Unfortunately, I am absolutely useless at nalbinding, as I might have mentioned earlier, so I was thrilled when Ane offered me this wonderful guide for posting. Translating it from Danish has given me new hope that I might one day be able to master this craft too with some help from Ane. Ane Løser has recently begun studying at The School of the Association of Friends of Textile Art (HV School) in Stockholm, Sweden and has also begun blogging on Ane's Form (in Danish). All the images in this post are copyright of Ane Løser so please seek her permission if you wish to use them further. Let's get on with the nalbinding shall we. Take care, Eddie P.S. If you want to follow the guide on Flickr instead the images with instructions are in this set! ---- . ---- . ---- . ---- . ---- . ---- . ---- . ---- . ---- Here is a little demonstration of how to do nalbinding. There are several different techniques and I will just show one here. I will demonstrate using black wool so that everything I do stands out more on the pictures, but it is difficult to photograph as everything happens in a flow. I can also recommend checking on youtube for some good tutorial videos. Above is shown a typical nalbinding needle. In this how-to I am using one that I bought in Stockholm. It is too large and coarse and I actually prefer using an ordinary darning needle. If you feel that you can't do nalbinding without a proper nalbinding needle, you can buy one at most Viking related museums or on the Internet. Otherwise they are available at most Medieval/Viking markets. As for yarn, pure wool is absolutely the best to start with. Use plain knitting yarn to begin with and you can always experiment later with other yarn. Also small remnants are great to use for this. Pull, but do not cut a piece of yarn about 1.5 meters long. At one end you do a two half-hitch knot like above. Place it around your left thumb, with the shortest end inside the hand. At the long end sits the needle which you keep in your right hand. Now place the "knot" on the inside of your thumb. Now you have two threads above the nail. Take the needle between the two threads and let the needle tip come out as in the picture. Lift the upper loop off the finger. Take your right hand and move it anticlockwise, so the yarn twists around and you can put the needle tip down between the thread is still attached to the thumb. Now that we have done this, here is the result. Now pull the thread through and while doing so let the thread loop around your thumb under the thread already there. This means that the loop that was below before is now above and the loop that is now below is the one connected to the needle. Now we are back to square one and then we start all over again. Once we've done this a few times will have a row of stitches hanging off the back of the thumb. This is the beginning whether you want to make socks, mittens, or maybe a sweater. Constructing nalbinding items is a lot like crochet, you work around and around and when you want to make wider pieces and not just long, thin row you link the row with itself. Let's try this out! Begin by sticking your needle through the stitch closest to your thumb. Now we need to do as we did in the beginning, pretend the extra stitch on the needle doesn't exist and follow the instructions from the start. Now you will get a corner because we are working along the row of stitches. If you continue to work round and around without increasing or decreasing, you will get a flat pouch. If you for example want to make mittens or socks you will of course be compelled to increase and decrease. Both mittens and socks can be made as either toe/fingers up or cuff-down. I prefer to do toe-up. That is what I will demonstrate here, but if you prefer the other way you just need to make a long row that fits the arm or leg that can be linked as a ring instead of increasing from the tip. To increase and decrease: this is again the same as with crochet. When you increase you stick the thread through the same stitch one or more times and when you want to decrease you just miss a stitch in the previous row. When making mittens and socks it is best if you increase in the corners so that the increase sits on the inside and outside of the foot or along the first or the forth finger. Practice this before you begin making a big sweater. Remember that you should only increase and decrease a little in each round and not all in one go. Another thing I do is to make both socks or mittens at the same time. This way you can work without a pattern and still get two identical items where increase and decrease are the same on both. To extend your yarn: Take the end of the old yarn and split into two or more. Do the same to the new thread you've torn off. We need to felt the two threads together. The fibers sticks much better together when they are long. This is why we tear new yarn instead of cutting. Interlink the threads and make them wet. Now the threads are very loosely connected, but when we roll the wet thread in our hands we felt it together and the threads are now as one thread. On this picture you can see the transition between two colours where I have felted a blue thread to a brown. Here you see a heal where I have decreased. Here you see a toe where I have increased. Here is the heal from underneath. I made a tube which fits the foot until I reach the middle of the instep. Now I make a row that goes out from the rest of my tube, which is done by not connecting with the tube, but instead going back to the very first step of this how-to. When I made ​​it long enough I connected it to itself and finally back onto the tube. Each time I go around, I decrease at the root and the top of the row sticking out. This is the end of my nalbinding guide. Please let me know if something is completely incomprehensible or if you have any problems. Nalbinding is not difficult, but you have to learn it, as with everything else. The story behind the nalbinding goes way back. Fragments of nalbound textiles have been found in Israel dating back 65000 years, but this is a story that must wait for another time. Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Nalbinding stitches which I most often see people using in their items seem to be either Oslo Stitch or Mammen Stitch, but there are many others, too, and sometimes it can be confusing to try to remember all the names, or the logic of how one stitch changes to another. So, how can you tell which nalbinding stitch is which? Also connection stitches (F1, F2, B1...) are explained further below. York Stitch gets sometimes confused with Oslo Stitch. They both have 1 loop around thumb, and 1 loop behind thumb. In Oslo Stitch you insert the needle into the loop behind your thumb from front to back, while in York Stitch you insert the needle from back to front. Oslo Stitch, on the other hand, gets sometimes confused also with Mammen Stitch. They both have 1 loop around thumb, but in Oslo Stitch you pick up 1 loop behind the thumb, while in Mammen Stitch you pick up 2 loops behind the thumb. If you have a look at the numbers below each photo, you will see the first number indicates the number of thumb loops, and the second one tells how many loops are picked up behind the thumb. So in Oslo Stitch the number is 1+1, and in Mammen Stitch 1+2. The numbers also match with the Us and Os (Hansen's Notation). So, Oslo Stitch is 1+1 or UO/..., and Mammen Stitch is 1+2 or UOO/... Edit: In case you have heard about Korgen Stitch, so basically Korgen Stitch and Mammen Stitch are the same (1+2 or UOO/UUOO) but in Korgen Stitch the connection stitch is F1 and in Mammen Stitch F2. See further below for F1s and F2s. Now, if you look at the next photos after Oslo Stitch and Mammen Stitch, I hope you get the logic how the stitches can be changed/varied. Brodén Stitch - 1 thumb loop, 3 loops behind the thumb (1+3, UOOO/...). Långaryd Stitch - 1 thumb loop, 4 loops behind the thumb (1+4, UOOOO/...). Bålsta Stitch - 1 thumb loop, 5 loops behind the thumb (1+5, UOOOOO/...) The Finnish Stitch variant I have chosen here involves 2 loops around thumb and 2 loops behind the thumb (ie. 2+2, or UUOO/...). If you think it, it is almost like Mammen Stitch except that there are 2 thumb loops. There are also stitch variants which involve 2 thumb loops and 3 to 5 loops behind the thumb (ie. 2+3 or 2+4 or 2+5). Dalby Stitch is a bit different. There is 1 loop around thumb, 1 loop behind thumb is picked up from front to back (as usual), but the second loop behind the thumb is picked up from back to front (needle tip pointing to 9 o'clock *). So that would make 1+1+1 or UOU/... *) The direction matters, because if the needle tip points to the opposite direction, the stitch is one of the Turning Stitches, and the surface looks quite different, too. Turning Stitches are not included in these photos. Edit: These stitches shown here, obviously, are not the only one. The shortenings for connection stitches often seem to be a source of confusion. F = front, B = back, M = middle Edit: These are not the only ways to connect new stitches to the previous row. For example Åsle Stitch connection is not show here, and it is also possible to pick up the connection stitch from the reverse side of the fabric, like in e.g. Vad Stitch. F1 = 1 loop at the upper/top edge, from front to back F2 = 2 loops at the upper/top edge, from front to back - "1 new loop, 1 old loop" B1 = 1 loop at the upper/top edge, from back to front B2 = 2 loops at the upper/top edge, from front to back - "1 new loop, 1 old loop" M - pay attention to the direction of the needle (either ), because that changes the way the stitch surface will look like M1+F1 = 1 loop at the mid row, 1 loop at the upper/top edge F1B1 = 1 loop (new) from front to back, 1 loop (old) from back to front Left bottom corner, the blue sample, shows the F2 connection ("under x") when your stitch has the so called plaited edge (see below). On the left - "normal/usual" way of finishing the stitch On the right - "plaited edge"

Nalbinding stitches which I most often see people using in their items seem to be either Oslo Stitch or Mammen Stitch, but there are many others, too, and sometimes it can be confusing to try to remember all the names, or the logic of how one stitch changes to another. So, how can you tell which nalbinding stitch is which? Also connection stitches (F1, F2, B1...) are explained further below. York Stitch gets sometimes confused with Oslo Stitch. They both have 1 loop around thumb, and 1 loop behind thumb. In Oslo Stitch you insert the needle into the loop behind your thumb from front to back, while in York Stitch you insert the needle from back to front. Oslo Stitch, on the other hand, gets sometimes confused also with Mammen Stitch. They both have 1 loop around thumb, but in Oslo Stitch you pick up 1 loop behind the thumb, while in Mammen Stitch you pick up 2 loops behind the thumb. If you have a look at the numbers below each photo, you will see the first number indicates the number of thumb loops, and the second one tells how many loops are picked up behind the thumb. So in Oslo Stitch the number is 1+1, and in Mammen Stitch 1+2. The numbers also match with the Us and Os (Hansen's Notation). So, Oslo Stitch is 1+1 or UO/..., and Mammen Stitch is 1+2 or UOO/... Edit: In case you have heard about Korgen Stitch, so basically Korgen Stitch and Mammen Stitch are the same (1+2 or UOO/UUOO) but in Korgen Stitch the connection stitch is F1 and in Mammen Stitch F2. See further below for F1s and F2s. Now, if you look at the next photos after Oslo Stitch and Mammen Stitch, I hope you get the logic how the stitches can be changed/varied. Brodén Stitch - 1 thumb loop, 3 loops behind the thumb (1+3, UOOO/...). Långaryd Stitch - 1 thumb loop, 4 loops behind the thumb (1+4, UOOOO/...). Bålsta Stitch - 1 thumb loop, 5 loops behind the thumb (1+5, UOOOOO/...) The Finnish Stitch variant I have chosen here involves 2 loops around thumb and 2 loops behind the thumb (ie. 2+2, or UUOO/...). If you think it, it is almost like Mammen Stitch except that there are 2 thumb loops. There are also stitch variants which involve 2 thumb loops and 3 to 5 loops behind the thumb (ie. 2+3 or 2+4 or 2+5). Dalby Stitch is a bit different. There is 1 loop around thumb, 1 loop behind thumb is picked up from front to back (as usual), but the second loop behind the thumb is picked up from back to front (needle tip pointing to 9 o'clock *). So that would make 1+1+1 or UOU/... *) The direction matters, because if the needle tip points to the opposite direction, the stitch is one of the Turning Stitches, and the surface looks quite different, too. Turning Stitches are not included in these photos. Edit: These stitches shown here, obviously, are not the only one. The shortenings for connection stitches often seem to be a source of confusion. F = front, B = back, M = middle Edit: These are not the only ways to connect new stitches to the previous row. For example Åsle Stitch connection is not show here, and it is also possible to pick up the connection stitch from the reverse side of the fabric, like in e.g. Vad Stitch. F1 = 1 loop at the upper/top edge, from front to back F2 = 2 loops at the upper/top edge, from front to back - "1 new loop, 1 old loop" B1 = 1 loop at the upper/top edge, from back to front B2 = 2 loops at the upper/top edge, from front to back - "1 new loop, 1 old loop" M - pay attention to the direction of the needle (either ), because that changes the way the stitch surface will look like M1+F1 = 1 loop at the mid row, 1 loop at the upper/top edge F1B1 = 1 loop (new) from front to back, 1 loop (old) from back to front Left bottom corner, the blue sample, shows the F2 connection ("under x") when your stitch has the so called plaited edge (see below). On the left - "normal/usual" way of finishing the stitch On the right - "plaited edge"

Nålbinding, Danish for “needle binding,” is a method for making textiles that predates knitting and crocheting by thousands of years

Nalbinding is the Viking-Age term for single-needle knitting. A traditional wool craft that would be used to make woollen hats, socks, gloves and mittens.

Do you have thumbs? If the answer is "yes", you can get started with nalbinding: an ancient Scandinavian knotless knitting technique!

Nalbinding is a craft that has been done for thousands of years. This form of knitting has been shrouded in isolated corners of heritage interpretation and within living history groups; but are there other groups of interested individuals who could help learn and develop this craft?

Nålbinding is the craft of making a textile from loops of yarn; it is a craft for mavericks. Learn it, and you’ll be forever free from the tyranny of patterns and rules.

Nalbinding: earlier form of knitting. Basically freehand rows of interconnected loops. Popular during the High Renaissance in 15th an...

So you’ve decided to do some nalbinding. But where do you start? Many of the videos that I have found are excellent for demonstrating the actual stitches, but they have complicated descriptio…

A while back when I was in Victoria, a Viking re-creationist taught me one of the (many) nålbinding stitches. While I was there, I made a small wrist cuff, and then later went home and made another…

Knit Like a Viking With Nalbinding - How to Do the Oslo Stitch: Nalbinding (also spelled naalbinding, nalebinding, nalbindning and other variants) is an ancient fabric construction technique that predates knitting and crochet by some 2000 years. This video shows you how to do the Oslo stitch, which is the simple…

So you’ve decided to do some nalbinding. But where do you start? Many of the videos that I have found are excellent for demonstrating the actual stitches, but they have complicated descriptio…

Nalbindning, nålbinding Over the past several weeks, I have been studying how to do nalbinding and the various stitches. I found it all a bit confusing at first

Nalbindning, nålbinding Over the past several weeks, I have been studying how to do nalbinding and the various stitches. I found it all a bit confusing at first

Nalbinding is a Scandinavian fabric-making technique which pre-dates knitting. Learn about nalbinding pattern directions, and how to make York and Oslo stitches.

A few days ago, I saw a nalbound sock on one of the Facebook nalbinding groups, and wasn’t sure how the creator did that effect. She didn’t answer (and I wasn’t surprised – the group isn’t in…

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A few days ago, I saw a nalbound sock on one of the Facebook nalbinding groups, and wasn't sure how the creator did that effect. She didn't answer (and I wasn't surprised - the group isn't in English and that's all I speak). So I worked on a set of samples, so I could figure out that ridged effect and so I could more clearly see the difference between different types of connections for nalbinding. Here are my samples and what I learned. (-- Updated 2/4/2015 to show the needle in position for the connections. Samples done in Oslo stitch.) F1 Nalbinding Stitch Connection - F1 - You put the needle through the front of the top loop of next stitch in the previous row. A very flexible join to the row. The Oslo stitch has nice drape with this connection. F2 Nalbinding Stitch Connection - F2 - You put the needle in the front of the loop for the next stitch in the previous row, and also the previous stitch in that row (aka the loop that has a stitch in it already). A denser fabric, solid join. B1 Nalbinding Stitch Connection - B1 - You put the needle through the back of the top loop of next stitch in the previous row. Tighter than the F1 connection and it gives an interesting texture between the rows - almost like weaving. M1 Nalbinding Stitch Connection - M1 - You put the needle through the front of the middle of next stitch (the part of the stitch that lays in the opposite direction) in the previous row. Dense fabric with ridges on the back. M1 (back side) Nalbinding Stitch Connection - M1 in back - You put the needle through the middle of next stitch (the part of the stitch that lays in the opposite direction) on the back side of your work in the previous row. Dense fabric with ridges on the front. I'm pretty sure this is how the ridged socks were done. M1 F1 Nalbinding Stitch Connection - M1+F1 - You put the needle through the front of the middle of next stitch (the part of the stitch that lays in the opposite direction) and the top loop of that stitch in the previous row. Dense fabric with no ridges. *Note: There is another connection I've seen B1+F1 for the Asle stitch. But "B1" means "bottom loop" here. Just so you know. So, there you have it. I'd like to encourage you to make your own samples like this so you can see the difference for yourself. Even different stitch samples are helpful to see what you may want to use for a project. I'd love to see your samples and hear what you learned from them!

So you’ve decided to do some nalbinding. But where do you start? Many of the videos that I have found are excellent for demonstrating the actual stitches, but they have complicated descriptio…

Do you have thumbs? If the answer is "yes", you can get started with nalbinding: an ancient Scandinavian knotless knitting technique!

Nalbinding stitches which I most often see people using in their items seem to be either Oslo Stitch or Mammen Stitch, but there are many others, too, and sometimes it can be confusing to try to remember all the names, or the logic of how one stitch changes to another. So, how can you tell which nalbinding stitch is which? Also connection stitches (F1, F2, B1...) are explained further below. York Stitch gets sometimes confused with Oslo Stitch. They both have 1 loop around thumb, and 1 loop behind thumb. In Oslo Stitch you insert the needle into the loop behind your thumb from front to back, while in York Stitch you insert the needle from back to front. Oslo Stitch, on the other hand, gets sometimes confused also with Mammen Stitch. They both have 1 loop around thumb, but in Oslo Stitch you pick up 1 loop behind the thumb, while in Mammen Stitch you pick up 2 loops behind the thumb. If you have a look at the numbers below each photo, you will see the first number indicates the number of thumb loops, and the second one tells how many loops are picked up behind the thumb. So in Oslo Stitch the number is 1+1, and in Mammen Stitch 1+2. The numbers also match with the Us and Os (Hansen's Notation). So, Oslo Stitch is 1+1 or UO/..., and Mammen Stitch is 1+2 or UOO/... Edit: In case you have heard about Korgen Stitch, so basically Korgen Stitch and Mammen Stitch are the same (1+2 or UOO/UUOO) but in Korgen Stitch the connection stitch is F1 and in Mammen Stitch F2. See further below for F1s and F2s. Now, if you look at the next photos after Oslo Stitch and Mammen Stitch, I hope you get the logic how the stitches can be changed/varied. Brodén Stitch - 1 thumb loop, 3 loops behind the thumb (1+3, UOOO/...). Långaryd Stitch - 1 thumb loop, 4 loops behind the thumb (1+4, UOOOO/...). Bålsta Stitch - 1 thumb loop, 5 loops behind the thumb (1+5, UOOOOO/...) The Finnish Stitch variant I have chosen here involves 2 loops around thumb and 2 loops behind the thumb (ie. 2+2, or UUOO/...). If you think it, it is almost like Mammen Stitch except that there are 2 thumb loops. There are also stitch variants which involve 2 thumb loops and 3 to 5 loops behind the thumb (ie. 2+3 or 2+4 or 2+5). Dalby Stitch is a bit different. There is 1 loop around thumb, 1 loop behind thumb is picked up from front to back (as usual), but the second loop behind the thumb is picked up from back to front (needle tip pointing to 9 o'clock *). So that would make 1+1+1 or UOU/... *) The direction matters, because if the needle tip points to the opposite direction, the stitch is one of the Turning Stitches, and the surface looks quite different, too. Turning Stitches are not included in these photos. Edit: These stitches shown here, obviously, are not the only one. The shortenings for connection stitches often seem to be a source of confusion. F = front, B = back, M = middle Edit: These are not the only ways to connect new stitches to the previous row. For example Åsle Stitch connection is not show here, and it is also possible to pick up the connection stitch from the reverse side of the fabric, like in e.g. Vad Stitch. F1 = 1 loop at the upper/top edge, from front to back F2 = 2 loops at the upper/top edge, from front to back - "1 new loop, 1 old loop" B1 = 1 loop at the upper/top edge, from back to front B2 = 2 loops at the upper/top edge, from front to back - "1 new loop, 1 old loop" M - pay attention to the direction of the needle (either ), because that changes the way the stitch surface will look like M1+F1 = 1 loop at the mid row, 1 loop at the upper/top edge F1B1 = 1 loop (new) from front to back, 1 loop (old) from back to front Left bottom corner, the blue sample, shows the F2 connection ("under x") when your stitch has the so called plaited edge (see below). On the left - "normal/usual" way of finishing the stitch On the right - "plaited edge"