Nalbinding

[DaystarNemesis]

While I have always enjoyed fibercrafts, I have a particularly strong fascination with this one, at the moment. I haven't managed much more than the York stitch and the Oslo stitch, but they serve me well.

[galled]

Ah, I didn't catch this is craft used for making viking clothing. I've seen it many times on shows about/or featuring vikings (my favorite being the show of the same name). I never really thought about it when I'd see knit garb on screen, but now that I've seen it, it's very different from gran's crochet.

Have you made complete bits of garb using this method?

[DaystarNemesis]

I have made a spiral keychain with a darning needle and crochet cotton, and a bag from wool roving. I'm fairly new to the craft!

[galled]

Cool! What material do you use? Yarn? Wool?

[DaystarNemesis]

Whatever I can get my hands on! I've used both of those, as well as plastic bag strips and pipe cleaners (chenille stems?).

[Gingerale]

I will have to look it up!

[DaystarNemesis]

Oh, most definitely. The biggest appeal (and detriment) to me is the fact that you can't unravel it completely at a tug, no matter what bit you jerk at.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

I looked up Nalbinding because I had no clue ... but the funny thing is that I HAVE seen those bone needles before! I just never knew what they were used for.

Apparently it supersedes knitting & crocheting! Impressive!

[DaystarNemesis]

Those are actually used for a lot of things, not just nalbinding! I've seen them used for rag rugs, nets, leather lacing, and basket weaving, as well as that technique where you thread wool and ribbon into a woven piece, usually an art hanging of some kind.

The craft nearly died out, but has continued unbroken (or so the claim goes, and I have no reason to doubt it) in Iceland.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

I am sad that alot of handmade techniques are being forgotten & not passed down through the generations.

It is nice to be able to go out & buy something machine made but I appreciate the labor that goes into something hand made & depending on what it is, the creativity.

[DaystarNemesis]

Such is the victim of advancement. Having records of crafts helps a lot, though, with rediscovery, so not all hope is lost! That does mean craftsmen taking time to do exactly that that doesn't require another craftsman to know what they're saying.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

The nalbinding socks look very interesting and maybe easier to make?

[DaystarNemesis]

Well, you're making a spiral when you do nalbinding, so it tends to curl up. That makes it quite perfect for things like that. It's a little more difficult to make flat things look neat on the edges, but that can be rectified by going around it at the end to smooth it out.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

I have a friend who finger knits very pretty blankets.

[DaystarNemesis]

With the really large yarn, or cloth strips?