How to get started in nålbinding projects

Carla Burke wrote:[ I like nålbinding. It draws attention to the craft, because it's different. When I use that word, inevitably, someone will repeat it, and say they've never heard of it, and ask what it is, then get all impressed and intrigued, because it's so different from the other needle/ hook crafts, then, I can explain a little of the history, and draw them in, some more...

I started a bit over a year and a half ago, taking almost a year off, in the middle, lol. I've since found out that there's another in our guild, who had to take last year off, so I'd only met her once or twice before, and today discovered she also does - and teaches it. But, in the last 6 months or so, because I've been doing it, I've drawn in 3 more ladies in our guild, and possibly a couple more, not in the guild. Needle binding sounds like hemming. Not fun, to me. Nålbinding sounds like an adventurous exploration into world fiber history.

I agree with using the original name, avoids confusion with other techniques and credits the source.

I began to learn on youtube but found the teachers required using woolen yarn.  I want to use cordage that either I make from native plants or baling twine , so I can make both natural scrubbies for washing dishes and farm buckets and feed pans, and items like shopping bags.  Can you recommend sources that teach nalbinding for these non-stretchy cordages?

Thanks!!

Freyda, the reason for using wool is that you have to work in short lengths (maybe a yard/meter at a time) of the yarn, and the connections of those short lengths are done via a quick, easy felting method. It's the nature of the beast. You could, of course, use a different fiber, and connect via knots, but you'll be doing it frequently, which means there will be a LOT of knots in your finished piece, leaving it very lumpy. With some fibers, you might be able to do Russian join, but it will slow you down to probably half your speed - or worse, for the sheer number of them you'd have to do. The other downside of using fibers other than something that will felt, is that the finished product can't then be fulled, so there will be spaces, and it won't smooth out or tighten up - imho, that's vital to the durability and feel of end product.

Freyda Black wrote:I began to learn on youtube but found the teachers required using woolen yarn.  I want to use cordage that either I make from native plants or baling twine , so I can make both natural scrubbies for washing dishes and farm buckets and feed pans, and items like shopping bags.  Can you recommend sources that teach nalbinding for these non-stretchy cordages?

Thanks!!

I wish I could remember where I read it, but I saw someone once propose that cordage may have been the original fibre used to nålbind.

Their reasoning was thus: cordage, by its nature, is usually made of multiple short lengths of plant material twisted together. Nålbinding requires short lengths of thread/cord. Perhaps the early nålbinders would make a small amount of cordage, work that into their project, and then when more cordage was needed, simply twist it onto the ends left free of the project? This concept could then have later been applied to animal fibres via thigh-spinning.

All that to say, why not give nålbinding a go with cordage and see what happens? It won’t look or act exactly the same as a piece made of wool, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing - just different.

Phoenix Blackdove wrote:

Freyda Black wrote:I began to learn on youtube but found the teachers required using woolen yarn.  I want to use cordage that either I make from native plants or baling twine , so I can make both natural scrubbies for washing dishes and farm buckets and feed pans, and items like shopping bags.  Can you recommend sources that teach nalbinding for these non-stretchy cordages?

Thanks!!

I wish I could remember where I read it, but I saw someone once propose that cordage may have been the original fibre used to nålbind.

Their reasoning was thus: cordage, by its nature, is usually made of multiple short lengths of plant material twisted together. Nålbinding requires short lengths of thread/cord. Perhaps the early nålbinders would make a small amount of cordage, work that into their project, and then when more cordage was needed, simply twist it onto the ends left free of the project? This concept could then have later been applied to animal fibres via thigh-spinning.

All that to say, why not give nålbinding a go with cordage and see what happens? It won’t look or act exactly the same as a piece made of wool, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing - just different.

I'm pretty sure Inge wrote that here, somewhere - and relatively recently. My post wasn't meant to be discouraging, or to say, "don't do it", but only as "do it only if you're good with making and having lots of knots or Russian joins." They're similar in thickness, to the twist, but more time consuming, and hold better for stitching. I apologize, if my wording came across negatively - definitely not my intent.

Freyda Black wrote:
I began to learn on youtube but found the teachers required using woolen yarn.  I want to use cordage that either I make from native plants or baling twine , so I can make both natural scrubbies for washing dishes and farm buckets and feed pans, and items like shopping bags.  Can you recommend sources that teach nalbinding for these non-stretchy cordages?

Thanks!!

Prefacing this comment by saying I am 99% ignorant about nalbinding, but my curiosity after seeing it mentioned here had me wandering around on Youtube looking for what it is and the basics of how it is done. I ran across this guy who is nalbinding a bag in a Dalarna stitch with plarn from plastic grocery bags. The joining technique was cool and he did a hand winding of the length of plarn while pulling it through the stitch to prevent it from tangling that I thought looked extremely helpful:

Mercy Pergande wrote:
Prefacing this comment by saying I am 99% ignorant about nalbinding, but my curiosity after seeing it mentioned here had me wandering around on Youtube looking for what it is and the basics of how it is done. I ran across this guy who is nalbinding a bag in a Dalarna stitch with plarn from plastic grocery bags. The joining technique was cool and he did a hand winding of the length of plarn while pulling it through the stitch to prevent it from tangling that I thought looked extremely helpful...

Mercy, this also brings tarn (t-shirt yarn) to mind! The join is a simple slit cut into each end, and passed through pretty much the same way.

Carla Burke wrote: The join is a simple slit cut into each end, and passed through pretty much the same way.

I've done this with strips of fabric for rag rugs in my BC days (Before Children). However on rugs I found the lumps a bit uncomfortable, so I switched to just keeping a needle and thread handy and sewed the two ends together with them overlapped an inch or so. I'm not convinced it took much longer and I was happier with the results. It partly depends one what one is making. The rugs I made are 30 years old now and still in use! Over that lifespan, a little extra time in the making has been amortized rather well!

Jay Angler wrote:

Carla Burke wrote: The join is a simple slit cut into each end, and passed through pretty much the same way.

I've done this with strips of fabric for rag rugs in my BC days (Before Children). However on rugs I found the lumps a bit uncomfortable, so I switched to just keeping a needle and thread handy and sewed the two ends together with them overlapped an inch or so. I'm not convinced it took much longer and I was happier with the results. It partly depends one what one is making. The rugs I made are 30 years old now and still in use! Over that lifespan, a little extra time in the making has been amortized rather well!

To reduce those lumps, trim the corners off, so the end of the strip is in a point, before slipping the pieces together.

Carla Burke wrote:

Phoenix Blackdove wrote:

Freyda Black wrote:I began to learn on youtube but found the teachers required using woolen yarn.  I want to use cordage that either I make from native plants or baling twine , so I can make both natural scrubbies for washing dishes and farm buckets and feed pans, and items like shopping bags.  Can you recommend sources that teach nalbinding for these non-stretchy cordages?

Thanks!!

I wish I could remember where I read it, but I saw someone once propose that cordage may have been the original fibre used to nålbind.

Their reasoning was thus: cordage, by its nature, is usually made of multiple short lengths of plant material twisted together. Nålbinding requires short lengths of thread/cord. Perhaps the early nålbinders would make a small amount of cordage, work that into their project, and then when more cordage was needed, simply twist it onto the ends left free of the project? This concept could then have later been applied to animal fibres via thigh-spinning.

All that to say, why not give nålbinding a go with cordage and see what happens? It won’t look or act exactly the same as a piece made of wool, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing - just different.

I'm pretty sure Inge wrote that here, somewhere - and relatively recently. My post wasn't meant to be discouraging, or to say, "don't do it", but only as "do it only if you're good with making and having lots of knots or Russian joins." They're similar in thickness, to the twist, but more time consuming, and hold better for stitching. I apologize, if my wording came across negatively - definitely not my intent.

No need to apologize, Carla.  I appreciate cautionary comments as well as encouraging ones!  They are helpful in warning me what I'm getting into as well as helping me be prepared for difficulties. That way, I don't think that I'm hopeless at doing something, knowing it's not easy.

Now , could you point me to an explanation of those "Russian Knots"?

Hi, Freyda! This video will show it far better than I can explain it:

Jay Angler wrote:...
Do you have any recommendation of an easy stitch or tutorial for a total newbie with a unique needle? Maybe post that over on the thread I linked to?

The needle-binding I do is all only the 'simple looping' that was already used in the Stone Age.
There are some video-tutorials by Donna Kallner (she calls it 'new age looping'), like this one:

Sally Pointer has some very interesting and fun videos on it too (and on many other prehistoric techniques):


I'll copy this and post it in the other thread too