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Last month the MakerSpace taught a class on Nalbinding. If you weren't able to take the class you may be wondering, what is Nalbinding?
Nalbinding is defined as the process of creating connected loops from a fiber to create a textile. It can use a variety of methods and materials to create the textile, it just has to utilize looping instead of knotting. This craft predates knit and crochet and is often mistaken for these other arts. Typically done with a needle, Nalbinding can also be done without a needle, so it could have been developed before needles were.
It is uncertain where and when nalbinding was created but it emerged across the world in many societies at the same time during prehistory. Some theories are that it came into existence after sewing, but others believe it may have evolved from braiding, knotting, or net making. It's hard to know for certain. What we do know is that the oldest needle ever discovered was found in Eastern Europe and dated back to 30,000 years ago. The oldest piece of nalbinding textile was found in a cave in Israel and dated back to around 10,000 years old. The oldest intact nalbinding piece was found in a 3000-year-old grave in China.
There are a few different stitches related to nalbinding and they are often named after the locations where they were found or put on display. Sometimes they are named after the people who published the instructions or the region where the stitch is traditionally used. For example the beginner stitch we learned in the nalbinding class was the Oslo stitch, named after the capital of Norway.
Stitches are described using the Hansen Notation, named after Egon Hanson the developer of this description method in 1990. The Oslo Stitch would look like UO/UOO.
U = thread below (under) a previous loop
O= thread above (over) a previous loop
F (F1, F2 …) = connecting stitch made into the loop(s) of the preceding row from the front (F) with number of loops picked up
B (B1, B2 …) = connecting stitch made into the loop(s) of the preceding row from the back (B) with number of loops picked up
/ - turning point where the oldest loop is gone through by the new loop
: - further turning point into one loop.
Although this is an ancient textile the tradition is still alive in Scandinavia, where it is sometimes called knotless knitting or single-needle knitting. It is being reintroduced into Europe for its versatility and strength of items that can be produced by the process.
You can see the video below to learn the basics of how to nalbind. Much of the historical information provided in this article is also in the video as well.
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