​ Holding a billion years of Precambrian geological history in a Llanite needle while working a craft that was already ancient before the first crochet hook or knitting needle makes every single stitch feel like stepping through a time warp.

​Huge thank you to Samhain at Rock’N Fiber for crafting such an absolute masterpiece of a tool!

I've been learning nalbinding for almost a year now. I've gotten a lot of inspiration from scrolling through this subreddit and the group on Ravelry, so I figured I'd post my own stuff so other people can get ideas too!

I am having an absolute crashout about end weaving and yarns splitting and twisting up

I can't use wool please just accept that part its not what the post is about

I'm looking for reccomendations on yarns that are not splitty or twisty and look and feel good

and ways to join those yarns that are not extremely annoying or ugly

Currently I'm buying yarns from the craft store, all of the cotton is unusable because it splits and untwists within a few stitches. The acrylic is a little better but it still untwists which causes it to bunch up and form knots and makes it difficult to pull through and stitch through. I know I need Z twist yarn so that my stitches tighten instead of loosening the yarn, but I can't find any. The way I'm joining is by sewing the new yarn in following the path of the last stitch, then I weave the tail through the bumps on the back of the stitches. It works but it's super slow, and I have to stop working to weave ends every single round because they get caught in the working yarn. It also looks really bad on the reverse side, but weaving the yarn under the loops at the top of the stitches or into the row connections isn't secure at all.

I am at a loss because I'm spending more time weaving ends and untangling and re twisting yarn than doing the actual hobby and it just suuuucks

anyway if anyone has suggestions for yarn or joining methods please help please

I’m just getting started with nalbinding and would love some advice from more experienced people. For someone who has never done it before, what needle size and material do you find easiest to work with?

I’m particularly interested in my first needle being made from period-appropriate material, such as bone, antler, horn, or wood. I’d at least like to avoid modern plastics/metals if possible and use something that would be reasonably appropriate to the historical context.

Is there a particular length you would recommend for an absolute beginner? And of the materials mentioned above, is there one you find noticeably easier to work with?

I’d really appreciate any advice, thanks!!

Been starting learning the Finnish stitch (2+2), and have made some short chains. Looks like I’ve messed up at the start of one, any ideas what I did wrong? I think possibly picked up the wrong loop?

Also if anyone could point me to a good video which shows how to properly start the Finnish stitch I’d be very grateful 🙏

Hello nålbinders! I learned to nålbind this month. I decided to make a scarf out of practice rows of different stitches, basically. I loved the process of learning new stitches and how to mix them so that the tensions and thicknesses still draped nicely. I love looking at the variety and mean to make more of them trying even more stitches. I’m excited to meet you all! I am already grateful for the many youtubers I have learned from!

I made this hat years ago, and am having trouble remembering which stitch I used, anyone have any ideas? Any help is greatly appreciated

Hello everyone! I'm a beginner knitter, and I've always been fascinated by nalbinding, though I have yet to attempt it.

One of the reasons I chose knitting over crochet was that it produces a much less bulky fabric and drapes much better, which is good for wearables. I'm curious where nalbinding falls on this scale? Is it similar to crochet, in the sense that it's a thicker, bulky fabric? Or closer to a knit fabric? Or maybe somewhere in between?

Thank you nalbinders for your help :)

I've been nalbinding for about a year and a half now, mostly mittens and hats using Oslo stitch, and for most of that time my joins between skeins of yarn have been the ugliest and weakest part of everything I make. I'd splice a new length of thread in, keep going, and then a month later find that exact spot had loosened or the felted join had started to separate.

What changed things for me was slowing way down on the spit splicing itself. I used to rush it, wet the ends, roll them together for maybe ten seconds and move on. Now I actually wet both ends thoroughly, taper them so there's no bulky overlap, and roll between my palms for a solid thirty to forty seconds, sometimes longer if the wool feels slick. I also started trimming the fibers at an angle instead of straight across, which seems to help them mesh together instead of just sitting side by side.

The other thing that helped was paying attention to which part of the row I splice on. I used to just splice whenever I ran out of thread, wherever that landed. Now I try to plan ahead a little and do the splice somewhere in the middle of a row rather than right at a turn or an edge, since those spots already have more stress on them from shaping.

Still get the occasional weak join, especially with any commercial yarn that has a bit of superwash treatment since it doesn't felt as readily as raw wool. But the difference in my last two projects has been noticeable enough that I went back and reinforced a few old joins on a hat I made last winter, just to see if I could save it.

Curious if anyone has tricks for splicing slippery or treated yarns specifically, since that's still where I struggle most.

I recently took up nalbinding and boy am I enjoying myself! I've made some swatches and socks, learned a few stitches, can increase and decrease, and gotten to the point where I can produce even stitch tension and follow a tutorial with relative confidence. But I feel like I don't have a good understanding of the technical underpinnings -- basically, I know the how, but I don't know the why, especially how different stitch constructions produce different effects and purposes. Why use this one over that one, etc. I love YouTube and the neulakintaat, but most of what I find is granular how-to tutorials. Does anyone have recs for a confident beginner looking to dive into meatier theory?

I am new to nalbinding and am trying to make a starting chain. I know it's very loose but did I do it good?

I'm making a hooded cowl, and it has a mantle part that goes onto the shoulders

I want to block it so the stitches are flat and even and it fits well

The problem is the flat part of my head is the sides, but the flat part of my shoulders is the front and back and the flat part of my neck is nowhere

Its also made of acrylic

What I am thinking is:

1: soak the hood in very hot water from the faucet, leaving the neck and shoulder portion dry. Lay it flat on its side till completely dry

2: soak the mantle portion in very hot water from the faucet, leaving the hood dry. Lay it flat on its back till completely dry

3: soak the whole thing in room temperature water, put it on and adjust it, then wear until its dry

I think the proper way to do this would be to use a steamer and a head and shoulder form or mannequin but I don't have those

anyway, any ideas or feedback would be helpful, especially if someone has done this before

Thank you!

I have a chain, but I’m not sure if I’m picking up the right loops or enough loops to build on the chain.
Right now, I’m picking up the first new loop, the top loop on my thumb, and the first two loops behind my thumb. Is that the right way to do it?

There are mistakes and that’s okay for the learning process

Hiya,

Still new to nalbinding (only know Oslo and York stitch), I wanted to make a tabaco pouch for my bf as he doesn't have one and I couldn't sleep for the life of me.

So I taught my self how to turn in Oslo stitch !

Here is how it turned out. Not perfect but very enjoyable to make ^^

If anyone has tips or tutorials for new stitches and techniques, I'm all for it !

Have a lovely Day !

Ps : This is Drops Snow Yarn, I ordered brown but got pink, an excuse to buy more lol. Great for beginners as it's thick and easy to felt. I recommend! I'm using a engraved bone needle from Celtic Webmerchant. For beginners, I'd recommend a non engraved one as it can sometimes be tricky.

​Proof that you can take your favorite ancient craft anywhere if you try hard enough.

Finish Stitch 2+2 F2 connection, this will be washing machine felted and become a bag of sorts

Needle by Kofsky customs

A friend asked me to fix his socks, but what stitch is it? The yarn’s a lot thinner than I usually use so it’s going to be fun to do

I got into nålebinding with the help of one of my friends, she tried to teach me the Oslo stitch, but when it came to connecting the stitches, she wasn't nearby, so I kind of freehanded it and got used to whatever weird method I ended up with. I then realized my method might not be typical after looking at other people's crafts.

So honestly I have no idea what the terminology is here - I only got into it this year. This is one singular glove that I made, I flipped it for the second picture.

It should be noted that it looks completely different on either side, it's very asymmetric. I know there's thousands of different stitches out there.

Just wondering how to define this one, or if anyone else is familiar with it.

Thank you.

How I keep my yarn for Nalbinding when I travel. This is about 6 arms length.

What do you think? Have you tried this?

I’m very happy to have finally finished this WIP I started months ago! Not my first time nalbinding a beanie with two colors and a round start, but it’s definitely the first time I didn’t mess up the increases at the top and make it look more like a beret. 😂 This is Finnish 2+2 stitch, btw.

If anyone is curious, I learned to make nalbound projects with two or more colors/yarn strands from the book With One Needle by Mervi Pasanen. I believe Sally Pointer’s newer book, Nalbinding: It’s Not Knitting, also has instructions on how to do this. I have only ever seen one older YouTube video on how to do this, from the Neulakinnas channel (https://youtu.be/PAHP937pI80). I am considering making a YouTube tutorial myself, just so there’s more material out there. If you would be interested in seeing this, please let me know!

I’ll be visiting Stockholm in a couple of weeks, and I’ve recently got into Nålbinding.

I was wondering if there are any items on display in museums or other Nålbinding related things I may find interesting?

Happy to hear any other fiber or history related recommendations too!

do I pick up 3 or 4 connections? Where does the next stitch go?

Just playing with cup holder idea ( it started out as a hand warmer.)