Hello! As we near the end on our nalbinding project, I am going back to our research questions from our first blog post. As Jenny and Kelsey covered needles, tools, and materials, I am moving on to what stitches we used, what fibres were used and what they would have been used for.
When learning about nalbinding, including lessons from
re-enactor Linda, we learned the Oslo stitch. It seems to be the most
prevalent information available when searching for beginner’s stitches. Many
variations are available, including a cast found on a pottery shard in Cucuteni,
Romania. This technique was initially
thought to be modern day knitting including knit stitches and purl stitches but
upon closer inspection, it turned out to be nalbinding or single eyed needle
stitching through loops most likely held on the finger or thumb. There have been ancient samples found in Egypt
and Peru, predating the Viking Age by many years, making this a textile art that has spanned not just decades but multiple centuries!
There appears to be many techniques out
there, and a quick perusal through Youtube or a google search will show you
endless possibilities including how to videos. There also seems to be endless
variations of stitches, many including more loops and more sewing, greatly
increasing the intricacy of the item. Although we hoped to learn further
stitches such as the York stitch when working with Linda, learning the Oslo
stitch, casting on, starting in the round, increasing, and decreasing, ate up our
four hours of lessons! At this point, after countless hours, I have to say I’m
glad I was able to perfect the Oslo stitch.
When reading through a FinnishNalbinding site,
they listed many types of stitches and some of the common uses for each type.
Some are exponentially more dense and are used for hats and gloves, to keep in
the warmth and keep out the wet and cold. I can confirm, the density of the hat I made would be too hot for a mild west coast winter. Other stiches are meant to allow for
breathable open knits, such as mesh bags etc… What variation, and all of this
has only been focusing on the actual stitches!The materials used was another major part. Using animal fibre such as wool was common, although, flax was spun into linen giving a plant based yarn. Linen is a much finer yarn and would not be possible to felt together, making nalbinding with linen difficult. Tying knots in your garment is never ideal as it causes lumps and bumps in the worst places and you always risk it coming undone! One of the positives of working with rough wool yarn is how rough the fibres are. Adding a little heat from rubbing it together (along with recommended spit or water), and before you know it, you have an extended piece of yarn where moments before you had two.
Most of the resources I have found on the various stitches have come from re-enactors or modern day nalbinders who have blogs or websites. As Linda told us, learning from one another (like she has done with many textile crafts from members of the Society for Creative Anachronism) is sometimes a great resource. Sharing the knowledge in this modern day is helping to keep these crafts alive!
Lastly, as touched on in Melissa's spinning lesson last week, we can't forget about the textile art of spinning. As Erin covered in class a few weeks back, spinning would have been a never ending task for those young and old. Creating enough fibre to keep a family clothed let alone all the additional uses such as sails, bags/storage, and any blankets or curtains that would have been used in the home, seems like an unbelievable task.
Thanks for stopping by - we can't wait to show off our finished craft ASAP!
tk
MARIAN, C., (2007) Archaeological Arguments Concerning the Textile
Technologies of Cucuteni Civilization Nalbinding Technique. In Etablissements et habitations
préhistoriques, structures, organisation, symbole: actes du colloque de Iaşi,
10-12 décembre 2007. Vol. 9.
Valeanu Madalin Cornel, 2008. pp. 327-334.
LARSSON, A., 2008.
Viking Age Textiles. In: S. BRINK, ed, The Viking World. Hoboken: Taylor
& Francis, pp.181-185.
Photo 2: http://www.dilettante.info/images/VikingPics/OsloPrimer/oslo1.jpg
Photo 3: http://www.malabrigoyarn.com/images/img_ppal_yarn/z_e4e1ec7f93eb928806db64a35
cc3517f_1.jpg
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