Learning how to do nålbindning

[Toddy]

We used to demonstrate felting by showing folks how to make slippers using their own foot as the mould. I reckon your hands will work like that Heat, moisture, friction, and wool will felt. Doing it that way should mean you don't lose that lovely chevron pattern of the stitches too.

 

[Woody girl]

I read this with interest, but had no idea what it was realy about. Today I found a day course on nalbinding only a few miles away, next weekend, along with the next day a course on tablet weaving. So I hurriedly bòoked both . I'm very excited, as it sounds like an amazing place
I shall be staying there overnight in a furnished safari tent, offered to me for free as its daft to go back and forth to the venue, could have taken my hammock, but ive decided on the offered luxury.I shall be next to a river, lots of wildlife, and a most magnificent tree bog for my needs. I'm very excited as they do all sorts of courses, and the site is run on permaculture lines.
They do spooncarving, basket weaving, hedge laying, and many other things. They want volunteers, and ideas for other courses, so
Sounds like I've found my perfect place.
Anyway, I'm very excited, and looking forward to re learning tablet weaving and learning another unknown
(to me )craft.

 

[bobnewboy]

I read this with interest, but had no idea what it was realy about. Today I found a day course on nalbinding only a few miles away, next weekend, along with the next day a course on tablet weaving. So I hurriedly bòoked both . I'm very excited, as it sounds like an amazing place
I shall be staying there overnight in a furnished safari tent, offered to me for free as its daft to go back and forth to the venue, could have taken my hammock, but ive decided on the offered luxury.I shall be next to a river, lots of wildlife, and a most magnificent tree bog for my needs. I'm very excited as they do all sorts of courses, and the site is run on permaculture lines.
They do spooncarving, basket weaving, hedge laying, and many other things. They want volunteers, and ideas for other courses, so
Sounds like I've found my perfect place.
Anyway, I'm very excited, and looking forward to re learning tablet weaving and learning another unknown
(to me )craft.

Where is this place? I’m not really much into weaving but I’ve been looking for a spoon carving course. If it’s close for you then it won’t be far for me either.

Cheers, Bob

 

[Woody girl]

Where is this place? I’m not really much into weaving but I’ve been looking for a spoon carving course. If it’s close for you then it won’t be far for me either.

Cheers, Bob

It's called the Riverside Project Brompton Regis near wimbleball lake.
You can become a member for £20 and get involved with all sorts of things, and they want volunteers too.
The spoon carving is about £120 (if memory serves me right)for 1 to 1 tuition. Probably cheaper when they run an actual class tho I'm not sure.
They are a lovely young couple, and have built a mini sawmill, (you have to bring your wood to them tho,) as their latest project. They use permaculture principles on their property.
A young couple worth supporting in their endeavours. It's in a very lovely area too.
If you book up say Annie sent you!

 

[SaraR]

I read this with interest, but had no idea what it was realy about. Today I found a day course on nalbinding only a few miles away, next weekend, along with the next day a course on tablet weaving. So I hurriedly bòoked both . I'm very excited, as it sounds like an amazing place
I shall be staying there overnight in a furnished safari tent, offered to me for free as its daft to go back and forth to the venue, could have taken my hammock, but ive decided on the offered luxury.I shall be next to a river, lots of wildlife, and a most magnificent tree bog for my needs. I'm very excited as they do all sorts of courses, and the site is run on permaculture lines.
They do spooncarving, basket weaving, hedge laying, and many other things. They want volunteers, and ideas for other courses, so
Sounds like I've found my perfect place.
Anyway, I'm very excited, and looking forward to re learning tablet weaving and learning another unknown
(to me )craft.

That sounds like an excellent weekend away! I’m sure you’ll have a great time. With nålbindning, there are loads of different stitches, but you don’t need to worry about that to start with. The main things to keep in mind are: the beginning always looks a bit bad so ignore that (can be fixed later), it always looks better when you’re on round 2, and as long as the fabric is holding together you are doing nålbinding - you might just have invented a new stitch though! ;D There are no real patterns and you’re sort of creating your own as you go using guidelines for how to achieve what you want. Once you got the hang of it, you can really see the benefits of its special characteristics. Oh and if you want to do something flat, like a seat pad, it’s a lot easier to make a wide tube and cut it up (it won’t unravel) and just tidy up the edges with some twill tape - or your tablet woven band!

 

[Woody girl]

I'm realy looking forward to it. I've been lucky in that I sold my sons old hand made to order willow crib on Saturday which provided me with enough to do both courses without having to dig into any savings.
I had held on to it for too long, and I needed the space, so it's worked out just right.
Sometimes things work out perfectly.
I'm realy looking forward to this. I need another challenge.

 

[SaraR]

I'm realy looking forward to it. I've been lucky in that I sold my sons old hand made to order willow crib on Saturday which provided me with enough to do both courses without having to dig into any savings.
I had held on to it for too long, and I needed the space, so it's worked out just right.
Sometimes things work out perfectly.
I'm realy looking forward to this. I need another challenge.

Sounds like a brilliant use of the money from the crib. Tablet weaving is so much fun too and great for creating some thing that is both useful and decorative. Nålbindning is great for using up short bits of yarn and for creating thick, warm fabrics, but if you have a look at what people are doing nowadays there are plenty of lacy, airy garments being created too. Some versions of nålbindning are apparently used in Northern Africa or the Middle East to make sand shoes and camel muzzles!

 

[Ozmundo]

Good luck to anyone persevering with this craft. I have some socks made with nalbindung and they are very cosy, wear has probably felted them to some extent.

I was initially a bit skeptical but they keep my feet warm in the snow with uninsulated shoes. I believe there is some 13th century European art that appears to be nalbindung socks or slippers used as shoes when hunting.

I got a book on how to do it but that’s as far as I have (not) gone! I’m trying to learn to spin first.

 

[SaraR]

I got a book on how to do it but that’s as far as I have (not) gone! I’m trying to learn to spin first.

Homespun yarn is great for nålbindning! Singles work well too AND you can use shorter skeins, as you’ll need to break the yarn anyway. just sayin’…

 

[Ozmundo]

Thanks for the info much appreciated.

 

[Disabled Preppers]

Ok i am going to show my wife this as she loves all the crafty stuff , she took up loom knitting and with in a few weeks was turning out wool hats and scarfes for the homeless we carry some with us but she then got in to hot water bottle making we love them and after a few funny attempts she got the size perfect .
I wonder would this new style be easier on her hands as she has srthritus and the looming can make them ache a fair bit but as she says it keeps her joints moving

 

[SaraR]

It is mainly whole hand & arm movements, so as long as you can clamp down / pinch the loops with your non-dominant hand and attach new yarn sections (by spit felting), you should be fine, although I guess it can be hard on the wrist, perhaps. You can tension on the thumb or on the needle, whichever works best for you and your yarn.

 

[Disabled Preppers]

It is mainly whole hand & arm movements, so as long as you can clamp down / pinch the loops with your non-dominant hand and attach new yarn sections (by spit felting), you should be fine, although I guess it can be hard on the wrist, perhaps. You can tension on the thumb or on the needle, whichever works best for you and your yarn.

Ah ok well as she is waiting on carpal tunnel ops on both hands i guess it might be a bad idea for her to try , we just found out that is why she gets so much pain along with raynards in her fingers , i use to just say it was her excuse to not cook lol as i made a lovely steak and kidney pie and asked her to get it out the oven for me it went face down on the kitchen floor i will say the german shepard loved his dinner that night lol ,

 

[SaraR]

Ah ok well as she is waiting on carpal tunnel ops on both hands i guess it might be a bad idea for her to try , we just found out that is why she gets so much pain along with raynards in her fingers , i use to just say it was her excuse to not cook lol as i made a lovely steak and kidney pie and asked her to get it out the oven for me it went face down on the kitchen floor i will say the german shepard loved his dinner that night lol ,

There’s no harm in trying it though. If you don’t have a suitable needle you can make one from an ice lolly stick and any kind of thicker yarn you have lying around. I used kitchen cotton string at first as I could unpick it and start over until I got the hang of it.

 

[SaraR]

I read this with interest, but had no idea what it was realy about. Today I found a day course on nalbinding only a few miles away, next weekend, along with the next day a course on tablet weaving. So I hurriedly bòoked both . I'm very excited, as it sounds like an amazing place
…
Anyway, I'm very excited, and looking forward to re learning tablet weaving and learning another unknown
(to me )craft.

How were the courses? I’d love to hear all about them!

 

[Woody girl]

How were the courses? I’d love to hear all about them!

Where do I start!!!?
The site was amazing, just a small patch of woodland bordered by a stream , set in a valley.
The lady teaching , was realy good at explaining and helping muddles out, which I had frequently, especially on the tablet weaving.
The nalbinding seemed so simple, but I found in practice a little confusing between the different stitches, but we were given a comprehensive crib sheet of several pages to help out after the course.
I'm very proud of the lovely hand made bone needle I now have, and am waiting on a friend ordering me lots of wool to be able to carry on making things.
I made a small drawstring pouch.... the original aim was to make some mittens... um
The tablet weaving was fantastic, and I've come home with a foot or so of woven braid and about to order a loom to be made by a friend who is a brill woodworker, and hoovering cones of wool up at the local charity shop.
I had the best weekend I've had in a long time, even bottle feeding a lamb, and sleeping in a small safari tent next to the river, in a proper bed. I will be working as a volunteer on the site whenever I can get up there. There is coppicing to do, and lots more to get involved with.
There are thoughts of running basic bushcraft courses too, so that's something else I can get involved with.
They are lovely people, and even came down to get me a few days before to take me round the site to make sure I could cope with the steep hill. It was a bit of a struggle, going back up, but I managed with a bit of determination and gritted teeth!
I'm still recovering from the weekend, but it was worth all the effort, and I'm definatly more into tablet weaving than nalbinding, but it was great to learn both skills.

 

[SaraR]

Where do I start!!!?
The site was amazing, just a small patch of woodland bordered by a stream , set in a valley.
The lady teaching , was realy good at explaining and helping muddles out, which I had frequently, especially on the tablet weaving.
The nalbinding seemed so simple, but I found in practice a little confusing between the different stitches, but we were given a comprehensive crib sheet of several pages to help out after the course.
I'm very proud of the lovely hand made bone needle I now have, and am waiting on a friend ordering me lots of wool to be able to carry on making things.
I made a small drawstring pouch.... the original aim was to make some mittens... um
The tablet weaving was fantastic, and I've come home with a foot or so of woven braid and about to order a loom to be made by a friend who is a brill woodworker, and hoovering cones of wool up at the local charity shop.
I had the best weekend I've had in a long time, even bottle feeding a lamb, and sleeping in a small safari tent next to the river, in a proper bed. I will be working as a volunteer on the site whenever I can get up there. There is coppicing to do, and lots more to get involved with.
There are thoughts of running basic bushcraft courses too, so that's something else I can get involved with.
They are lovely people, and even came down to get me a few days before to take me round the site to make sure I could cope with the steep hill. It was a bit of a struggle, going back up, but I managed with a bit of determination and gritted teeth!
I'm still recovering from the weekend, but it was worth all the effort, and I'm definatly more into tablet weaving than nalbinding, but it was great to learn both skills.

Sounds like an excellent time was had! I did a tablet weaving workshop with a lady at the bushmoot and it was so much fun! I need to get some more yarn and set up a new band at some point.

Yeah, I’d suggest sticking to one or perhaps two nålbindning stitches to start with. A pouch in a day is good going though! Congratulations on getting your hands on a bone needle. I’ve got a few needles made out of horn and they feel so good in the hand (longer is better, I find).

Great if you can get involved with more things on that site - it does sound like a lovely place.

 

[Woody girl]

I think I'd like to try nalbinding a hat to start. I also fancy socks and mittens, but I think that they will have to wait a while.
I'm also trying to spin on a drop spindle. I made a nice spindle, and have a fleece but my efforts are very variable in thickness. ! Apart from knitting and simple sewing my textile skills are not brilliant, even tho I love working textiles. I just have so many things I want to learn, and little enough time to practice. Especially this time of year when foraging and the veg garden takes over most of my time.
I did make wild garlic butter, and four tinder firestarting kits, finished knitting a pair of slippers, and planted the runner beans, and cut half the back lawn with a push mower today, which with my mobility is a big job.( don't worry, the front garden is no mow may, June, July, and August)

 

[SaraR]

I just have so many things I want to learn, and little enough time to practice

Oh, I know exactly what you mean! I’m just the same.

I think I'd like to try nalbinding a hat to start. I also fancy socks and mittens, but I think that they will have to wait a while

Mittens are probably the easiest one of the three, especially if you don’t mind them not matching exactly. Hats obviously come in many different shapes, but it’s often hard to get the size right in the beginning.

I'm also trying to spin on a drop spindle. I made a nice spindle, and have a fleece but my efforts are very variable in thickness.

Drop spindle spinning is fun - until you get tired of dropping it on the carpet (I’m fine until I get tired, then I start having all sorts of issues like that) Sounds like an issue with drafting the fibres. Perhaps you’re not matching the staple length well enough? I’m sure there are a tonne of videos about that on youtube…

Although some one said that you should make the most of the slubby yarn you get when you first start out learning to spin, as it’s hard to then do it on purpose once you know how to draft properly. Just embrace it and call it art yarn.