Naalbinding

I was looking into the history of knitting in Egypt when I stumbled across a photo of these Coptic socks that were made in the 4th century. The divided toe is so that they can be worn with sandals. It looks almost identical to knitting, but it is really a very different technique called naalbinding.

There are also ancient sample of Naalbinding found in Peru where the craft is still practiced today. In fact, variations of this craft have been found all over the world.

There are many different types of stitches that you can do using this technique. What makes it different from knitting and crochet, however, is that instead of working loops into other loops you pass the entire length of your working yarn through each stitch. To do this you use short lengths of yarn and a large blunt sewing needle. This makes it a little unforgiving, but it also makes the fabric very sturdy and difficult to unravel. If you want to know more about the basics of Naalbinding you can check it out on Wikipedia or Ravelry

Here are some photos of my first attempts at this technique.

Foundation Chain

The Coptic Stitch

My finished pouch.

I have enjoyed toying around with this technique and I look forward to learning more about it's history and practicing a variety of stitches.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Cheers,
Jenn