Nålbinding Slipper-socks

With everything else I've been doing, this Crow-original nålbinding project went by the wayside, and I really hoped to get it done in time to put in the Puyallup Fair. But wait...! There's a problem. I can't find a Division to submit it under, let alone a Class! Obviously, it doesn't belong with Knitting or Crochet, and the closest I could come was an "Other" classification under a catch-all which seems primarily dedicated to embroidery. I even contacted the Fair, but they were no help.

So, lemme tell ya, that braid was a pain in the neck! I quickly discovered that the instructions I had for making it were not going to work well, so I designed another way to apply it, working each strand of the braid separately. Even that was a nightmare! I took the third row out of one sock twice before discovering that the reason it wasn't twining correctly was because I'd made a mistake in the second row. That experience taught me to run a "guide thread" through the legs of the braid to keep track of where I was supposed to weave over/under. But aren't they adorable? I think they were well worth the work.

Nålbinding On and Off

For some time now, I have wanted to learn how to nålbind "off the thumb" (bottom) as opposed to "on the thumb" (top), the difference being that in working off the thumb, smaller stitches can be made using finer yarns and threads. The technique baffled me until I discovered one critical step, i.e., that the work is flattened out so that the needle passes either over or under the threads without the twist involved in working "on the thumb." As I worked, I began to understand another mystery, that of the nålbinding notation which reads along the lines of "OO/UU/OO," representing "over" and "under" the respective threads. The limitation in working "on the thumb" is that your thumb, be it large or small, is the gauge for your stitch size. In working "off the thumb" (i.e., held in the hand without any wraps being carried over the thumb), stitch size is governed by the size of the needle. This has opened up an entirely new world to me as far as nålbinding is concerned, and although I've only worked the small sample shown in the bottom picture, be George, I think I've got it!

Slipper Socks in Nålbinding

I seem to be on a nålbinding jag lately, and since I had never attempted to make a turned heel, I grabbed a ball of leftover yarn, mindful that it might not be sufficient to make a pair. The heels go in separately after the foot and cuff have been completed, so if I ran out, I figured I could use a different colour for them. Nålbinding patterns are not rigid instructions by any stretch of the imagination. They're guidelines, and it's up to the stitcher to adapt them to the yarn at hand (nålbinding is traditionally done with handspun, in which there is necessarily a lot of variation). Because this was an experiment of sorts, I used commercial acrylic DK weight, and my stitch count for the first row was roughly 25% greater than that of the example in the book. I kept meticulous notes and made the socks side-by-side, doing a row on one, then on the other until I was done with increases. With the finer yarn, more rows were required to reach the desired length of the foot. In the end, I wound up having about six feet of yarn left, and while these slipper socks are not perfect, they fit my feet, and I know where to make corrections on the next pair. The heels were much easier to turn than anticipated.

Nalbinding Hats

 

When I was hit by an unexpected cyber-vacation (i.e., my computer turned up its metaphorical toes and died without significant preamble), I shifted my focus to finishing old projects and starting some new ones. It was while I was making a red nålbinding "resistance" hat in the "cat hat" style that I remembered having started another one ages ago using wool from one of my first sheep. There was only one place I could have put it (in the cedar chest to keep the moths out of the wool), but a perfunctory initial search didn't turn it up, nor did a subsequent deeper dive. There was nothing for it but to take everything out until I either hit bottom or found the hat. Fortunately, it was only about halfway down, nested in a bag which should have been obvious. I finished the cat hat (not to be confused with a "pussy hat," but it does have corners which look like ears, hence the name of the style), and then settled in to completing the cloche. I found nålbinding to be an exercise in "mindfulness" this time around, and noticed that during the enforced cyber-vacation, my stress levels dropped to nearly normal instead of running at a fevered pitch. Sigh. But good things seldom last, and here I am again, back with a new computer...and two new hats. Henceforth, I won't be numbering these posts because of the lapse.

Nålbinding While I Wait

Day 109: Well, where to start? I lost internet, cell and land line late yesterday afternoon. The land line came back to life fairly quickly, although terribly full of static (again!), but internet and cell were out until just a few minutes ago. In the meantime, I needed to take my car in for an oil change, so I packed up a handwork project (one which only required yarn, needles and scissors) and spent two hours getting a really good start on a Norwegian-style hat. Went grocery shopping after I got my car back, forgot to apply the appropriate coupons, futzed with customer service over how to remedy the situation and wound up just returning the products. By the time I got home, I was worn out, but very pleased with the progress I made on the nålbinding.

It's been a while since I did any nålbinding, and had to do a brief review of how to do Finnish 2+2 stitch, "brief" as in "I threw away about 20 yards of yarn because nålbinding is almost impossible to unpick." That said, it's also very sturdy, because even if it gets a hole, it won't unravel. There's been talk about making "resistance" hats, a la the ones the Norwegians wore during WWII. Most current patterns are knit or crocheted, and are essentially nothing more than a standard stocking cap with a tassel instead of a pompom. Nålbinding is a traditional Norwegian technique, so I felt it was a logical option. It's also slow, so I may not have the hat finished in time to wear this winter.