⚧passing beyond memory and into forgetting⚧

In 2026 TdF starts on Saturday, July 4th!

For many of us that is tomorrow; got your fibre ready?

TdF runs from July 4 - 26 2026, with rest days (if you observe them) on Mondays the 13th and 20th.

Admittedly this purchase was well thought out. I even borrowed a friend's spindle to see if the tibetan style is better for me than the russian support spindle I struggle so much with.

Now my new tibetan spindle has a carbon fiber shaft. This also makes it run very smoothly, but it does mean it can leave some scratches, if you're not careful. (Note: Both my black one and the red one I borrowed from my friend are made by the spindle maker Spindeleien)

Now what you really want to know is the how they actually spin. The russian support spindle spins in short bursts. You flick, it spins a little, you catch it, roll roll roll, and flick again. It doesn´t have much weight at all and none of it rests on the fiber, so it's not gonna break at all. Makes it easier not to rip your single accidentally, but also means you have no indicator if you have given your single enough twist or not.

The tibetan support spindle works a little different. You flick it, it spins a long time. I then let go of it and rest it onto the working yarn while using the time to draft the fiber. When I get ready to roll it on, it's usually still spinning and I have to catch it again. Benefit: You can do one step after the other. No real multitasking needed. Drawbacks: The weight of the spindle is slightly resting on the working yarn. Also, if you do not keep an eye on how fast it is spinning, the spindle can overspin and you get the squiggles into your working yarn that you then have to roll upwards by hand to get back out.

Then, there is one other very important difference between my two spindles. One has a tip towards the top, the other has a knob. Now that choice is entirely dependant on spinning style. I like to keep complete control over my yarn. So, since the tip top likes to throw off the rolled up working yarn a lot, I prefer there to be a knob. However, the tip does have one big benefit: You can use it to easily start without needing any kind of leader yarn by just spiking it through your fiber and twisting a bit. Something the knob top cannot do at all. Instead I have to manually roll the start of the fiber between my fingers until it is long enough to start the spindle with.

Long story short, support spindles are a lot more dependant on personal spinning style. If you have a friend who has some, I can only recommend borrowing a few and analyzing every detail of how you like to spin before deciding on which type and what details you like.

By the way, these are only two types of many...

Regenbogenwolle 2025 „Wing Whisper“ Moth-themed TdF set: Merino, Eri Silk, Sari Silk, Baby Alpaca and Firestar.

I find that there are simply not enough resources for how to begin nalbinding online, and next to none for left-handed fiber-crafters. To be totally forthright, I learned from Happy Needlebinding, on Youtube, from their lefthanded video, but I wanted there to be more resources for other lefties to choose from without getting frustrated, feeling like they have to mirror a site or videos (a place I was getting to before I discovered the Happy Needlebinding video; btw he seems like SUCH a sweet, patient guy).

Step One: Make a simple knot.

Yes, most resources recommend using a wool-based yarn. I'm using what I have on hand. Once/whenever I find my darning needles, or give in and buy a needlepoint or other plastic needle, I may/will try to add a Russian join. Right now, I've been joining my ends by tying each ply together and I can't find my joins in my work. You'll be okay.

Step two: Put your knot over your thumb with the crossover on the pad of your thumb.

For demonstration purposes, I have made the tail way too short. Your working end should always come to rest in the cradle of your thumb.

Step three: Hold your tail in your fingers (I'm only holding the end with my ring finger and pinky), and drape the working end through the cradle of your thumb.

Step four: The way I learned to start, from Happy Needlebinding, was to pass your needle between the crossover of your first knot, and the pad of your thumb.

If you don't like this starting method, I'm aware that other methods; this is the way that I learned and it works for me.

Step five: Pull your working end until you form your second loop, which goes under/"behind" your first and return your working end to the cradle of your thumb.

If I was actually working a project, I would want both of these loops snug around my thumb. Personally, I work closer to the top edge of my nail; you might prefer working a little further back to begin.

Now, this next part is where I repeatedly got lost, so if this seems a little drawn out, I apologize (I think? =P):

Step six-A: You're going to push the first loop off your thumb, and I tend to hold it in place, gently but firmly.

Step six-B: Put your needle in this loop

Step six-C: Turn your needle around and direct it under your second loop and your working yarn. For demonstration purposes only, my working yarn is not in the cradle of my thumb. Normally, my needle stays at more of a 90degree angle from where it entered the first loop

I'm going to be totally forthright: I had an incredibly difficult time finding a good resource for this, and even so, I still really struggled to figure this part out. You're welcome lol

Step one: Count three stitches back. Remember, nalbinding has two working loops so

This is kind of what my three stitches ends up looking like.

Step two: Holding your first row like so, front toward yourself, this end in your hand, the other end generally pointing to the left, and insert your needle.

Yes, I do have a different needle for this. I carved my first wooden needle myself; it was my first time carving/whittling something like that and I wasn't positive what I might want/need in a nalbinding needle. Luckily, it was just wood.

Step three: You don't necessarily have to do this, but I ended up flipping my working loops up closer to the working end of my thread.

Step three-A: What I've done, if you look very closely, is I'm holding down the second of my two working loops. From here, you'll nalbind pretty much as normal. Go in your first loop as normal, and turn to go back, through your second working loop, and under your working yarn.

Step three-B: I honestly found this difficult to photograph with this pale color of yarn, but as with your starting chain, you'll go in the first loop, turn, go through the second loop and under the working end of the yarn.

At this point, I just repeated: Put your needle through those humpy stitches on the top edge of your chain row, hold down your second loop if you need to/find that helps, put your needle through your first loop from the front, like normal, turn, go through your second loop and under your working thread, like normal!

Again, I hope this helps. I tried to really slow down, draw out exactly what I was doing. The great news is, the second row goes lightening fast, compared to the first row (for example, my chain row took like five days, and personally, once I picked up nalbinding, it felt pretty second nature), especially if you were having to stop to adjust all your stitches down to your desired size (by contrast, I got a third of my second row done just in a short, couple hours session).

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