⚧passing beyond memory and into forgetting⚧

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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I know the basic idea (we spin on days that they spin, rest on days they rest, there are teams (but you don't have to participate in a team), you can do challenge days)

I FINISHED IT! I KNIT A SWEATER FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! YAY! so thrilled with the result and excited to knit more sweaters in the future. this was an incredibly satisfying project to work on. took a little over two months, would have taken less time if i hadn't freaked myself out and not worked on it for nearly three weeks because i was scared of picking up the stitches for the sleeves wrong. we live and learn.

Here is what the backside looks like. OP notes this takes more fabric than paper piecing, but that excess fabric makes it already triple-layered. Besides not needing backing fabric, I don't think you'd need batting for this quilt at all. It's already thick and soft just from folding all that fabric into a hexagon.

Each hexagon begins as a 6" circle. camelscrafts does this by creating a paper template using a compass. According to the video, a 6" circle will create a hexagon that is 2.5 inches tall.

These hexagons are hand-sewn. Thread the needle.

With the fabric right side facing, find the center of the circle by folding it in half right sides together, then folding it in half again (wrong sides are facing). The top of the triangle shape is the center of the fabric circle.

Make a small stitch into the center of the fabric. The wrong side is still facing.

Unfold the circle. There will be a small stitch in the center.

Now the hexagon is created by folding the circle into itself: With wrong side facing, take the needle to one of the edges of the fabric (it doesn't matter which one). Pull the needle through and pull the thread tight. This will fold down the fabric and create an edge of the hexagon. Crease the fold with your finger.

This fold has two corners, one at the top and one at the bottom. Put the needle into one of the corners and pull the thread taut. This will create another fold.

Continue this going around the circle until all of it is folded down, creating the hexagon. camelscrafts notes that the last corner pulled in may be a little bit "wonky" (no precise point in the corner) if the corners were not done precisely. However, that corner is pulled into the back, so is not visible from the front.

The hexagon is now formed. Sew around the folds in the middle of the circle to hold the folds in place. Tie off and cut the thread.