#nalebinding

another slightly old project but i've apparently decided to post my craft escapades on here from time to time also, so here are some house slippers i made withe needlebinding this past winter.

i had absolutely no fucking pattern, just this absurd chunky wool in my exact colour scheme and a vague idea of how i might make something sock-like but with more of a boot-like top. broadly, i made a toe-cup as you would for a sock until the centre of the ball of the foot, where i then added like, a shank up to the middle of the heel, and from there kind of just working up until the two corner seams reach a nice ankle height. Finally, a bit of an extra cuff around the back (in half-rows) for bonus heat-keepies without narrowing the opening further, which gave the ankle-front that pointed appearance.

so I’ve taught myself how to knit, sort of. I’d known how to do the knit stitch since before I could crochet, but obviously knitting is more than the knit stitch. I couldn’t figure out how to purl using the English method, so I’ve also now learnt the continental method, which is fabulous. I’ve also learnt 3 different increase stitches (cast on cable method, cast on thumb method, M1K/P) and 2 decreases (I’m given to understand that ssk and k2tog are the basic ones anyway).

the pattern is very different from what I’m used to. It’s very refer to the chart, which isn’t super common for standard crochet patterns (yes fillet, mosaic and tapestry have charts), and this will be my second sweater ever so it’s certainly a learning curve. Thank fully the pattern is “easy”, which I now realise is not beginner. Which explains the lack of explanations, but it’s just knit and purl in various combinations and roughly a 4 row repeat so it’s doable.

I’ve made mistakes, and I’m using a lighter yarn weight than the pattern calls for (medium), but im really loving the way the colour works up. Abbey Road Freedom is a lovely 100% cotton yarn, light/fine weight, 210m/100g. The colour is Tiny Teddy so obviously I couldn’t resist. I’m also very lucky my bestie decided we were purchasing 10 balls since the yarn I’m using is now unavailable.

I’m 64 rows into the front/body, starting the decrease/raglan part and I havn’t used a whole ball yet, so I certainly have enough yarn.

I’m sorry there’s sock weights??? Light, mid, and heavy weights?? And like sock lengths all have different names like crew instead of just the ankle socks?? And the weights matter for things like different shoe types and activities outside of how much do I want my feet to sweat??

And then I did my adhd, ex-history major, rabbit holeing into a hyper focus moment and I learned that until the last several hundred years that socks were all knit. And now they’re not I think? They still look knit just incredibly tightly done when you look at the weave? (But I’m also not a knitter so idk)

Also one of my historical favorite crafts came up (nålebinding!) in sock history so that was cool!

And I just had a very visceral awareness of the knowledge that I already intellectually knew which is that before the industrial revolution, we all would have known the type of weight and height and fabric and method needed to actually purchase and/or make our wardrobes instead of having to spend 30 hours doing research, giving up and guessing at what you need, and then making adjustments from there.

By Wolfgang Sauber - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45131783

Joining material together to create clothing as well as attaching decorations to that clothing is a very important skill that helped humans spread throughout the world to various climates and display things that both separated and united groups.

Awls were likely used prior to the development of needles due to the difficulty in creating the small hole in the end of the needle. Awls that were made of bone have been found dating back to 61,000, though the point might be a needle with the point broken off. Sinew or twisted plant fibers were then used to join animal skins or woven fabric together or to attach decorations.

Sinew is dried tendon which is then separated out into fibers. It is a very tough and durable fiber that has a natural glue to it, so it doesn't need knots to join lengths end-to-end. Another benefit is that sinew is available where plants that produce fibers suitable for spinning might not be, such as in circumpolar regions, so it's used nearly exclusively by the Inuit, for example.

By Christian Sommer & Andrew W. Kandel (ROCEEH) - Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=123871432

The oldest unquestioned needles, ones that were found hole, are from about 50,000 years ago, most likely made by the Denisovans. These needles were made from bone and ivory. Copper sewing needles go back to at least 4400 BCE and iron needles to at least 300 BCE. Native Americans also used natural sources of needles, such as the agave, which also produced thread in its stringy fibers.

By Didier Descouens - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10584946

Sewing needles open up many ways of decorating fabric, leather, or furs, from decorative stitching of many varieties, to attaching items such as feathers, quills, shells, beads, teeth, metal, or any of a number of other items.

By David Jackson, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9977810

Needles were also used in the creation of fabric itself in processes such as nålebinding or single needle knitting, which first appears in the existing record going back to 6500 BCE around the Nahal Hemar Cave near the Dead Sea and was practiced in Afro-Eurasia as well as in the Americas, for example by the Nazca culture in modern day Peru, the earliest sample we have dating between 300 BCE - 300 CE. These needles were made of wood, bone, or antler and might be larger than the typical sewing needle and with a blunt tip. Because of the spread of the craft and the fact that natural fibers are highly perishable, it's unknown if single needle knitting was developed before humans radiated into the Americas or if it was developed independently.