Nalbinding -- It's Not Knitting (March 2026)

Nalbinding—loop-manipulated textiles that use just a single needle—can be traced as far back as the Mesolithic period and is still popular in Scandinavia, with a growing interest in the UK. The results of the various techniques can resemble wool knitting or be worked as an open mesh akin to netting; it can be dense and warm or light and airy; and it can use thick woolen yarns or be worked in thin, smooth plant fibers.

As you work on modern-day patterns, you will learn various nalbinding techniques and stitches from across the millennia—from the Stone Age, through the Bronze Age, Ancient Egypt, and into medieval Scandinavia. Sally Pointer’s instructions will show you, for example, how to create your own Knotless Netting shopping bag, drawing on a Neolithic textile fragment; craft a messenger bag using Oslo, Mammen and Dalby stitches; and knock up practical old favorites such as pixie hats, socks, slippers and, of course, mittens!

Along the way you will learn to make your own needles for this sustainable craft, choose or make yarn, and you can follow clear step-by-step pictures to learn new stitches. This guide allows you to hand-make every aspect of a project for yourself, or simply use modern materials to get a feel for this versatile old textile craft.

10.9 in H | 8.4 in W

160 pages. Paperback