The technique now know by its Scandinavian name of nalbinding, sometimes called needle binding in English, date back to prehistory and was used from the early Middle Ages to produce socks, mittens and caps. The only tool is a needle made of wood or bone, with a rounded tip and preferably a large eye. The larger the eye, the greater the length of yarn that can be threaded on it (folded up several times), which saves work because one needs to start a new length less often. This is because needle binding is basically a sewing stitch (complex variations on blanket stitch), and must be worked with a finite length of threat, threaded through the needle (unlike knitting).

 

dimensions: 113 mm, hole 4 x 6 mm provenance: found everywhere in Europe