Horn Needle for Nalbinding

Description of the Product

Nalbinding, also known as needlebinding, is the oldest known knitting technique in the world. It is based on making intertwining loops using a needle and a thumb. With nalbinding, one can make many clothes and clothing accessories such as socks, hats, gloves and mittens. The oldest cloth made with nalbinding is found from Israel and it dates back all the way to 6000 bc. Hence it is not far-fetched to call this technique ancient.

This needle is made from genuine horn. It is meant for nalbinding, so it is flat and bigger than a sewing needle. These needles have also been polished extra smooth, so they are comfortable to use with even rough woolen yarn. The smooth surface allows the needle to glide through the loops without pulling or picking them.

Nalbinding was popular knitting practice throughout the viking age and early medieval times. We don't have an exact date when it started to fade away, however modern knitting and crocheting started to gain popularity during the 15th century, and nalbinding was slowly forgotten amongst the masses. Luckily, nowadays there have been attempts to revive this ancient crafting tradition. In Finland, nalbinding (fi=kinnasneulatekniikka) has been preserved fairly well and we have good material in Finnish, but some material to help you in your DIY-projects is available in English and in many other languages too.

• Water buffalo horn needle
• Size: about 8 x 0.8 cm
• Perfect for historical reenactment and ancient crafting techniques such as nalbinding
• Similar needles were used especially during Medieval and Viking Age