One of my favorite things to turn up while researching what is still, in many circles, a rather obscure textile technique are mentions of nalbinding in fiction! Here are three I have stumbled across so far. I’d love to hear of others!
Molly MacRae’s “Dying Wishes” is a Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery. “A Companion to Wolves” by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear is in the telepathic-animal-companion subgenre. Genevieve Gonichec’s “The Witch’s Heart” is the first in a series that reimagines Norse mythology.
Update: Posting in the Nålbinding group on Facebook garnered a few more fiction novels that mention nalbinding so I have several more to be added to the list.
If those authors actually use the word nalbinding and use it in a correct context, then kudos! to them for doing their research. .
They do!
Now we don’t see sweaters nalbound in historical or traditional contexts in northern Europe, but this is fantasy. I’m just so excited that they knew it was to make textiles and in this example used the grammatically correct past tense: nalbound.
In the Yarn shop, it’s a reference to learning about ancient crafts such as nalbinding.
The last uses the nålebinding spelling marking it as a foreign term, but describes it’s use for making socks (of loosely spun wool, but that is how beginners learn now).
The authors definitely deserve those kudos.
I mention some nalbound goods in my fantasy novella “Trial Run”. A dispute that starts over a hat causes a ruckus in the outdoor market. 🙂
We also have mention of nålbinding and show of a needle in a Bones episode in season 12. I think it was around ep 8, but I have a clip of it, so I can look.