Hello,
Thank you for visiting! I do hope you found something that interested you on my site. If you have any leads on further nalbound objects you’d like to see me explore, topics to address, or have any questions, please feel free to send me a message. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best Regards,
Anne Marie Decker
*Curriculum vitae below contact form*
- Upcoming Presentations:
“Nalbinding Around the World: All six occupied continents” at the Nalbinding Festival at Gudvangen Viking Village, Norway 7-8 November 2026.
“Scandinavian Archeological Nalbinding” for the Archaeology Department at the University of Umeå, Sweden 19 November 2026.
“Examining a Medieval Nalbound glove from Kalmar, Sweden” at the 62nd International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan May 2027.
- Presentations:
“Revitalizing the Dura-Europos sock: using ratios to estimate original size and form of fragmentary nalbound socks” at the Roman Archaeology Conference/Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference in Aarhus, Denmark on 22 May 2026.
“Nalbound Heels: Revelations found in construction details” at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan for the DISTAFF/MEDATS Dress and Textiles (2): Techniques session on 15 May 2026.
“Medieval European Nalbinding” for the Medieval European Dress & Textiles Society (MEDATS) online event on 22 March 2026.
“Knee-length Nalbound Stockings from medieval Scandinavia: Two previously unexamined examples” at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan for the DISTAFF/MEDATS Dress and Textiles (3): Tools and Techniques session on 8 May 2025.
“Beyond the Fringe: revisiting the Sock in a Box” at the How to Study an Egyptian Textile Collection? Egyptian Fabric from the 1st Millenium AD in Two Scandinavian National Museums: Oslo and Copenhagen workshop that occurred on 19 March 2024.
“A fringe study in footwear: lessons learned from a sock in a box” at the Reconstructing Textiles and Their History: Egyptian Fabrics from the 1st Millennium AD online workshop that occurred on March 26th, 2022.
“But it looks like… methods for differentiating non-woven looped structures” presented at the North European Symposium for Archeological Textiles (NESAT) conference on 25 August 2021. Abstract, recording, and additional information available via the blog post here.
“Fringed and patterned: decorative elements in Romano-Coptic nalbound socks” presented at the Textiles from the Nile Valley study group conference on the 27th of October 2019.
“Charting the Nalbinding of the Nile” presented at the Textile Archaeology of Egypt and Sudan’s seminar on “Current Research in Textile Archaeology along the Nile” at the Centre for Textile Research in Copenhagen on 21 January 2019. Abstract and recording are available here.
“Hooked on Eyes: Scandinavian Decorative Hook and Eye Sets from the
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries,” at the 42nd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Mich for the DISTAFF sessions in May 2007.
“Nalbinding or Not?: Some structural differences between nalbinding and other textile techniques” at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan for the DISTAFF sessions in May 2004.
“What is Nalbinding?” at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan for the DISTAFF (Discussion, Interpretation, and Study of Textile Arts, Fabrics, and Fashion) sessions in May 2002.
“Nalbinding and Its History” at the National Arts and Sciences Symposium of
the Society for Creative Anachronism, Seattle, Wash in October 2001.
- Upcoming Publications:
“Lost socks of Egypt” in The Ostracon, a research publication of the Egyptian Study Society, a Colorado non-profit organization devoted to adult education and the study of ancient Egypt.
- Publications:
“A fringe study in footwear. Lessons learned from a sock in a box” in Egyptian Fabrics in a Scandinavian Collection: National Museum of Denmark. Edited by A.Haslund Hansen & M. Mossakowska-Gaubert. BAR Publishing 2026.
“Case Study 8: Fringed brown sock” in the Archaeological Puzzles in a Museum online exhibition at the National Museum of Denmark which opened 1 April 2023. Details and link to pdf here.
“Three objects catalogued as vantsöm in the collections of the Museum der Kulturen in Basel, Switzerland,” with Cary Karp in Archaeological Textiles Review No. 64 (2022). Link to abstract, announcement, and off-print here.
- Instruction Manuals:
“Nalbinding Made Easy” instruction manual. Sultan, WA: Tangle Fairies, 2004; ISBN 0-9708354-1-8.
“Nalbinding: The Åsle Mitten Stitch: An Instruction Manual: U (U) O/U O:U OO F1+1.” Snohomish, Wash: Tangle Fairies, 2000; ISBN 0-9708354-0-X.
- Exhibitions:
Upcoming: May 2027: Medieval Dress and Textile Arts Display and Demonstration,” Sponsored by DISTAFF at the 62nd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Mich.
May 2025: “DISTAFF: Medieval Dress and Textile Arts, Display and Demonstration” Sponsored by DISTAFF at the 60th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Mich. Per the DISTAFF website: “DISTAFF members exhibited reproduction textile and dress items, handmade using medieval methods and materials, including textiles, decorative treatments, garments, and dress accessories. Exhibitors demonstrated techniques and were available to discuss the use of historic evidence in reproducing artifacts of material culture.”
August 2009: “Sock Museum” at the Sock Summit in Portland Oregon.
May 2007: “Medieval Textile/Textile Arts Display and Demonstration,” Sponsored by DISTAFF at the 42nd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Mich.
November 2003: “Never Too Many Socks,” the Weaving Works, Seattle, Wash. Submitted 6 out of a total of 18 socks shown.
October 2001 : Scheduled for display at the 2nd Conference on Norwegian Woven Textiles hosted by the Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, Wash; conference cancelled due to the 9/11 attacks.
- Research visits:
Scheduled December 2026: American Swedish Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: Examine the nalbound mittens in their collection associated with Swedish immigration to the USA in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Scheduled November 2026: Statens historisk museet, Stockholm, Sweden. Examine an early modern nalbound tar swab, a medieval fragment from Visby, and the Kalmar glove.
Scheduled November 2026: Kulturhistorisk museum, Oslo, Norway. Examine two nalbound finds from Lom stavkirke.
Scheduled November 2026: Norsk Folkemuseet Archives & Library, Oslo, Norway. Examine unpublished ethnographical manuscript.
Scheduled November 2026: Norsk Folkemuseet, Oslo, Norway. Examine seven nalbound artifacts from their ethnographic collections.
May 2026: Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Berlin, Germany. Examined a 12th century Egyptian nalbound hat.
May 2026: Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, Berlin, Germany. Examined the Ptolemaic nalbound child’s sock.
May 2026: GrassiMuseum, Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Leipzig, Germany. Examined a medieval Egyptian nalbound hat.
May 2026: Archaologisches Landesmuseum Brandenburg, Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany. Examined the Friesack net. Oldest piece of Loop & Twist.
August 2025: Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA. Examined a pair of fringed Roman Era nalbound socks.
December 2024, Statens historiska museet, Stockholm, Sweden. Examined the Åsle Mitten, Kalmar glove, several medieval fragments from Nyköping, Visby & Uppsala and a 17th century crocheted purse.
December 2024, Medeltidsmuseet, Stockholm, Sweden. Examined the medieval nalbound long stockings and the nalbound insole fragment attached to a leather sole.
December 2024, Lödöse museum, Lödöse, Sweden. Examined both nalbound mittens from Lödöse as well as two other fragments.
December 2024, Östergötlands museum, Lindköping, Sweden. Examined the sock from Söderköping.
December 2024: Upplandsmuseet, Uppsala, Sweden. Examined the medieval sock from Uppsala and several ethnographic mittens.
April 2024: Institutt for arkeologi og kulturhistorie, NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet, Trondheim, Norway: Examined the 13th century nalbound long stocking from Nidaros as well as an additional fragment.
June 2023: The Textile Museum, Avenir Foundation Conservation and Collections Resource Center, Ashburn, Virginia, USA: Examined five nalbound socks and one slip stitch crocheted sock from Egypt and a nalbound Congolese prestige cape.
May 2023: Kulturen i Lund, Lund, Sweden: Examined the nalbound mitten from Lund.
May 2023: Statens Historiska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden: Examined nine medieval nalbound artifacts and collections of fragments from various sites in Sweden.
May 2023: Lödöse Museum, Lödöse, Sweden: Examined the nalbound mitten from Lödöse with two different surface textures.
September 2022, Þjóðminjasafn Íslands – National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland: Examined the nalbound mitten from Arnheiðarstöðum.
October 2019, Textile Research Center, Leiden, The Netherlands: Examined a pair of Omani socks in a compound variant of nalbinding.
October 2019, Phoebus Foundation, Antwerp, Belgium: Examined two open-loop knitted belt fragments and a pair of cross-knit nalbound socks from Egypt.
October 2019, MuseumDokkum, Dokkum, The Netherlands: Examined a 19th century Slip Stitch Crochet hat that had been mistakenly identified as nalbound.
October 2019, Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Examined four Egyptian socks made using compound variants of nalbinding.
October 2019, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England: Examined two Roman era cross-knit nalbound socks.
October 2019, Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, England: Examined five pairs of Omani socks in compound nalbinding and one pair of Roman Era felt socks from Egypt.
October 2019, The British Museum (Ancient Egypt & Sudan Department), London, England: Examined two Islamic Era open-loop knitted belts as well as two Roman Era cross-knit and one compound nalbound sock from Egypt.
October 2019, The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, England: Examined five cross-knit nalbound artifacts, socks and fragments from Egypt.
October 2019, The British Museum (Textile Division), London, England: Examined a red Coptic sock and two pieces of Peruvian cross-knit nalbinding as well as one pair of Omani socks in a compound variant.
August 2019, Musée Dobrée, Nantes, France: Examined three pairs of fringed cross-knit nalbound socks from Gebel abou Fedah, Egypt.
August 2019, National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark: Examined the Late Roman fringed cross-knit nalbound sock from Egypt (potentially Hawara) and the Mammen pennants found in Denmark.
July 2019, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Examined the five cross-knit nalbound socks and the simple looping bag from Roman Era Karanis, Egypt.
July 2019, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada: Examined the nine Roman Era cross-knit nalbound socks from Fayum, Egypt.
May 2019, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT: Examined the patterned and ribbed fragments of nalbound socks from Dura-Europos, Syria.
January 2019, Museum der Kulturen Basel, Switzerland: Examined the twenty-four artifacts of compound nalbinding from Egypt in their collection as well as open looping knitting and other structures.
January 2019, The Warrington Museum & Art Gallery, Warrington, UK: Examined the blue Coptic sock from Oxyrhyncus now known as al-Bahnasa, Egypt.
January 2019, The Manchester Museum, Machester, UK: Examined the second century sock from Antinoupolis. Egypt.
January 2019, The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK: Examined multiple nalbound artifacts from Coptic Egypt. Four of cross-knit nalbinding and one of compound nalbinding.
June 2000, Urumchi Museum, Urumchi, People’s Republic of China: Examined the nalbound Cherchen hat from ca. 1000 B.C.
June 1999, Statens Historiska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden: Examined multiple examples of 13th-14th century A.D. nalbound artifacts.
- Collaborations:
October 2026 – Present: Consulted with the Israel Antiquities Authorities Textile Conservator regarding the upcoming mounting of the nalbound sock/fragments from Masada.
January 2055 – Present: Consulted with Eleanor Gilchrist on her PhD thesis regarding 1840’s crochet in England.
December 2024: Participated in “Återskapat 103: Nalbinding” podcast with Ingela Andersson Lindberg and Niina-Hannele Nuutinen https://aterskapat.libsyn.com/terskapat-103-nalbinding
March 2024: Consulted with Ollie Pimm regarding the structure of a glove purchased from the estate sale of the Markrich & Kiewe Textiles Collection.
May 2020-2023: Consulted with Lindsey Marie Howell Franklin on her Master’s thesis “A Stitch in Time: unraveling Vasa’s nåbundna textiles.”
May 2021, Consulted with Jessica Goldberg at UCLA and the Israel Antiquities Authorities Research office regarding the identification of the structure of a 14th century fragment.
October 2015, Consulted with Harma Piening in support of her presentation regarding the differences between Crossed Knitting and Cross-knit Nalbinding at the European Textile Forum.
June 2011-2012: Consulted with Ulrike Claßen-Büttner on her book, “Nalbinding – What in the World Is That?: History and Technique of an Almost Forgotten Handicraft,” published in German in 2012 and English in 2015. Contributed a photograph and information regarding research on the Tarim basin hat.
January and March 2002, Consulted with Krista Vajanto in Finland for her Master’s thesis regarding the stitch variants used in the Eura and Kaukola nalbinding finds from the 12th century.
- Current projects:
- Analyzing the data collected in Jresearch visits in preparation for publications
- Preparing articles on the Tarim hat stitch and on the Dura Europos patterned nalbinding
- Clarifying the similarities and differences between looped textile techniques
- Preparing a cross-comparison of stitch variants used by time and location
- Cataloging and mapping extant nalbound artifacts worldwide, pre-1600
- Preparing a reconstruction of an Incan nalbound hat with figure
- Examining the use of color in nalbound objects
- Classes and workshops:
In addition to giving individual instruction, have taught such formal classes as these to craft groups, re-enactment groups, and others interested in the study of historical textiles:- “Beginning Nalbinding: Mammen Stitch” Virtual Workshop at NYSheepWool, Rhinebeck, NY, October 2021
- “Polymorph Nalbound Hat” Virtual Workshop at NYSheepWool, Rhinebeck, NY, October 2021
- “Nalbinding Variations” Virtual Demonstration at at NYSheepWool, Rhinebeck, NY, October 2021
- “Nalbinding Workshop” Longbranch, NJ, April 2010
- “Beginning Nalbinding” (since 1996)
- “The History of Nalbinding” (since 1999)
- “Nalbinding: The Åsle Mitten Stitch” (since 1999)
- “Beginning Nalbinding: The Mammen Stitch” (since 2000)
- “Nalbinding: Heels and Thumbs” (since 2000)
- “Beginning Nalbinding: The Cross-knit Looping Buttonhole Variant” (since 2000)
- “Advanced Nalbinding: The Russian Stitch” (since 2001)
- Online
- Website at http://www.nalbound.com.
- Host of weekly Nalbinding Get Togethers on Zoom
- Early initiator of disciplinary e-mail discussion lists and on-going administrator and participant in such venues.
- Memberships:
- American Swedish Historical Museum
- Textile Society of America