The Nalbound Object of the Week features a pair of mittens from Valle, Setesdal, Norway, dated pre-1913, and currently located in the Norsk Folkemuseum. The mittens are decorated in the typical Valle style and are made of wool. They are recognizable from their use as the cover illustration on Nordland’s Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting. For more information, visit the museum’s catalog.
Today’s Nalbound Object of the Week comes from Valle in Setesdal, Norway. This pair of mittens was apparently accessioned into the Norsk Folkemuseum’s inventory in 1913. They are more broadly recognized in the nalbinding community because one of them appears on the cover of Odd Nordland’s book “Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting”1 which is the source of the second specific attempt at a classification system for nalbound structures.
NF.1913-0863AB mittens from Valle in Setesdal in Norway. Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA
Object: Pair of mittens decorated with a nalbound strip and embroidery in the style typical of Valle in Setesdal, Norway.
Description: White mittens with red, and possibly light green based on related mittens, embroidery on the cuffs and thumb.2 The decoration also includes a separate chain of nalbinding that is attached with embroidery in a wavy pattern. The mittens are 27.5 cm long and 16 cm wide3 (10 21/64 inches by 6 19/64 inches.
Some sources in which more information can be found:
Nordland, Odd. Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting. Studia Norvegica no. 10. Oslo: Oslo University Press, 1961. No ISBN listed in Book.
Photographs:
NF.1913-0863A mitten from Valle in Setesdal in Norway. This is most likely the specific mitten used for the image on the from of Nordland’s “Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting.” Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA
Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog. Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.
Knotless Netting is an older term used to describe nalbound structures prior to the borrowing of the term Nalbinding into English. It was used to differentiate nalbound structures from netted structures. However, it did not apparently recognize that nalbound structures are also types of knots; just loose knots compared to the hard knots used in netting. โฉ๏ธ
Color based on data and color pictures of related objects as neither Nordland nor the museum’s online record specify the colors of this particular pair of mittens. โฉ๏ธ
Larry Schmitt initially used a modified Hansen’s classification moving the connection stitch to the front to recognize that the connection to the previous row occurs prior to the intralacing of most stitches. I have continued this practice in my translations between classification systems. Technically Nordland’s 632 could be either F1 UOOO/UUUOO or F1 OUUU/OOOUU as it only describes the number of loops before a change in intralacement, not the order of intralacement, but the first is more likely given the predominant intralacing patterns. โฉ๏ธ
This week’s Nalbound Object of the Week comes from Central Africa. There are quite a few of these beautifully fine Prestige Capes from the former Kingdom of Kongo now in museums around the world. I was honored to be able to examine this particular one closely. Until you are in the presence of one, it is hard to comprehend just how delicate and fine this complex compound nalbinding is; and then you add in the openwork patterning. Definitely breathtaking.
Photo Credit: Textile Museum Acquisition – Public Domain
Description: A stunningly fine raffia cape worked in a trebly intralaced compound nalbinding stitch with an openwork zigzag pattern. The neck opening has a layer of Simple Looping around the edge. The outer edges have raffia fringe knotted onto them. The front and back rows have strings knotted on every few stitches from which the handle-like tassels are suspended. This cape has one both front and back. Some also have them off the sides.
There is an illustration of an etching, based on a photograph, that was made ca. 1880 of a Chief in Full Dress Attire wearing a nkutu on page 73 of Kongo: Power and Majesty.
Stitch(es) used: B1 UU/OO/UU/OOU as determined by Anne Marie Decker during her examination of the object on 14 June 2023. The row heights are very fine for this compound of a nalbinding stitch; around 5/8ths of an inch. There is a single row of Z-crossed Simple Looping, F1 O, around the neck opening.
The Textile Museum specifies that the structure is “looping,” but not the specific stitch used.7 This type of cape has also been misidentified as sprang8 in other examples, but they are not.
So far, the only other place where we see other stitches in the same trebly intralaced family of stitches is in the Omani stitch sock as described by Peter Collingwood (the only example of that particular stitch out of Oman that has been found so far).
Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog. Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.
For example, the British Museum’s Af1853,0713.1 lists its technique as sprang: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1853-0713-1, but also provides clear and close photographs that show it is worked in exactly the same interlinking nalbinding stitch as this one in The Textile Museum. โฉ๏ธ
The Uppsala sock now joins our Nalbound Object of the Week collection. I had the pleasure seeing this sock on display during my first trip out to view extant objects back in June of 1999.
Description: A light brown sock with a spiral heel (10 rows), slit at the ankle (7 rows), and a darker brown embellishment along the cuff/slit. The toe of the sock has 17 rows.1 The heel is worked in a beautiful perfect spiral; a photo of which is included in Anne Marie Frazรฉn’s article “En medeltida socka i nรฅlning” linked below (as well as other photos taken during conservation). The sock is 21 cm long with a 5 cm ankle shaft.2
Find location: Excavated in December of 1961 in plot 8 of the excavations of Duvan quarter in Uppsala, Sweden, amongst a large quantity of leather shoe remains.4
Material: now light brown S-spun Wool. The ankle decoration is a now dark brown S-twisted, fairly thick, wool yarn.5
Stitch(es) used: Mammen, UOO/UUOO [F2] (Frazรฉn’s article shows a diagram of the stitch (upside down), but does not specify the connection used. However, she does say it is the same stitch found in the Mammen pennants and in the Egyptian sock described by Schinnerer in Antike Handarbeiten.)6
Franzรฉn, Pgs. 40 & 44. However, Katrin Kania lists UOO/UUOO F1, which would be Korgen, in the entry in her book Kleidung im Mittelalter: Materialien, Konstruktion, Naฬhtechnik : Ein Handbuch. Koฬln: Boฬhlau Verlag, 2010. ISBN: 978-3-412-20482-2 on page 398 when citing from Anne Marie Franzรฉn’s article. โฉ๏ธ
With my sincerest thanks to my Patrons, this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week is the Coppergate Sock. On display at the Jorvik Viking Centre, this sock goes by many names; all related to its find location. Coppergate Sock, York Sock, or Jorvik Sock, but they are all the same artifact.
Object: Coppergate Sock, also known as the York Sock or the Jorvik Sock
Description: A fine wool sock that ends just below the ankle. The last row at the ankle is worked in a dyed yarn, unlike the rest of the sock, which either was meant to act as a decorative edge or could indicate a longer stocking leg in red is missing.1 However, we don’t have evidence of nalbound stockings going much past the ankle until a few centuries after this sock and even then they are not common in finds. Additionally, we do have evidence of Egyptian socks that have a single row of color at the ankle. Much of the heel is missing as well as holes near the toes and a damaged slit along the vamp. All pieces were connected, none loose. The pieces were drawn together during conservation in order to better show the original shape.2 There is evidence of patching having been sewn on the sock based on the outline of wool stitching. After conservation, the sock is 10 1/4 in. (260mm) long toe to heel (pre-conservation c. 9 1/2 in. / 0.23m). Circumference at ankle 12 7/8 in. (325mm) and at broadest part of foot 10 5/8 in. (270mm).3โBefore conservation measurements are in Jean M. Glover’s, Senior Textile Conservation Officer at the North West Museum and Art Gallery Service, conservation report “Sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. The Archaeology of York, The Small Finds 17/5. Published for the York Archaeological Trust by the Council for British Archaeology. 1989. Pg. 430-431. ISBN 0 906780 79 9.
Dated to: Period 4B is dated to 930-975 CE,3 10th century4
Find location: The sock was found in the backyard of one of the wattle buildings of Period 4B5 in the excavations of 16-22 Coppergate, York, England, UK. It was found in context with several other Scandinavian style textiles which may imply that they were imported on a Scandinavian visitor/invader or that they could be simplified copies made by the local Anglians.6
Material: Stable isotope analysis of the Coppergate sock indicates that the wool came from somewhere in the Ireland-to-south Scandinavia band. It is consistent with an origin of the British Isles, but Ireland and Denmark also give similar results.8 โIt is a smooth and even S2Z plied wool.9 (Two S spun singles plied together with a Z twist.) The missing patch (possibly flax or other vegetable fiber that has since decayed away) was sew on with Z2S plied wool10 1.5 mm in diameter.11 Based on the pictures, this repair yarn appears thicker in diameter than the yarn used for the nalbound fabric.
Color: Dark brown (potentially related to the many years of being buried).14 The last row of the sock at the ankle is worked in a smooth dark yarn that was dyed with madder. Test results were negative for dyes on the rest of the sock.15
The original diagram of the stitch used in the Coppergate sock. There is an issue with this diagram in that the needle shows the correct connection to the previous rows of F2, but the rest of the diagram shows an F3 connection. Image was originally published in the 1980’s and has been used repeatedly in multiple publications since.
Stitch(es) used: Based on analysis of the upper edge of the sock: York, UU/OOO F2.10 The foot portion could not be analyzed due to “heavy wear and felting on the inside.”11 Further analysis is obscured by the conservation tulle covering the sock.
Construction details: Examination of the pre-conservation drawings and the photographs available of the sock show a clear round start to the toe with quite a few stitches in it. According to Penelope Walton’s analysis, there is a single loop of yarn at the toe around which a circular row of loops is worked.12 The F2 connection combined with York stitch UU/OOO means that each subsequent row overlaps the previous row by half. Penelope Walton reported a gauge of approximately 36 rounds per 100mm.13 That’s about 36.6 rows per 4 inches or just barely over 9 rows to the inch.
Also shown are three areas of shorter row wedges in the heel. The first 7 rows deep coming off the mid-foot. The second, 3 or 4 rows are still remaining. The ankle has apparently 4 rows going around the entire ankle, cut only by the slit on the vamp. In the back of the heel are quite a few rows going parallel to the rows around the ankle. There was difficulty in this area for the conservators as they tried to draw the damaged areas together, because the rows were not as obvious in their orientation in this region.18 This is where the confusion regarding type of heel comes in, because if those were a third wedge in the style of the Egyptian or Swiss socks/stockings (which tended to have two at most), then one would expect longer rows followed by shorter rows with the ankle rows covering the ends. It is possible that the third wedge is worked in reverse, short to longer rows, to cup the back of the heel and give a more upright angle to the ankle opening (wedge heels tending towards a 45 degree rather than 90 degree angle between foot and leg). Figure 142a on page 344 of Textiles, Cordage and Raw Fibre from 16-22 Coppergate shows a drawing of how Penelope Walton thought the heel might have been reconstructed. It is important to note that she suggests the construction may be closer to the double wedges of one of the slightly later Swiss socks from Dรฉlรฉmont/Delsberg than the spiral construction of the Uppsala heel or the rectangular heel flap and cup combination of the earlier Roman Egyptian socks. She does not appear to have known of the compound nalbound socks out of Egypt (only the cross-knit looping variety) that almost all have wedge heels, a few with two wedges, (the only exception being one that has a heel flap and cup style like the Cross-knit Looping style socks).
Inventory number: Small Find 13517. Catalogue Number 1309.
Some sources in which more information can be found:
Glover, Jean M., Senior Textile Conservation Officer at the North West Museum and Art Gallery Service, Blackburn. “Sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. The Archaeology of York, The Small Finds 17/5. Published for the York Archaeological Trust by the Council for British Archaeology. 1989. Pg. 430-431. ISBN 0 906780 79 9.
Walton, Penelope. โProduction at Coppergate, York: Anglo-Saxon or Viking?โ in Textiles in Northern Archaeology, Textile Symposium in York, North European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles Monograph 3, NESAT III, ed. by Penelope Walton and John Peter Wild. London: Archetype Publications, 1990. ISBN 1-873132-05-0.
Walton, Penelope. Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. The Archaeology of York, The Small Finds 17/5. Published for the York Archaeological Trust by the Council for British Archaeology. 1989. Pgs. 341-345. ISBN 0 906780 79 9.
Walton Rogers, Penelope. Textile Production at 16-22 Coppergate. The Archaeology of York, The Small Finds 17/11 ed. by P.V. Addymann. Published for the York Archaeological Trust by the Council for British Archaeology. 1997. ISBN 1 872414 76 1.
Photographs:
Regia Anglorum was the first place to publish anything online regarding nalbinding that I can remember and they included Penelope Walton’s diagram and drawing of the Coppergate sock: https://regia.org/research/life/naalbind.htm
Astrid Bryde shared photos of the Coppergate sock from her visit to the Jorvik Viking Centre in 2018. The photo taken of the back of the heel is particularly interesting as it shows angled rows as if from a wedge style heel.
On May 7, 2019, Hacking Civilization published the following embedded YouTube video showing the Coppergate sock as it is currently displayed.
I recently ran across this video published by The JORVIK Group on Jun 6, 2016 also showing the Coppergate/York sock.
And more recently they’ve also posted:
This Facebook group, Nรฅlbinding, is a closed group. If you join it and search for the Coppergate sock, you will find several interesting posts by a variety of people of photos taken of the sock on display.
Hilde Thunem’s article, Viking Clothing: hose and socks, includes several additional photos of the Coppergate sock on display. It also puts the sock in perspective noting that while there are multiple finds of socks/hose from the period and region, only the one is nalbound. Most are of cut and sewn woven cloth.
Acknowledgements: This extended Nalbound Object of the Week is brought to you by the generosity of my Patrons on Patreon. Your continued support helps to fund more detailed research and articles as well as longer blog posts.
Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog. Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.
Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 343. โฉ๏ธ
Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 431. โฉ๏ธ
Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 430. โฉ๏ธ
Walton, Penelope. Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 418. โฉ๏ธ
Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 341. โฉ๏ธ
Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 341. โฉ๏ธ
Walton, Penelope. Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 418. โฉ๏ธ
Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 342. and Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 430. โฉ๏ธ
Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 341. โฉ๏ธ
Walton, Penelope. “Catalogue” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 435. โฉ๏ธ
Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 430. โฉ๏ธ
Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 342. and Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 430. โฉ๏ธ
Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 342. Diagram on page 343. โฉ๏ธ
Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 342. and Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 430. โฉ๏ธ
Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 342. โฉ๏ธ
Walton, Penelope. “The sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 342. โฉ๏ธ
Glover, Jean M. “Sock in nรฅlebinding, 1309” in Textiles, Cordage and Raw fibre from 16-22 Coppergate. Pg. 431. โฉ๏ธ
This week’s Nalbound Object of the Week is the Vasa Mitten on display in the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. The wool mitten was found in a barrel with a pair of leather outer mittens in the remains of the ship Vasa which sank in 1628 CE.1 It is not the only mitten found on shipwrecks around this timeframe, nor is it the only nalbinding that was found on the Vasa. Simply the nalbound item on display; the rest are kept in the museum inventory.2
Anne Marie Decker as she finds the Vasa mitten and its outer casing on display in the Vasa Museum.
Object: Vasa Mitten
Description: A left mitten liner made of grey wool; loosely spun.3 The thumb is no longer attached to the mitten though it is placed in position for display. The fabric shows heavy fulling, although it is unknown if that was original or simply developed from wear and/or find circumstances.
Dated to: 10 August 1628 CE4 (no more recent than)
Find location: Vasa shipwreck, starboard side of the lower battery deck between beams 2 and 3 about 5.3 to 6.77 meters from the bow,5 Stockholm archipelago, Sweden
Only one of several beautiful and detailed photographs available on the digitaltmuseum.se link. Scroll past the photos of the leather mittens to find them. Photo: Vasa Museum CC BY 4.0
The 1983 edition of Berit Westman’s Nรฅlbindning: 12 varianter contained the first image of the Vasa mitten that I had seen. It was lovely to see it in person again in May of 2023; when I also got the chance to examine the other nalbinding found on the ship.
Some sources in which more information can be found:
Loostrรถm, Anne and Birgitta Stapf. โTre Tusen Textilfragment : Frรฅn Wasan Sรถndagen Den 10 Augusti 1628.โ Dissertation. 1983. [Note: I have not read this yet. It was recommended.]
Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog. Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.
Four years ago, I first wrote about the nalbound camel muzzles of the Arabian peninsula. Today, just one day shy, I am bouncing with excitement as I hold two examples in my own hands.
Anne Marie Decker holding two Kuwaiti nalbound camel muzzles. (Camels not included.) One is deep blue and deep rose in color. The other is tangerine orange and deep pink.
I have had tendrils out various locations across the Arabian peninsula trying to get one to examine for years, but they had all come back empty. Apparently, camel accoutrement sellers are not on the normal tourist tracks; or even that of city office workers. And yet, the quest has proved amusing enough that people are willing to keep an eye out and now one of those tendrils has returned successful.
Both muzzles have an F2 UOO/UUOO structure corresponding to the nalbinding stitch variant commonly called Mammen. This matches the predominant stitch I could see in those photos that were close enough to see evaluate as reported in More Camel Muzzles.
Thank you to everyone who has listened to me babble on with excitement about this particular continuing tradition of nalbinding; especially to those that have been willing to join the quest. I look forward to being able to examine them closely.
When we think of traditional,* rather than historical, Scandinavian nalbinding, I think most people think of the beautifully embroidered mittens. But today I would like to talk about nalbound strainers. There are apparently two types of nalbound strainers in Scandinavia. Those used to strain milk and and more rarely those to strain hops or ale.**
The nalbound milk strainers tend to be flat with a round or oval appearance. Sometimes with a slit on one side or both acting as a kind of handle. They are used by either folding them into a cup shape and holding them or by placing them in a cup/bowl and board (one piece or two) set up that can be placed across the container.
Melkesil HH.1954-0280. Photo: Mostue, Erik / Domkirkeodden Additional photographs of this milk-strainer and support are available at: https://digitaltmuseum.no/021027744194/sil
Those identified as hop strainers, or more generically as ale strainers, tend to be more basket/bag shaped with two examples nalbound directly onto the rectangular support frame. This frame is the same shape as that found in hop/ale strainers having woven baskets for the strainer portion. The woven basket type appear more frequently in the online collection records for Norway, but I am most fond of the nalbound ones.
Both types of nalbound strainers are made of “hair,” not wool, generally from cow’s tails.*** We also see horse, goat, and pig hair in strainers and other nalbound objects made of hair.
It is one of the joys of updating the bibliography and reorganizing my sources for easier use that I get to re-read and explore books that I haven’t read in a good many years. In doing so, I am reminded of old favorites, the hop strainers have always been one, and interesting tidbits such as their anthropological use.
Concerning the actual use of the hair strainers, we have a short description from Flesberg in Numedal, Buskerud: ‘In the olden days they strained the milk through a straining which in Flesberg was called sรฆllรฆr and further up in the valley sallar. They spun cow’s hair and made sallarane in the same way as they made the short hair stockings, raggeloddar. When straining, they folded them up into a cup-like or bag-like form and ladled the milk into it. They also had wooden straining cups with a square hole in the bottom, over which they put the strainer. Such strainers may still be found on some farms. When they had strained the milk, they poured some hot water into the milk-cup, took the hair strainer and cleaned the cup with it. In that way they both cleaned the hair strainer, and rinsed the milk out of it at the same time. Afterwards the hair strainer was beaten against the wall or against something hard in order to thrash the water out of it, and then the strain was hung up to dry. But periodically they had to boil the hair strainer in a decoction of juniper, in order to prevent it from going sour. After they started to use straining cups of tin and with a strainer of brass netting, they utilized the hair strainer as a dishcloth.’
Odd Nordland, Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting(Oslo: Oslo University Press, 1961), p. 108.
Nordland goes on to state that in other areas, the practice is to use the nalbound fabric as a dishcloth first. Then, once it has been softened and properly matted, using it as a strainer. Apparently this is associated with areas that tend to nalbind looser density strainers in simple variants.****
Starting at 5:54 minutes in, the video starts a section on Cow hair and coarse wool spun on a handspindle. It starts with carding the hair and wool and creating a rolag. Then preparing a bundle of fibers which they hang from the ceiling and spin on a large spindle. Then plying from a ball. At 7:53 they shift to binding with a needle. At 8:06 they shift to looking over her shoulder at her nalbinding. While the majority of the film runs very fast, at 8:18 they slow it down to slow motion and you can see fairly clearly how she is working the stitch. At 9:16 it states “The yarn in a milk-strainer was of smooth cow-hair.”***** At 9:38 they start to show how she adds an additional length of yarn having used up the prior length. At 10:20 they show using the nalbound milk-strainer in a cup & board shaped strainer board. 10:52 they show washing it and striking it against a hard surface. The next section show hair shoe-covers being tied on over the shoes prior to putting on skis.
Nordland’s book, Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting, is the best source for the nalbinding stitches used in these nalbound strainers. However, his classification system is based on describing 1/4 of the circle created by the spiral coiled variants which causes some difficulty in being certain of his description. His system only records the changes in intralacing within half of the working of a stitch, but not the initial direction. Thus each stitch he classifies could be one of two options. Add in the fact that when the stitch uses an F2 connection instead of an F1, he leaves off the last intralacement with the working thread, in those cases we can have four possible stitches that could all fall under the same classification of Nordland’s.
The red and green dots show the portion of the stitch that Nordland’s classification system describes. In this case he is describing the Dalby stitch. In Hansen’s classification this stitch is UOU/OUOO F1. As you can see, the superscript numbers of Nordland’s system describe changes in the intralacement as you exit the stitch. However, it does not specify which side of the fabric on which the intralacement begins. Thus 5112 could be Dalby, UOU/OUOO F1 or it could be OUO/UOUU F1. (Note: his system doesn’t address back or mid connections.) Had the stitch used an F2 connection, Nordland would have written it as 5111 (losing the green dot) which could be UOU/OUOO F2 or UOU/OUOU F2 or OUO/UOUU F2 or OUO/UOUO F2.
That said, Nordland records a large number of stitches being used in nalbound strainers. For example: Simple Looping in the center with 31 (probably a Danish stitch like U/OU F2) outer rows, Loop & Twist, 311 (probably Danish stitch, U/OU F1), 311m (Danish with a carried thread F1), 412 (Oslo, UO/UOO F1), 411 (most likely Oslo, UO/UOO F2), 4111 (probably Bjรถrsbo, UO/UOU F1), 51111 (probably Telemark, UOU/OUOU F1), 512 (possibly Fรฅberg, UUO/UOOO F2), and 522 (Korgen stitch, UOO/UUOO F1). He also emphasizes that there is the strong tendency for the strainers to be nalbound using whichever stitch was predominant in a particular location as traditional nalbinding in Scandinavia tended to reflect the use of one stitch only in any particular location. The need for a variety of textures and densities being filled by changes in yarn diameter/type and gauge.
We can be thankful to the anthropological and ethnographical departments for collecting these strainers. We have no archeological evidence of nalbound strainers being used prior to the late 19th and early 20th century collections of ethnographic materials. Most of the strainers themselves are undated. Their accession from anthropological circumstances instead of archeological ones imply that they were at least in use or in the household of the donator and unlikely to be of extremely earlier age than the collection date or century. The stitches used encompass the wide variety of stitches found in Scandinavia, including some of the simplest versions that are also found in earlier contexts. Odd Nordland argues that the peasant society changed little although we know from their clothing that there was a change around the 18th century. We know the technique of nalbinding existed earlier based on the socks and mittens that have been found. There is a cup and board support inscribed 1618. There is even a presumed board of a separate cup and board support for a strainer found on the Oseberg ship. Any evidence for Viking Era nalbound milk strainers has yet to be found. The concept is possible, possibly even plausible, but not yet provable.
As I was looking for more examples of nalbound strainers in the online museum catalogs of Scandinavia, I also came across a few in their Ethnographic collections from West Africa. Worked on the support more like the hops strainers than the milk strainers, though in a simpler variant. These are apparently used for palm oil.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look into other traditional uses of the nalbinding technique. We so often think of it as used for mittens, socks, and hats that I find it fun to explore other uses. I’ve included a collection of links below to other Scandinavian nalbound strainers.
*Note: I tend to differentiate between “historical” and “traditional” era nalbinding. Generally when I say historical, I am referring to any time up to the early Modern Era. Usually pre-1600 AD or thereabouts. When I say traditional nalbinding, I am generally referring to more recent nalbinding. Anywhere from the 17th century to present day although the concentrations are more likely late 18th century through early 20th century.
**It’s not that hop/ale strainers are rare, just that nalbound ones are rare.
Only one of the hop strainers found in the search of DigitalMuseum.no shows a nalbound basket, even though Nordland shows two other examples. However, in this search for humlesil you can see that the shape of the wood supports is the same for both the nalbound and woven basket forms: https://digitaltmuseum.no/search/?aq=descname%3A%22Humlesil%22&o=0&n=80
I am slowly working on a catalog of nalbound items, but in the meantime wanted to let you know about one that is currently on display! My friend, Libby Cripps, visited Trier today and sent back pictures of St. Simeon’s nalbound hat.
St. Simeon was born in Sicily, but went to school in Constantinople. He then went to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and eventually Mt. Sinai in Egypt before living as a hermit near the Red Sea for a while. In 1026 CE he was sent to Rouen, France and after much roundabout travels ended up in Trier. He made one last pilgrimage to Jerusalem leaving in 1028 CE, but upon his return in 1030 CE he was enclosed in the Porto Negra (Black Gate) in Trier and lived as a recluse there until his death in 1035 CE.
Trier is located in Southwestern Germany near the border with Luxembourg and France. This hat is sometimes used as evidence of Viking Era nalbinding, but given St. Simeon’s life history and the fact that nalbinding of a similar structure has been found in Greece and in several objects in Egypt, that is a likely provenance. St. Simeon was in France/Germany for only two years of his life before he was enclosed shortly after returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
I’ll be pulling together more information regarding the cap in the future, but wanted to share these lovely photographs that Libby so kindly let me use.
The Textile Museum is working to put images of its collection online. Luckily that now includes multiple Islamic Era Egyptian socks. Beautiful photos of the blue and white cotton knitted socks and several compound nalbound socks.
The pilot site does not yet have their complete textile collection, but it does have several stunning examples of blue and white stranded knitting (interlooping) and four nalbound (interconnected looping) socks to add to the list of the Egyptian corpus. There is also one slip-stitch crochet sock that is going to require additional investigation into its provenance.* The catalog data is not necessarily up to date, which is not surprising given the volume and speed with which they are entering the records. They also have several Andean artifacts of interest as well.
Note: The pilot site doesn’t seem to react well to Facebook. So if you are viewing it there, you may get the same sock repeated. Try viewing it via WordPress or a different browser.
@ Medeltidsmuseet Digital visning: Nรฅlbindning [Digital Display: Nalbinding] Nรฅlbindning kan dateras minst tusen รฅr bakรฅt i tiden i Sverige. Hรถr vรฅr museipedagog Anna Lilliehรถรถk berรคtta mer om denna hantverksmetod. [Nalbinding can be dated back at least a thousand years in time in Sweden. Hear our museum educator Anna Lilliehรถรถk tell more about this handwork method.]
Du behรถver inte registrera dig eller betala nรฅgot. Bara att njuta, gilla och dela. [You don’t need to register or pay anything. Just enjoy, like, and share.]
The language is Swedish of course. Anna Lilliehรถรถk gives a bit of a tour of the museum and several of the artifacts therein. At around minute 6:50, she brings out a leather sole with a nalbound fragment stitched to it. She speculates that it might be the remains of an insole or perhaps a sock/stocking to which a leather sole had been applied. She tells us that stitch used is Mammen; which is UOO/UUOO F2 in Hansen’s classification. The dating is 1300-1400 CE.
Edited to add this lovely photo taken by Cary Karp. You can even see the fine sewing thread mentioned.
What I find very interesting is that the row appears to follow the edge of the leather sole. That direction under and along the arch does not match the row direction that I see in contemporaneous nalbound socks. So for now, I think I find the insole theory more plausible. Nonetheless, this is a very interesting find as it appears to have been sewn to the leather when the find was whole and new. The concept of an integral insole sewn into a leather turn-shoe is very intriguing.
