Nalbinding

Here are pictures of a few of my nalbinding projects.

My first project: a pouch made with the Oslo stitch

The Russian stitch; hand spun Romney

The Oslo stitch, sightly felted

The Oslo stitch; hand spun Shetland

The Mammen stitch; hand spun Shetland; embroidery thread  hand spun Merino

The Broden stitch; hand spun Merino

The Mammen stitch with F1 connection; hand spun BFL

The Mammen stitch; hand spun Merino

The Coptic stitch; hand spun Romney; stitched in the style of the socks in the Petrie Museum

From fleece to yarn

Back in October I went to my local sheep & wool festival. My goal was to purchase a Lazy Kate for spindles, which I did, but I also bought a BFL lamb fleece. I had been resisting the suggestion to buy a fleece, because I was intimidated by how big a whole fleece is, and how dirty. But here was the fleece of a little white lamb - not too big and not too dirty. I decided to take the plunge. If ever I was going to do this, this was the fleece for me. So I brought it home, along with an alpaca fleece whose color I couldn't resist (yes, it is big), and life got in the way. The fleeces ended up spending the winter in my attic.

This weekend the time finally came to process the fleece. I washed the wool in my kitchen sink - first soaking it in warm water with a little Dawn dish liquid (no more than I use to wash my dishes). I put the locks in a mesh laundry bag so that they would stay organized, and gently raised and lowered them in the water a few times to get the soap through the locks. I was amazed at how much dirt came out in the first washing. After that, I just rinsed the locks in plain warm water until the water ran clear. It took 3 rinses. I dumped the dirty water outside because I didn't know how my old pipes would like the lanolin. I did the same with the alpaca, although that was faster - no lanolin, just dust.

Preparing to wash the BFL locks

Dirty wash water on the right, rinsing the locks on the left.

I stretched the laundry bags over the top of the dishpans to dry. By Sunday afternoon the wool was dry and I was anxious to comb. My Viking combs were the perfect tool for the BFL wool.

Isn't the crimp beautiful?

I hadn't realized how many short cuts the fleece had. By processing myself, they were easy to remove.

The alpaca really needed finer combs, but I made do with what I had. Alpaca gets full of static from combing. I ended up dampening my hands to control the fiber while I pulled it into roving.

And of course I had to spin some - just a partial spindle of each. They were wonderful to work with. I just might get addicted to processing my own fleece!

Spinning outdoors can be a challenge without a distaff - the breeze kept trying to tangle the wool in the spindle.

- what I learned -

It isn't as difficult as I had imagined to wash a fleece. Actually, it isn't difficult at all. If you have been thinking about trying it - go for it!

By processing the fleece myself, I got to control the amount of lanolin removed from the wool. I didn't wash it so much that all the lanolin was stripped out. That made spinning very enjoyable for my hands. I highly recommend it over commercially scoured wool.

I will admit that I didn't wash the entire fleece on one day. But I realized that I didn't have to. I've washed enough to keep me combing and spinning for a while, and when I next have time between housework and yard work, I'll wash some more.

A nice surprise

My issue of Piecework Magazine came today. They published my letter about making Coptic stitch socks - with the photo :)

Ribe Spindle

Today I pruned the maple trees in my back yard. After 2 years of searching, I finally have a stick of the proper straightness, length and diameter to carve a spindle shaft to match the one found in Ribe. Hurray! Soon I'll be able to test the Ribe shaft model (gently tapered to each end) against the Greenland shaft model (a pronounced bulge in the center).

King's and Queen's A&S - Part 3

My third project for King's and Queen's A&S was an extension of my spinning study. After spinning large quantities of thread at many gauges, I had formed some ideas about what whorls might be appropriate for thread for particular textile artifacts. It was time to test the ideas. Two facts made the project difficult for me. First, I am not a weaver. I had no preconceived notions about how thread would react when woven (which perhaps was a good thing). Second, since I did not have access to the actual artifacts, I had to rely on photos and descriptions by other researchers (mostly Margrethe Hald).

My first attempt was a remnant from Ribe, woven at 10/12 threads per centimeter.  Warp threads are Z-spun; weft threads are S-spun. I spun Jacob roving using a 19 gram whorl similar to the whorls found in Ribe. I spun S and Z thread at 14 wraps per centimeter, then wove it on a small rigid heddle loom.

My version is 10/9 threads per centimeter. Fulling would draw the threads closer together. 

I then tackled the cushion cover from the Mammen find. This is also tabby woven, at a similar density to the Ribe artifact. Both warp and weft are Z-spun, and the thread count is 11/7.8 tpc. This time I spun Fin wool, and I was able to achieve a thread count of 11/8.

I felt I was ready to try a more complex weave. This was where trouble began. It was uncharted territory for me. I wanted to weave a piece similar to the Mammen "cloak" fabric. This is a very fine fabric, woven in a 3-shaft twill. Using a 6 gram spindle, I spun at 30 wraps per centimeter. I made several attempts, but was never able to weave such fine cloth.

I did not want to end on an unsuccessful note, so I attempted to reproduce a 2/2 twill cloth found at Jelling. This has a thread count of 9.5/5.5 tpc. My first attempts were much too bulky. I was surprised to discover that my best result came using the same 14wpc thread that I began the weaving study with.

I don't enjoy weaving as much as I enjoy spinning, but I really want to understand how the weave structure is related to the spun thread. Clearly I have a lot more experimenting to do!

King's and Queen's A&S - Part 2

My goal for my nalbinding project was to show the long history of this textile technique. I stitched 3 accessories - socks, based on circa 300 CE socks from Egypt; a mitten based on one found in the medieval layers at Ribe, Denmark; and a hat based on one found when the wall surrounding Copenhagen was demolished.

To make the socks I examined photos of the original (taken by Lady Susanna Lockhart) to determine the pattern. These are constructed using the Coptic stitch. I spun a fine single, and used a long copper needle to make the stitches. They do not exactly match the originals because they were made to fit Mistress Brid.

According to the staff at the Sydvestjyske Museum, no research has yet been done on their mitten. I began by studying high-resolution photos. By examining the deteriorated edges I was able to determine that a 2-ply yarn was used. Without being able to touch the actual mitten, I compared the look of the fabric - the height of the ridges, angle of thread - to hypothesize on the stitch used. It most closely matches mittens I have previously made using the Mammen stitch.

I spun a medium weight 2-ply yarn for the mitten, using one of my reproductions of Ribe whorls. The pattern of the mitten is more fitted than many mittens that have been found. I consider my version a draft.

I am currently combing and spinning Jacob wool to make a measured copy of the artifact.

My third piece is based on a dapper little hat. It was impossible for me to determine the stitch used in the artifact, but the hat was clearly made with a bulky yarn. I chose to construct the hat using the Oslo stitch. Using a 38 gram whorl, I pushed the spindle to its limit, creating a plied yarn of 5 wpi. The yarn for the original was probably made using a wheel. I believe the original hat was constructed from the brim to the crown, based on the way the edge lies, however, I stitched my version beginning at the crown. It can be difficult (at least for me) to make a hat fit properly when starting at the brim, because nalbinding tends to tighten up after the first row. By starting at the crown I was assured of a good fit. Since I want to wear this hat when I walk to work on cold days, my version of the hat is deeper than the original - so that it will cover my ears. I can tell you - it is very warm!

King's & Queen's Arts & Sciences

I never would have expected it, but I really enjoy participating in A&S displays and competitions. I always put forth my best work, but the SCA has many people who are highly skilled in their chosen craft. Thus, I am always mildly surprised when I score well, and never disappointed with my overall outcome. For me, the joy of participating comes from having the opportunity to converse with many other knowledgeable folks - whether they are judges or audience. There is always something to learn.

And so I prepared to participate in the 2012 King's & Queen's A&S  championship. The rules required entry into 3 categories. I chose embroidery, nalbinding, and spinning. All of my entries highlighted my hand spinning. And each project required different spinning skills.

For the embroidery entry I spun the wool very fine and plied it. I began the spinning using a 21 gram modern rim-weighted spindle. When I spun the wool for the border I used a 27 gram glass sphere spindle. While this spindle is new, it duplicates whorls from the archaeological record. This spindle has become my preferred tool for spinning embroidery thread. I can easily produce a plied thread of 35 wpi. This is slightly finer than modern crewel thread, and allows me to embroider fine detail.

My design for the embroidery was adapted from creatures on illuminations and the Bayeux Tapestry, and a border from a rune stone. I chose to stitch the wyvern and magpie using stem stitch in the manner of the embroidered fabrics found at Mammen, Denmark. The border is done in chain stitch.