Nalbinding & Knitting: compare and contrast

Here are some excerpts from a poster presentation I did at an SCA event in August 2016.  It was a research-focused event hosted at U Penn, where people had the opportunity to share the results of their research.

These diagrams are analyzing the so-called Coptic stitch.  For more information on the Coptic stitch in nalbinding, see my other post on Egyptian socks: here.  So, the interesting thing about this particular nalbinding stitch is that it looks very similar to knitting.  Specifically twisted-stitch, or crossed-stitch, knitting.  This has led to some confusion among archaeologists and there are probably textile fragments in museum collections that have been mis-categorized.

The point of this analysis (which was illustrated with some samples on the poster) was to show the ways in which knitting and Coptic nalbinding can be distinguished from each other.  The structure of Coptic nalbinding, when worked flat or in a constant-size tube, is identical to that of twisted knitting.  However, they are worked in opposite directions.  Because of the differences in the way they are worked, the two structures can be differentiated by looking at the increases and decreases.  Some increase or decrease structures are unique to nalbinding, some are unique to knitting, and some can be created in both techniques.

The below terms in red (other than the 'F1 increase') are my own, since I could not find any categorization of the different types of increases and decreases which are possible with the Coptic stitch.  If anyone knows of one, do please let me know.

Distinguishing Nalbinding from Knitting: 
Increases and Decreases

Increases add a stitch to the row being worked, and decreases reduce the number of stitches, compared to the previous row.  Nalbinding increases are analagous to knitting decreases (and vice-versa).


Nalbinding:

F 1 increase – made by passing the yarn around the bridge between 2 stitches.  All of the increases in the extant socks that I have been able to analyze are of this type.

 Impossible to replicate with knitting.

Nalbinding:

Linked increase – 2 stitches are worked around the same stitch

Structure is the same as ‘knit-2-together’ or ‘purl-2-together’ knitting decreases.


Nalbinding:

Skip decrease – made by simply skipping one stitch of the prior row

Structure is the same as ‘lifted’, ‘make-one’, or ‘yarn-over’ knitting increases

Nalbinding:

Joined decrease – made by passing the stitch behind 2 adjacent stitches of the prior row.

Looks similar to a ‘knit front-and-back’ or ‘bar increase’ with proper tension, but structurally different.  COULD be replicated exactly with knitting, but this is not generally done.       

Egyptian Coptic Nalbinding

Here is the handout for a class I teach on Egyptian nalbinding.

Nalbinding is a technique for creating a stretchy fabric.  It predates knitting and seems to have been developed independently in various parts of the world.  It is most well-known in the Scandinavian context and the term 'nalbinding' is a Scandinavian word, but all the English equivalents are unwieldy so most English-speaking people keep using the term 'nalbinding'.  However, there seems to have been a strong tradition of nalbinding in Roman era and Post-Roman era Egypt as well.

Nalbinding creates a fabric by creating loops with yarn or thread.  The yarn is worked with a blunt sewing needle.  For wonderful instructions on many varieties of nalbinding, you can check out this site for instructions, videos, and all kinds of great reference material.

The socks from Egypt are mostly (but not all) worked in a stitch referred to as the "Coptic stitch".  The term Coptic has been used to refer to the Post-Roman era, which is the period of time between the end of Roman rule in Egypt (roughly 3rd century) and their conquest by the Muslims (7th century).  It can be a bit confusing because Coptic also refers to a sect of Christians based in Egypt.  We do not know if these socks were worn by Coptic Christians.  In fact, most were found in excavations at Greek colony cities in Egypt.

This handout is a collection of images I've found from various museums' digitized collections, followed by the illustrations I use in teaching people how to do the Egyptian style nalbinding.

Nalbound socks from Egypt

Geometric Clothing Construction

This is the handout for a class I've taught many times now.  I thought it would be helpful to put this in a more readily accessible location.  Other than the two pieces of statuary at the beginning (and one exception at the end), each of these examples is a surviving garment from the Middle Ages.  All are constructed from simple geometric shapes: rectangles and triangles mostly, sometimes circular or wedge shaped pieces.

I have tried out most of these patterns and it's surprising how well-fitting a garment can be even when it's just built up from simple geometric shapes.  I have a lot of pointers to share about how to get good sizing for these patterns, as well.  Maybe one of these days I will get that written up and posted.

Geometric Cut in Historical Clothing