Medieval Norse Fossil Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Rug Needle

New in our Etsy shop today!  Dave has carved this 5 1/4" long nalbinding rug needle from fossil mammoth ivory.  Please click here for more information about this beautiful fiber art tool.

Medieval Norse Fossil Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Needle

Dave has carved this 5 inch nalbinding needle from fossil mammoth ivory. This particular piece of fossil ivory had a unique curve that Dave accentuated to make a perfect knitting tool. At the suggestion of some of our wonderful customers who are active participants in the SCA, Dave has tried to create an authentic looking replica of a Medieval tool.  We have photographed both sides of this needle to show the uniqueness of the ancient mammoth ivory.   Additional photos can be found at the Etsy listing for this fiber art tool.

**What is Nalbinding?**

The excerpt below is from Wikipedia and gives an explanation of this ancient art form:

"Nålebinding (Danish: literally "binding with a needle" or "needle-binding", also naalbinding or naalebinding) is a fabric creation technique predating both knitting and crochet. Also known in English as "knotless netting," "knotless knitting," [1]or "single needle knitting," the technique is distinct from crochet in that it involves passing the full length of the working thread through each loop, unlike crochet where the work is formed only of loops, never involving the free end.

Fossil Ivory Nalbinding Needles

We have just listed five new fossil ivory nalbinding needles in our Etsy shop!  Each of these needles measures about 2 3/4 inches in length.  Please visit the "Nalbinding Needles" of our shop to see more photos of these medieval Norse knitting tools.

Handcrafted Acorn French Knitting Spool

Handcrafted Acorn French Knitting Spool

Dave handcrafted this acorn spool knitter using olive green poplar wood and burn etched a oak leaf design around it. It is approx 2 3/4 inch overall length and he used brass knitting pins that will not rust. Dave also hand turned the accompanying 4 1/4 inch knitting needle from the same olive green wood and also adorned the end with an acorn finial. Both the knitter and needle have a hand rubbed bees wax finish. The knitter has been initialed and dated by Dave.

If you would like to view more photos of this item, please click here to visit the Ebay auction.

Medieval Blue Mammoth Nalbinding Knitting Needle

Hhhmmmm.....while I was in the living room typing the blog entry about how Dave has been relegated to the couch until he's feeling better, I noticed that he disappeared. When I finished with my post, I went to see where he went, and found him typing away on the other computer (we have three....I know, we're geeks!) listing this latest nalbinding needle.

This needle is 3 1/4 inches long and comes with a velour pouch. Dave hand carved this nalbinding knitting needle out of rare ancient BLUE woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old.

Blue mammoth ivory is usually the outer bark ivory of the tusk and gets its color from leaching elements in the soil and ice where it has beed buried for thousands of years. The different patterns makes each needle a one-of-a- kind. Blue mammoth ivory is the most prized in jewelry making and for making expensive knife handles and pistol grips. It is initialed by Dave, the maker, and is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Medieval Blue Mammoth Nalbinding Knitting Needle

Ancient Ivory Medieval Norse Nalbinding Needles

Dave was recently contacted by a fiber artist who asked if he had ever made any medieval Norse nalbinding needles. He hadn't, but immediately began researching this tool as he loves adding new fiber art tools to his repertoire. All of our nalbinding needles are hand carved from ancient ivory and can be viewed in the Fiber Art Tools section of our online Etsy shop.

If you are like us and have never heard of "Nalbinding", which can be spelled several different ways, the excerpt below is from Wikipedia and gives an explanation of this ancient art form:

"Nålebinding (Danish: literally "binding with a needle" or "needle-binding", also naalbinding or naalebinding) is a fabric creation technique predating both knitting and crochet. Also known in English as "knotless netting," "knotless knitting," [1]or "single needle knitting," the technique is distinct from crochet in that it involves passing the full length of the working thread through each loop, unlike crochet where the work is formed only of loops, never involving the free end.

More information on this medieval art can be found here.

Hand Carved and Scrimshawed Knitting Sheath

Dave has always been fascinated with making reproductions of early period pieces, particularly pieces made by sailors. Scrimshaw knitting needle sheaths were among the many things sailors made for their wives and sweethearts back home.

Dave hand carved this 7 inch knitting sheath out of Oregon Myrtlewood. He made it for the traditional right side fitting. He had noticed that many of the early period sheaths had more narrow slots for apron strings to hold the sheath but I made this one with a wider slot to fit up to a ¾ inch waist band or belt. The top of the sheath is fitted with ancient Russian mammoth ivory as well as the color scrimshaw center piece. The needle hole in the top is drilled to accept a 5.00mm US size 8 knitting needle.


The purpose of the knitting sheath was to take the weight of the work and prevent the stitches from slipping off the bottom of a double-ended needle. These sheaths had a hole bored through the center in which the needle nearest on the right, fitted. These knitting sheaths would be worn on the right side of the body, at an angle. They were tucked into the waist band or held under the arm. In the sheath would be placed the bottom of the right hand knitting needle which was held rigid, leaving the left hand to work the yarn on the other needle. Knitting sheaths were used throughout Europe and the British Isles during the 18th. and 19th. centuries. Some were refined and exotic being made from a variety of materials including amber, porcelain, ivory, silver and brass etc. The majority were made from a range of available woods. Many were crudely carved gifts or love tokens, bearing the name of the recipient sometimes with a date and a heart or other symbol.



This item is currently up for auction on Ebay. If you would like to see larger photos, please click the link below.



Hand Carved and Scrimshawed Knitting Sheath Auction on Ebay.com

Wood Spirit Nostepinne

I just posted Dave's Wood Spirit Nostepinne in our Etsy shop. A nostepinne, also spelled "nostepinde", is a fiber art tool used to make balls of yarn. This is one of his best pieces! The top section featuring the wood spirit, is carved from Oregon myrtlewood, and the lower section was turned from a beautiful piece of walnut. The overall length of this nostepinne is 10 inches.