Tablet woven band with a zigzag motif

Aisling wrote about this band and posted a photo and chart.  Well, not this band exactly, but a band with this motif.

Here's Aisling's chart: https://twistedthreads.org/pattern/eBdmoGatLsCbtyXy4 and here's the blog post: https://aislingde.blogspot.com/2026/01/das-muzeul-taranului-roman-bukarest.html  One can pretty easily chart out the pattern by looking at the picture of the band.

The original band is in a museum in Bucharest.  It is probably relatively modern -- 19th or 20th century, and probably more likely to be 20th century.  The motif is found in a lot of bands I've seen pics of from southeastern Europe through central Asia, pretty much the same geographic range as bands with kivrim motifs.  (Do not take this as absolute fact -- this is more of an impression than an assertion backed up with evidence.)

My motif used 9 tablets, 5 for the central zigzag and 2 on each side for the edges.  All turns were forward.  The pattern tablets all slant in one direction and the edges alternate directions.  It worked pretty well to reduce twisting, whew.

I did this band to test some 3D-printed tablets for a friend.  They pass!

Unblocked, the band is about 68" long (175cm) and about 3/8" wide (1cm).  It was quick, easy, cute, etc.

I want to do some nalbinding but haven't decided what kind of project I want to do yet.  Soon.

Nalbinding Project #9 -- Wristers (fingerless mitts) in Oslo Stitch

I still need to tuck in yarn ends, but they're done.  They went quickly and were super easy to make.  I like them a lot.  They fit, they're warm, the top can be turned down into a little cuff and still cover my palms, etc.

It's another Oslo stitch demo project, this one showing the technique for creating a hole.

Pattern:  Make a foundation chain that is long enough to go around the widest part of your hand.  For me in Oslo stitch in this yarn, it was 28 stitches.  Join and work in spirals for 10 rounds.  This was long enough to cover my wrists and reach the base of my thumb.  Then make a hole by doing a 4-stitch chain (big enough to go around my thumb and make a sufficient-sized hole) while skipping 4 loops in the round below.  Rejoin and do another 6 rounds until I'm past the middle knuckles of my fingers but with the pinky still showing.  Done.

I managed to do a little moebius strip for one of the wristers, my first time doing that while joining.  Yay, me.

The yarn is a fat single-ply acrylic of some sort in a heathery blue.

What shall I do next?  I still want to stick with Oslo stitch until after I teach the class, since I'm still pretty new to all this and want to have the muscle memory very firmly entrenched in Oslo Stitch Maneuverings.

I could make a circular mat or shallow basket.

I could make a center-out one that is square or rectangular.

I could make the flat part with back-and-forth flat stitching.

Hmmm.

I probably don't feel like making mittens or socks or slippers, not even mini versions.

It feels a bit weird to be writing about garment-like objects on a narrow-wares blog.  Though I suppose nalbinding is in the category of "obscure crafts" and thus is adjacent to braiding and band weaving.  Sprang can go either way, from narrow to wide, as can bands, I suppose.  I don't think I want to move it to my knitting blog and I don't want to make a whole new blog for nalbinding plus or minus sprang just yet.  So I'll continue to write about nalbinding and give little mini-recipes/patterns here.

Nalbinding Project #8 -- Oslo Stitch sphere/ball

Another quick little twiddle to explore shaping in nalbinding as well as everything else.  This is in Oslo stitch since I'm unlikely to do other stitches until after my upcoming class is done.

I have seen nalbinding spheres out there but don't have access to a pattern.  So I made it up myself!

I did the slip-knot loop start, where pulling on the tail tightens the loop.

Start by putting 16 oslo stitches into the loop.

Start the spiral.  In the first round, double the stitches (32 stitches)

At this point, the fabric was already starting to get ruffly, so I stopped increasing.

Do 5 rounds without any more increases or decreases.

Then do 1 round of decreasing half the stitches (back to 16 stitches)

Run the yarn end through the loops of the final round and pull tight.  Well, before you pull tight, tuck in random yarn ends and stuff the ball.

It turned out well.  I didn't stuff it too full.  But it looks sufficiently spherical for my purposes.  In white, it's a snowball.  Stuff with catnip, a cat toy.  In a bright color, some kind of fruit.  Etc.  One can juggle with it or use it as an ornament.

Here's a pic before I stuffed the ball and pulled the top shut.

As part of this project, I experimented with ways to do the join where one length of yarn ends and the other begins, all in the "lazy join" category where one tucks in the two ends, securing them in a way that reduces the chance of the ends working loose.

I'm not great at most of them; they end up making an obvious blip in how the pattern looks.  But I'm getting better.  Mostly it helps to hide the end by running it through the tops of the loops on the back side, and also trying to make sure there's a 360º overlap of old and new (i.e. trace the path of one loop with the end of the old yarn and the beginning of the new yarn).  I'll continue to try the various suggestions I see floating around.  I might try the simple knot method, where one drops the old thread and starts with the new, and then knots the two ends together on the back of the work in the area between my thumb and the rest of my hand.  Heck, someday I'll even use wool yarn and do some actual spit-splicing.

Here's a stitch I want to try -- Happy Nalbinding calls it a "skip stitch" in this video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI1kuE-jmXk.  It's sort of the opposite of the Björsbo stitch.  It's like the Oslo stitch in that it's a 1+1 stitch.  But after the thread goes through the loop on the back of the thumb, it goes over the loop on the front of the thumb and then under the working yarn.  (Björsbo goes under the loop on the front of the thumb and then over the working yarn.  Oslo goes under both.)

But I also want to continue all the other explorations.  So I'll do that.  All the stitch families.  Known examples.  Modern experiments.  Basketry-ish simple/proto nalbinding.  Etc.  Plus interesting things to make.

I still am pretty sure I don't want to make nalbinding socks, but I'm not ruling out slippers.

Nalbinding Project #7 -- Hyperbolic Pseudosphere in Oslo Stitch

I wanted a quick project that wouldn't require a lot of thinking.  A hyperbolic pseudosphere certainly meets those qualifications!

These are used for scrubbies or ornaments or toys and were popular for those crocheted coral reef projects that were going on several years ago.  I've crocheted several.

And now I've done one using nalbinding.  Oslo stitch, to be precise, since I want to make sure I feel very, very secure in Oslo stitch for my upcoming teaching gig.  I don't want to get flustered and confuse myself with the muscle memory for Björsbo or Mammen or Finnish stitch.

These are very easy to make.  Put a bunch of stitches into a circle, whether it's a magic loop or slip-knot loop or sew the working end through the bottom of the stitches, etc.  Then, as you start your spiral -- put two stitches into every stitch in the round below.  Continue until it's big enough or you're out of yarn or have had enough.

I might add on more later but I think it's fine the way it is.

I think it was a fairly successful experiment.  Nalbinding stitches tend to be longer and skinnier than, say single crochets.  Dunno what this would look like if I used a squattier stitch, such as maybe York or plain looping (Danish stitch?) or the like.  Or if I increased faster by putting 3-4 stitches in every stitch rather than 2.  Or if I started with even more (or fewer) stitches in the initial round.  Or if I'd tried harder to work with a tighter gauge  (I'm trying to keep every move the way that seems easiest for a beginning student, meaning that the worsted weight yarn in this project might be a little looser and drapier than if I'd tightened each stitch rather than letting my thumb determine the fabric gauge).

I rather like the texture of nalbinding in these hyperbolic pseudospheres.

Other than that, I've not been doing anything worth posting to this blog even though I have a few things on my to-do list.  Alas.  Mostly I want to be ready to teach this month.  Secondly, I owe a few people some projects and want to get those done.  Thirdly, I am pretty much out of knitting projects and need to cast on for a few more ASAP so I don't panic.  That requires decision-making, something I'm not always capable of doing.

One thing I like about nalbinding -- it's great for those of us who aren't great at deciding when and how to finish something.  Is a project done?  "Done for now" is good enough.  I can walk away and return or not as I wish.  There are no dangling threads that will unravel the project.  No crochet hooks or knitting needles that have to stay with the project and/or get carefully recorded so I can use the same one when I return.  Etc.

Nalbinding Project #6 -- Finnish Stitch hat/beanie/skullcap/basket

It's done for now.  I am out of the gray yarn. It's a little short for a beanie, so I guess it's in its skullcap phase.  It makes an entirely acceptable basket if flipped over, too.

I am going to move on to other projects but will probably return with some different yarn to make this hat a little deeper.

I think I already wrote about my many attempts to get a reasonably flat/slanted top.  It took me something like 4 tries to achieve an acceptable result.

1 - 16 (or maybe 17) stitches into the loop of a slip knot (where the loose end of the slip knot tightens the loop).  Pull tight.

2 - double the stitches

3 and 4 - 1 stitch, increase in next stitch

5 - 2 stitches, increase in next stitch

6 - 3 stitches, increase in next stitch

7 and beyond -- work even.

I probably could have increased somewhat fewer stitches on round 6, but this size is still adequate and should fit people with larger heads, too.  The center is a bit conical, but not excessively so, and will lie flat when the hat is flipped over.  The other increase rounds increase the size of the top without causing any potato-chipping.

I'm not sure what I'll do for the increase rounds for the next Finnish stitch hat I make.

Finnish stitch is very pleasing to me.  I enjoy doing it and I like how it looks.  It seems denser than Oslo stitch, probably because it is a 2+2 stitch instead of a 1+1 stitch.  I did an F1 connector stitch because I liked how it looked.

My first Oslo stitch hat was done with thick yarn and this one is done with worsted weight, but wow, look at the difference in gauge/density.

I will probably return to doing little Oslo stitch projects, to make sure I'm ready to teach this to other even newbier newbies in a few weeks.

Doing other stitches is a lot of fun, though, so I expect to resume my explorations soon enough.  There are so many interesting things to explore, so many stitch families and historic concepts and variations on a theme, etc.

A couple of things I've vaguely bookmarked in my brain -- would it be at all interesting to play around with stacked increases and decreases?  And relatedly, can one make lace-like eyelet patterns by careful arrangements of foundation chains (that aren't connected to the round below)?

Something I find kind of fun about nalbinding is how you can simply stop a project and not worry about a clean finished edge or casting off or anything.  And then you can simply resume from where you were as if you'd merely stepped away for a minute.

The tablet woven band from the V&A Museum 8655-1863

Done.  It's about a centimeter wide (less than an inch) and about 184-185cm long (71-72").  It's a very simple 4F4B pattern with 10 tablets.  Given the way the tablets are threaded, it can also be considered a very simple double-face pattern.

I used Aisling's chart from Twisted Threads but changed the colors.

On to the next project!  I have more tablets to test!

I took out the conical Finnish stitch hat and am on attempt #4 to get the curvature of the hat looking the way I want it to look.  So far, so good.  I have no idea how big the hat will be when the yarn runs out but that's a Future Me problem.  Finnish stitch is somewhat more dense than Oslo/Björso stitch is, at least horizontally.  It's a denser fabric overall, but the height to width ratio is definitely different and thus requires a different increase pattern to get the hat to not be too conical nor too ruffly.

I'm using stitch markers where the new round begins, give or take a bit, so I can take out the stitches back to the last known good stitch marker spot if my estimate for the next round's increases is wrong.

After this hat is done, maybe I'll make some Oslo stitch handwarmers if I can find some oddballs with sufficient yardage, either for a single color or for stripes.  I'll do them bottom-up, and probably as a simple tube with minimal or no shaping beyond the thumb hole.  I don't really plan to decrease the number of stitches above the thumb, either, though who knows what I'll decide when I actually get there.  My gauge is relatively consistent but I'm terrible at counting so I'll probably do the suggested thing of working on both at the same time, one section after the other, so that they're more likely to be the same.

Then more hats/bags/etc., experimenting with stitches and learning how to do spiral stripes, and anything else that seems interesting.

Although I am willing to give mittens and handwarmers a try, I don't see myself making socks since I like knitted socks just fine.  Slippers, maybe, as long as the horizontal ridges of nalbinding aren't too annoying on the feet.

Progress Report (nalbinding and tablet weaving)

I've started Nalbinding Project #6 -- a Finnish Stitch hat.  Finnish stitch (the version I'm using) is Finnish 2+2 F1, or Hansen UUOO/UUOOO F1.

I'm using another acrylic of some sort, a multi-ply that isn't so loosely spun as the purple.  Well, it might not be 100% acrylic, but it's not scratchy and it doesn't felt.

I'm having some trouble getting the increases right.  My first try was following a friend's hat -- put 9 stitches into the center, then double the stitches for rounds 1, 2, and 3.  For me, though, round 2 was already alarmingly flat, and round 3 ruffled badly.  So....  take out rounds 2 and 3.  Try 1 st, 1 inc for round 2.  Hmm, too pointy.  OK, take everything out.  Follow the pattern I did with the most recent Oslo stitch hat, starting with 11-12 stitches in the center.  And that doesn't work well, either -- I have a delightful little cone!

I'm not sure if I'll keep going and have a hat with a bit of a point.  Or I can repeat a couple of increase rounds (I'm up to 3 st, 1 inc) to get a more rapid increase at this part of the hat.  Or take part or all of it out and try again!  The poor yarn is not looking so happy with all the friction, though.  Or keep it as an example and start with new yarn, unraveling the current little cone only if I need the yarn.

So that's been educational.  I mean, I know that each person has his/her own gauge, it depends on the yarn, and it also very much depends on the stitch.

I do like doing Finnish Stitch and I like how it looks.

I wasn't able to do a magic loop start without getting confused, so I'm using the slip-stitch loop where pulling the tail tightens the loop.

Hmm, what might be a reasonable way to start this hat in Finnish stitch if I don't want a pointy top?  Maybe start with 14-16 stitches in the center?  Or maybe try a bottom-up hat and then I can see what it's like to decrease to the end rather than increase from the beginning?

For now, I'll keep going with the steady progression in the number of stitches between increases.  It looks reasonable when I lay it flat.  So hopefully it'll all work out as I keep increasing.

I'm also doing some tablet-weaving to test out a friend's tablet (not the nalbinding friend, a different friend).  I'm doing a pattern from the V&A Museum that's estimated to be from the 15th-16th century: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O361853/braid/.  Aisling discussed it on her website and gave a link to her chart on Twisted Threads.  https://aisling.biz/historisch/sp%C3%A4tmittelalter/ein-mittelalterliches-band-aus-dem-victoria-albert-museum and https://twistedthreads.org/pattern/ZaafqJSdsWwZcpBgE

I'm using slightly different colors, just because.  But it's quick and easy, a little 10-tablet threaded-in pattern that is 4F4B  (or double-face if you want to think about it like that).  It's cute, though the edge cards are displeasing me a bit.  The original had the edge cards participate in the 4F4B turning, so that's what I'm doing in spite of the slight messiness.

I'll put up a pic when it's done.

Aisling has another pattern that I might use for the second set of tablets I'll be testing.  But that won't happen until the current one is done.  I really appreciate Aisling and everyone else who so generously share their discoveries and charts them out so that others can benefit from their hard work.

I also need to make some fingerloop-braided cords and possibly another long braid.  I'm not sure what I'll do for that yet.