Sally Pointer brings you objects, skills, and inspiration from the past, to enrich the future.
Find my website at www.sallypointer.com
Sally is a heritage educator, researcher, maker and demonstrator of traditional skills based in the UK, and works with museums and heritage organisations worldwide to promote an understanding of the past through hands on experience.
She posts about ancient technology, craft skills, foraging, food, costuming and some of the adventures she goes on.
Great video and instruction. I'm new to nettles this year. So far I've tried the greens this spring. Next year I'll chop them down to get multiple harvests. They're really good. Now it late summer and I think I've got the last of the seeds. I've almost got three quart jars full! It's not a huge patch either. Soon I'll make some cordage when they're growing for the season and later dig some roots. I don't know why but I like making cordage. It's very relaxing. Nettles really are an amazing plant. Liked and subbed. Looking forward to viewing more of your projects. Please check out my channel as well. I don't have a lot of content or well made videos but the subject matter is interesting , I think, lol.
I wonder, would you recommend retting? It seems to be a tricky process, which I want to avoid if I can, and your method feels more straight to the point!
I reckon you could fill the hairnet up with grass or milkweed down or other softish and insulating fluffy stuff and use a bit of cordage as a kind of hatband to keep the ol' noggin warm without recourse to insulating materials like wool or fur
I found a Chessnut in the park and wanted to know if it could be eaten. So I went to youtube. Now I know about the edible and the unedible. Then I came to this video and I learned about using the unedible as soap!!! And now even as dye!! Only to now wonder: wool can be boiled? As in, heated up to 100 degrees Celcius? Does this mean your wool will not shrink in the washer/dryer?
Wool won't shrink if you heat it up slowly without agitation and avoid sudden temperature changes, it's the movement that causes shrinking more than the temperature in the washing machine
Sally - You have solved this mystery. As you stated, scissors were not yet invented, the idea of cutting after every knot is ridiculous. As a person that has been hand sewing (embroidery, garments and quilting) for 60 years, no way am I going to cut and re-thread a needle after every knot. Especially in poor lighting. Using a continuous thread, bullion knot, twisting, exiting the same hole, then finishing by securing with a knot at the base and grabbing a little bit of material would keep the "drumstick in place. Also, please fight the urge to use a long length of thread. If you would use a 20ish-inch length of thread you would have a lot less tangles. Just thread up 3 or 4 needles at one time, then sew until you run out. Take a break, stretch, rest your eyes, and have a cup of tea. Restart your music, audio book or old movie, thread up 3 or 4 more needles, and tuck in for another bit of sewing. Happy sewing my new friend!
I never knew that powder puffs were originally made of swan down. Later puffs were made of velvet (velour) and are much easier to replace. I HATE the modern foam “puffs” we’re stuck with now!! I replaced mine with the velour puffs; they’re two sided, and much easier to clean.
Link to another traditional soak making video, in China. I am frankly suspicious of the easy looking process, small quantities of raw materials, and very high quality results. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UbayL4PX9lc.html
Really glad your video came up in my feed. I love the twin pointed needless. I’ve just bought some modern ones. I keep thinking that the constant rethreading of the needle would cause the stitcher to find a more fluid method. Threading needles is a nuisance. I think your technique seems more efficient from a work flow standpoint. Hope you manage to get more information.
I have a theory about your theory! But first, beautiful job on this video and thank you for sharing your experiments and thought processes so thoroughly and in such a gorgeous setting! The nalbinding and stitchwork is fascinating to see in action and makes me want to try it myself! Your theory about the knot and back-ply method is so good, as well as your point about what kinds of cutting tools would have been on hand. I'm just thinking, commercial yarn is what's holding back your discoveries. The creators of these hats were likely spinning their own wool, which requires several time-consuming steps to get wool fibers into that finished commercial yarn state. My theory here is that your knot + back-ply theory would have allowed the craftsperson to actually ply a single spun strand of yarn onto itself, essentially doing the entire plying process straight ONTO the hat, allowing them to completely skip several steps of traditional yarn preparation! What's more, there are a handful of theories (Elizabeth Wayland Barber being one) that bronze-age cutting tools would have made ''shearing'' the sheep by cutting off the wool incredibly cumbersome and impractical, so the wool would have likely been harvested by brushing, combing, or simply plucking the fibers as the sheep is shedding them naturally, which could even eliminate the carding process! What if the entire piling process, from sheep combing, to (single strand) hand spinning, to needle piling/plying, could be executed by the shepherd or shepherdess WHILE they are outside grazing and guarding their flock? This would explain those jaw-dropping 120 hours - the maker was multitasking! I could also imagine this to be a great use for the less-profitable brown wool, so the shepherd could sell/trade the more-profitable white wool. I'm also wondering about those areas of nalbinding into a base of running stitches or blanket stitches - if they used an un-plied single strand there as well, I believe that could have added more stretch to the hat base. I've heard of some woven linen fabrics from the era utilizing single strands where the warp and weft are spun with opposite directions in the twist (''s'' twist vs ''z'' twist) to create a ''springy'' somewhat stretchy finished fabric. Perhaps using opposite directions in twist would have a similar springy outcome in naalbinding? Perhaps someone here would know? It would definitely be exciting to see you apply commenters' various theories to your experiment hat or even your next hat! I'm definitely subscribing for part 2!
According old Lithuanian cookbooks, you should remove shelves at first, then let them sit in fat milk for 48 hours, then cook in freshly replaced milk for about an hour (milk takes out tanines and reduces bitty). Only then roast and grind. Taste is amazing, reminds cocoa a bit for me :)
I don't understand the purpose of the rope stitch on the inside. If the little stitch holds all the layers together what's the rope stitch's actual purpose?
I’m ibsessed with beautiful handmade weaving & spinning tools. I’ve got a collection of beautiful wood scavenged from old house tear downs. My next project tho will be a hair harp!
Just a thought, firstly I absolutely have no knowledge of spinning or weaving but my thoughts are that the wool would have been less processed than modern alternatives and have more lanolin residue which perhaps would hold the twists and knots in place..
Very interesting - I'm wondering ( having no experience in these things but can't imagine they did every stalk separately) Did they maybe sew loops, knot them at the base then cut the loop in half and finish the stem with a Stevedore Knot ( also a lot of work but quicker and more doable also by not so clever hands) - also thinking if the yarn is in the grease that makes knots stick better.
What if instead of cutting the yarn after the bullion knot you did another bullion knot as the end of another strand, attached it to the cap, then afterwards you cut the double strand apart. That way you wouldn't have to take the yarn of the needle between strands.
I concur with the comments that veto cutting the threads. But if the cut method should be indeed correct you can make it easier on yourself making the first stopper knot by holding the end against your needle and winding it around then pulling the needle through to the end just like you do for ending the stitch. That way you don’t have to fiddle with the loose end as much. This is a method I’ve learned from a tailor for knotting the beginning of threads. Sorry if my explanation isn’t clear, I can try to explain more in depth if needed.
These are a lot like a pair of shoes I have from the brand Teva: The company claims that this particular style of shoe was made from one piece of leather. They do look quite primitive, but nothing like these you’re making…
newbie spinner and wanna be weaver here... during my "I wonder how people weave that?" rabbit hole research I did one night, I looked into how terry cloth was woven. Why is this relevant? the terry cloth looked more like uncut shag rug than terry cloth. wondering if this item was made with two layers like yours, but then the third was made of shag rug-like cloth, untrimmed? when you overspin your spinning (as newbies like me do :D), it curls up on itself just like the individual strands, and often gets knotty at the fold. Idea = use weft of two different strands- one is over spun single ply, second is not. found a video that shows the idea - woman is using a heavier weight yarn though. this method would account for the even-appearing length of the individual piles ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TzzKSkabNsc.html
The Loops with the knots, couldnt they have been made during the weaving of the superficial layer more like a knot carpet is made? And posteriorly usted as the external Layer? The needle method Seems very tedius
I think they may have used a smooth chopstick as a length measure for the knots, with a tightly spun single ply thread, do a whole row of them then slide the chopstick out and let them twist back on themselves. The wool may have been kept wet while they worked to help keep it from plying itself? Also, if you start the spiral inside from the top, then trim the fabric at the bottom, you could get a perfect number of perfect rows of spiral. Just hold the bottom together with a quick basting stitch till you get there.
When you were wrapping the pronged tool with flax, I couldn’t help but remember something I learned about the Planes Indians in the US: When things needed to be wrapped under pressure (tools, broken bones, etc), they used animal sinew. You keep it wet until you were ready to use, wrap firmly but not too tightly - because the sinew naturally shrinks as it dries, making a more secure binding.
This was such an interesting video - gives me lots of ideas on using that flexible blanket stitch joining for some more modern knitwear. Thanks for posting! And keeping the video long!
I think ppl forget that the Māori were, essentially, a stone age society before it was settled by the europeans. I find it interesting there are so many other kiwis in the comments, maybe we persisted in these crafts for just that reason
I think the gappy seam makes the fabric reusable if needed. In future you could full the edge tightly and use it as a more distinct edge, OR use some vertical running stitches to give it a different texture?
Maybe fix the knots with wax?Beeswax would help and would wear off over time, especially if you put heat on it afterwards...... but looping tufts just make more sense than on and off the needle!!! Your way looks much much better!
I have done a lot of tufting in my time (they make a nice shaggy inside to slippers!) and you would be absolutely BONKERS to cut it at each thread! I think that the bulk of the tufting end product suggests there are two knots per "tuft"; one at the fabric, one where you do it as a little bullion like knot. When you stitch tufting (without cutting, just looping) you'll find the thread naturally wants to do a little spiral, just like you did. I would do an overhand knot or a three-loop square/surgeon's knot to make it round like that but it makes so much more sense for it to be continuous, not cut. I think we forget that these hats were worn, so perhaps some fell apart or got cut over the years of wear, but were all little loops to begin with. Yarn that is knotted likes to break off near the knot end as a point of weakness, so that seems logical to me. What also seems logical is that the inner spiral went thru the entire 3 ply fabric, and made a kind of skeleton to do all the knot/tufty things, and the rest is just filling in the tufting. Seeing an empty hat with no framework to follow when filling the hat seems pretty daunting, and just because we can no longer see a structure in the dense tufting doesn't mean it wasn't there to begin with :)
As soon as you said that you ran out of space with the inner stem stitch I knew it was spirals! This is so interesting, thank you for including the new info
