Earlier in the calendar I described the nalbound mittens from the Viking age that have been found, but there is also a sock. It comes from York and is nalbound with fine wool yarn and small stitches. Compared to other Viking age finds it seems as one of a kind, but if we instead compare it to finds from the Swedish medieval period, it becomes a typical sock, at least regarding its shape. It is low, like a modern ankle sock, with a coloured edge. From the medieval Sweden there are actually more finds of nalbound socks than of mittens and most of them are just as low as the sock from York. This means that I dare to believe that nalbound socks were more common than we believe during the Viking age too and we just haven’t found them yet. But there are no more nalbound garments from the Viking age than these mittens and this sock. There is nothing that indicates that caps or larger garments were created with nalbinding in the areas where Vikings lived.

The sock to the left is, despite the small stitches, actually not made with as fine a yarn as the original.

You can buy our pattern and description of the nalbound sock here: Nalbinding