Mammen Stitch Hat Pattern
Nalbinding Hat Pattern – Mammen
A pattern for making a naalbinding hat using the Mammen Stitch. (Finnish 1+2)
Nalbinding stitches are formed by making loops that are wrapped around your thumb, rather than using a knitting needle or crochet hook. Since everyone’s thumb is a different size it is difficult to define the number of stitches required. Frequent checking of your work needs to be done to see if the article will fit around your head, your hands or foot.
Nalbinding Chain
Start the nalbinding hat by making a Nalbinding Chain.
This nalbinding hat is worked from the bottom up.
Suggested Yarn weight: DK weight wool yarn
Approximate amount required: 50-60 grams
Work a length of chain until it fits around your head.
For this hat, I worked a chain of approximately 90 stitches – 24 inches (61 cm).
I make the chain about an inch longer than what I need, as it takes a few stitches for the nalbinding loops to fully form.
Nalbinding is worked using short lengths of yarn (2 – 8 meters in length)
The yarn ends can be joined by using a Russian Join technique.
The yarn ends are joined by threading the yarn through a needle. Wrap the yarn around the needle. Form a loop on the needle. Wrap the new yarn through the loop and pass the needle through the old yarn.
Repeat with the new yarn, wrapping the yarn around the needle, and pull the needle through. Tighten the 2 ends and trim.
Mammen Stitch – Finnish 1+2 – Closeup
The Mammen Nalbinding stitch or Finnish 1+2 is formed by picking up 1 new stitch plus 2 previous stitches from behind the thumb.
The nalbinding needle is then rotated to go under the Thumb Loop and through the yarn that is wrapped around your thumb.
After joining the chain loop work in rounds using the Mammen Stitch until you have reached the top of the hat. For this hat I worked 13 rows.
Check the size frequently as you are stitching to ensure that your stitch lengths remain at an even tension.
Top of the Hat
To form the top of the hat begin to decrease row by row. Decreasing in Nalbinding is similar to decreasing in crochet.
When pickup up the new stitch from the previous row, skip a stitch and pick up the next one.
For this hat I decrease 10 times across the row.
1st Row: (over 90 stitches work 8 stitches, skip a stitch, repeat.
2nd row: Work 7 stitches, skip a stitch, repeat.
3rd Row: Work 6 stitches, skip a stitch, repeat.
Repeat until you get to the top of the hat with a few stitches remaining. Close the remaining loop by sew these stitches together.
Sew in remaining ends.
ORIGINAL FILE DATE: Oct 21, 2023
Categories: NALBINDING
