I don't know how common this might be, but I do my nalbinding (nålbinding/naalbinding/etc) quite a bit differently than any instructions show. I keep my working loops on a long long knitting needle, and hold that the way an English cottage knitter does. I use a small tapestry needle for my naal, and I mostly work with thinner cotton yarns. Since you can't wet splice those, I Russian join the segments together. The whole thumb-hold thing never really worked well for me; even when it went right, my fabric would be all loose. That's probably just a skill issue that I could overcome with time, but my way works now, so I stick to it lol. Also, it helps me keep track of which loop is which. If I'm doing it correctly, this ought to be Mammen stitch. I hope.
That said, the traditional way clearly works very well for most people! Look at this person's beautiful stitches.
