Using Lucet Tool for Braided Cords

I sew purses, pouches, and bags and am always looking for ideas for different types of straps, especially for different fabrics, such as felted bags, for example. When I saw a Lucet demonstrated a few years ago I was so intrigued and had to give it a try. It’s fun and a quick way to create uniquely braided cords.

The Lucet is an old tool, dating back to the Vikings. The Vikings used it to create braided cords for lacing up clothes and creating cords for a lot of uses around the old village and on the ship. The Lucet definitely makes a strong cord.

Depending on which way the yarn, leather, or string is wrapped around the forks of the Lucet will determine the style of braid.

I had some metallic yarn that I got to make a shawl but I really did not like it so I decided that it would serve better as cording. With the metallic yarn I wrapped the yarn straight across the forks and flipped the tool around as I worked. This creates an almost flat braid, much like a shoelace.

The Lucet tool is a two-pronged fork shape with a hole at the base. The hole is totally optional but is handy to keep the growing cord in control and out of the way.

With the wool, I wrapped the yarn in a figure eight as I worked, keeping the tool in the same position.

In the photograph below the cord has been worked a few inches. Start by inserting end of yarn in hole and wrapping a figure-eight on the tool. In the photograph, the next step is to pull the bottom loop on left Lucet leg up over the top loop. Snug up the yarn but not too much because you need to have some slack for working room.

Next, bring the yarn under the right Lucet leg and up and over. Now pull up the bottom loop over the top loop and snug up a bit. I like to hold my thumb on top of the growing cord to hold it down a bit, which helps keep the braiding consistent. 

It's really a simple process. It just takes a little practice to learn the tension and gain a rhythm. Be sure to snug up the bottom loop before passing it over the top loop. This gives nice tension and also working room to allow the loop to pass up and over.

The metallic yarn is flatter. For this result I just held the yarn across the top of the Lucet legs and twisted the Lucet around and around as I worked each fork leg.

Sorry, the metallic yarn doesn't work well under flash and it was such an overcast, gloomy day when I took the photograph but I think you can see here that the resulting cord is flatter than the wool cord. It's smaller because the yarn is thinner but it's also flat compared to the squarish shape of the wool cord.

The wool cord is intended for a purse strap for a small cross-body bag I have planned. The metallic yarn cords are intended for wrist straps for some small clutches I made already.

You would think that with all the straps and cords I make and have made over the years I would not have an old bathrobe tie functioning as my curtain tie-back in the craft room. I keep thinking that I really need to make an actual strap or cord for that curtain but it always gets put on the back burner. The bathrobe has long been retired and I just happened to grab the tie one day to hold back the curtain and it's still there, all these years later.