Historical Crafting: Lucets
I’m not a fan of tchochkes (though I have many, mostly because my partner is like a penguin and enjoys giving me various tchockes he thinks will make me happy, which I find so adorable that I can’t help but love all the little doodads), so when we got ourselves a secondhand 3D printer I had no desire to print useless plastic toys just for the sake of having them. I wanted to print useful things, but as someone who is not very well versed in technology (I am, in the most traditional sense of the word, a luddite) I didn’t really know what you could make beyond the little models I’ve seen for D&D games. And then I found websites where people upload their designs for anyone else to use for free! I love the community aspect of open source and shared works, where people create and then other people adjust and update the original works. I think it’s a beautiful way that communities have formed even online. But I digress. On these websites, I discovered that tons of creative crafters out there have figured out ways to print and create crafting and fiber art tools that, though maybe not as good as the original, are definitely way more affordable. I could talk on and on about all the cool things I found that I’m excited to print at some point so I can improve my techniques or try something new, but today I’m talking about one specific tool I found.
All that ramble to bring us to: the lucet. (The one I printed is from Thingiverse, designed by MakIrm). For those of you who don’t know, the lucet is a two-pronged tool used in cordmaking (aka very strong string). This thing has been around for ages (though the exact origins aren’t definitive, it seems to have been used all the way back in the Viking and Medieval periods), and it honestly hasn’t changed too much in design. At its core, it’s got two prongs attached together at one end - modern ones are often lyre-shaped, some with a hole in the handle for the cord to pass through, and are usually made of wood. The size and materials don’t matter a ton, it’s mostly personal preference for what is comfortable in hand. For real, I’ve heard people have snapped the two center tines off a fork and used that as a lucet. Actually, this would probably be a great project if you want to try out wood carving, since the dimensions and symmetry don’t really matter much.
Now that you have a sense of what it looks like, the next questions are what does it do, how does it work, and why would you want to use it, all these years later.
Let’s start with the why (because it is more interesting and less confusing that trying to verbally explain the how - anyone else learn best by seeing and doing, and find verbal instructions confusing and hard to pay attention to?). Have you ever broken a shoelace or drawstring? Do you dabble in historical garment making and need some very long lacing cords? Ever tried fingerbraiding and been frustrated with the finite length the braid could be? Are you just a fidgety person who likes to have busy hands with zero stakes? Then the lucet might be for you! This little tool takes very little thought (once you get through the awkward, fiddly bit of learning and get yourself into a rhythm), can make cord of various sizes, elasticity, materials, designs, and any length you want. I’ve used mine as a fidget toy, to make drawstrings for my clothes, to make cord for hanging items, and to make some lacing cord for a corset. But really, wherever you need string that is stronger than normal, but don’t feel like fiddling with braiding, a lucet might be the right answer.
As for the what, it’s basically interlocking loops of string to make a thicker and stronger string. The thicker and stretchier the string you use, the thicker and stretchier the final lucet made cord will be. Inversely, using thinner no-stretch string will create a smaller and less stretchy cord. So really it depends on your use case, but the possibilities are almost endless. You can also make decorative cord using threads of different colours and even beads to create beautiful designs (though I have yet to get so advanced in my skill).
Now for the how, the trickiest of the questions. How it is made is actually fairly simple in practice (especially once you get into a rhythm), but the explanation in words might make it seem more daunting. So don’t get discouraged if while reading this your brain tries to revolt and take a vacation. There are tons of helpful tutorials online that will visually walk you through each step. To start, you want to put the yarn twice around the prongs in a figure-eight shape, holding the tail end of the yarn at the bottom of the lucet handle (or through the hole if you have one). This will give you two loops on each prong. Lift the bottom loop over the top loop, and pull the tail end to tighten. Rotate the lucet fork to continue wrapping the working yarn around the prongs and pulling the bottom loop over the top loop. This will be quite fiddly to begin, but once you get some cord formed and a rhythm going, it actually becomes quite relaxing and quick. Once you’ve got the length of cord you desire, you cast off by removing the loops from the prongs and passing the remaining yarn through them and then knotting it tightly.
And there you have it. You are now a pro-lucetter! Go forth and make all the cord your heart desires, or maybe even make more cord than you know what to do with because you’ve found your newest (historical) fidget toy. Whatever you do, whether you try it once and never do it again, or if you become a professional lucetter, the important thing is that you be curious and make things.
