Making a Lucet Cord

As I was busily making a lucet cord while watching TV tonight I was struck by the memory of how challenging a skill it was for me to learn.

As with most things I do, I had no one first hand to teach me. Normally, I don't have much of a problem with reading how something is done and then just jumping in and having a go at it. Usually with good success. Not so with my experience with the lucet.

First, I read the pamphlet that came with my lucet... confusion, followed by a knotted lump of string. I am left-handed so I thought it may have something in my translation so I turned to the Internet for more reading on left-handed instructions. Still no luck.  I just couldn't seem to get the tension right, it was either too loose or so tight I could not pull the threads over the tines of the lucet.  It was after much frustration and many websites that I finally stumbled across this YouTube video that for some reason, in its simplicity, made it all so clear to me.

If you have been struggling with Lucet cord making, don't give up, watch someone in person or on video and the light bulb will eventually go off for you too.

And, yes, I am using the right handed method.  I find it easiest to learn most new skills that my hands do not already have a primary roll in preforming with my right hand (for example I knit right handed but embroider with my left).  It makes it easier for other people to teach me and so I can teach others later on as well.

Backstrap Loom Construction

A simple loom which has its roots in ancient civilizations comprising two sticks or bars between which the warps are stretched. One bar is attached to a fixed object and the other to the weaver usually by means of a strap around the back.

"A Backstrap loom would suffice or any variation upon that to produce complex patterns of band. This would of course leave very little in the way of archaeological finds, and perhaps answer why nothing in the way of looms as described have been found. Ethnographic evidence from the Middle-East prior to WW2 shows ladies weaving bands with backstrap looms made from little more than sticks..."

Tablet Woven Garters - Finished!

I have been working on my first piece of tablet weaving in the evenings while watching TV with the family. It was probably not the best time to be working on a project that needed a bit of concentration in order to keep the pattern straight. I made more than one mistake along the way. I looked at it as a learning tool... having to turn back the cards and unweave.

The thing I really need to work on is getting my selvages smoother. I am just not sure if I am pulling too tight or not tight enough. It will come with practice I am sure.

The other major lesson I learned was to always allow for more warp then you think you will need for the project. My poor husband got recruited to hold the loose ends of my warp for my last eleven turns as I didn't have enough warp left to tie a knot and still turn the cards.

But, here they are... my first tablet woven item... garters! Now I just need to make stockings to go with them.


For the A&S 50 Challenge these will be one item under my Persona challege (linen garters) and also one item for my skills challenge (tablet weaving).

I have also started researching period German recipes for my third A&S 50 Challenge. I have found many that I can make and feed to my family to test them out. Once I have tested a recipe I will add to a cookbook doc which I will print out at the end of the challenge for display.

Next Project - Garters

I know I haven't finished the apron yet, but I am waiting on some linen thread to do the hem with so it has been set aside for now.

That allows me the time to play with some new things that came in the mail today from Halcyon Yarn...

A belt shuttle, as the Inkle Loom I got for Christmas did not come with a shuttle, and two dozen tablet weaving cards. 

I also ordered four mini spools of linen warping yarn (the black is on backorder).  This linen yarn is Newport 16/2 Linen in the 300 yard cone.  It is a dry spun yarn that has a nice sheen to it.

With all these new things to play with I started on my next project - garters to hold up my future stockings.  The plan is to use this small project as a learning tool for tablet weaving.  I plan to use my Inkle loom to weave on.  Some people often refer to this as a "TWinkle loom" when tablet weaving is woven on an Inkle loom.  Whatever one calls it, this will be my second weaving project ever and my first tablet weaving... we will see how it goes.

My new Inkle Loom!

My wonderful husband got me a Schacht Inkle Loom for Christmas this year! 

By Christmas afternoon I had created my heddles using crochet cotton, warped the loom with some found grey and pink wool/cotton blend yarns from my stash and had over eight inches of weaving done!  It is so much fun.  I quickly discovered I had an error in my warping which showed in the finished weave but as this is just a practice weave which will be a non-SCA belt for six year old "M" I opted to leave it as it was instead of rewarping the whole project.

Although this design of loom does not fall within the time period of the SCA the resulting Inkle, the woven belt or trim it creates, is documentable to the SCA time frame.  I have several projects I would like to use inkle weaving in:

1. Stocking garters
2. Woven Belt
3. possibly trim for my new hemd

Learning Kumihimo

Tonight was our bi-monthly SCA Canton meeting.  I think the cold weather and closeness to the holidays kept most folks at home as it was just our family and two others that attended the meeting.

I was looking forward to the topic tonight, Kumihimo cord weaving.  I had seen several women making them while at Winter Solstice last week and was curious to learn more about it.  Kumihimo is an ancient Japanese form of braid-making.

Tessa had brought a few CDs that she had cut slots around the edges to hold the strings.  She taught us a basic 2 color, 8 string weaving pattern.  It turns out that the two colors of crochet weight string were not of the same size which made for an interesting pattern on mine.  It was lots of fun to learn and I look forward to finishing my cord.  It will most likely by used as a pouch drawstring someday.