Lucet

I am very pleased that I've finally got to grips with this particular craft! My lucet is a replica of those found on the Mary Rose; I bought it last year from a re-enactor manning the Mary Rose Trust stand at the Oak Fair. Although it came with written instrucitons, I was unable to fathom out how to actually get it to produce anything at all! One of the girls on the forum suggested learning a new skill for the duration of the olympic games, so I retrieved the lucet and had another go, still failing. So, on Saturday last, I went back to see the chap at the stand when we went to the Oak Fair, where his wife, also in period costume, gave me a quick lesson. Ten mionutes back home, and I was away! It's quite meditative in tis action in teh same way that knitting is. A lot of cordage can be produced in a short time. Although this is a replica of a Tudor one, I believe that similar have been in use since Viking times, so it's an ancient craft. similar in action and result to French knitting, the yarn is wound around teh prongs in a figure of eight, the bottom loop on the right-hand prong lifted up and over the one above it; the lucet is then flipped over and the manouvre repeated. The resulting cord passes through the hole to the desired length. The trick is to get the tensioning right, once you get that sorted, you're away! First project will be some funky laces for my DMs I think :)