Beauty in the Cord

A Lucet or Lucet Fork is an instrument that is believed make braided cords for laces, drawstrings and ties. Very little evidence has been found, but items that are believed to be used as Lucets could have been made from wood, bone or antler and while the actual shape is unknown, the earliest known Lucets were found in York, UK and Lund, Sweden. The Lund Lucet was made of hollow bone dated to the 11th Century, while the York Lucet was made from antler and have been dated to the 5th Century.

The Lund Lucet, hollowed bone with two prongs at the top for the threads to be looped around, is believed to be the closest to an actual medieval Lucet. It has a carved runic inscription that roughly translated means ‘twining bone’ or ‘threading bone’

Later archaeological investigations have found a bronze artefact that resembled the Lund Lucet and was dated from the 6th to the 8th Century and an iron Lucet that was made in the Middle Ages.

Potential Lucets have been found across Europe and have been referred to by the terms chain fork, thread twister or line winder.

Lucets seemed to become a popular pass time during the 18th and 19th Century and may have been included in sewing kits.

Modern depictions of a Lucet are lyre shaped, with or without a handle and a hole in the main body for the cord to be thread through. Wool, cotton or linen can be looped around the two prongs and looped over each other to create a square cord. The cords can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish, with different colours or threaded with beads or charms, the possibilities are endless.