Hunting for that perfect button for your project can be frustrating. Sometimes you want a button that is subtle and blends perfectly with the color and texture of your project yarn. But button-buying isn't an easy thing to do online. And spending time driving between stores can take an entire day and yield zero results. And we all know that no matter how many buttons you have, you never seem to have the perfect one for your current project!
Enter the handy lucet. With a lucet in your fiber arsenal, you will always have a button that matches the color and fiber of your project. You can easily make a cord out of your project yarn and use it to tie a Chinese Button Knot. The result is a perfectly matched button every time.
There are many tutorials for the Chinese Button Knot already published online. After reviewing several, this is the one that was easiest for me to follow. The numbers in the photo above correspond to the steps laid out in the linked tutorial.
A few lucet-specific notes on creating button knots:
1. Control the size of the button by varying the number of strands you use to make your cord. Bigger button = more strands used in your cord.
2. I made a cord from a single strand of DK weight Viva Glitz. The knot itself only used about 4" of the cord, although I needed at least 11 inches of length to comfortably work a knot at this gauge. (Check out our free, online tutorials for instructions on making a cord.)
3. Just because you need at least 11 inches to make the knot doesn't mean you need 11 inches of cord! (See previous point.) You can leave long tails on your lucet cord to aid in the knot tying. At the end, once you've tightened the knot, the tails can be removed.
4. Once your knot is complete, cut your lucet cord and unravel it a bit so that it is snug to the knot. Use the tail to weave the two short ends of cord back onto itself. Now you have a button. (Don't forget to use a tapestry needle to "fasten off" the lucet cord once you've unraveled it.
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Questions? Let me know in comments below.
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The most comprehensive guide to this ancient tool yet published! Do more with the yarn you already have! Learn to use this ancient Viking cording tool to make strong and very sturdy cords that you can use in so many ways. Make your knit and crochet projects even better. Use them to make drawstrings, lacings, buttons and embellishments for your knit and crochet projects. Also make jewelry, designer shoelaces, home improvement hacks and more with these strong cords. Author Jennifer Hansen teaches you 6 fundamental cord types and give you full instructions for 8 fun, easy and useful lucet projects. |