This is a really fun jewelry project because it uses a hangman’s knot. (You know, it's the knot that’s used to actually hang people!)
Here, I used the knot in a purely decorative way to make earrings out of my travel mementos. These are some shellls I found while beachcombing in Mexico. To drill a hole, I used my dremel tool. A trusty dremel tool allows you to make a bead out of just about anything! Before I invested in my dremel tool, I used a manual hand drill similar to this one for my crafty pursuits. I highly recommend having a tool to drill holes into things, it really opens up your creative opportunities.
You could make your earrings with just about any small, meaningful memorabilia that you have on hand.
See how I made mine below.
MATERIALS
Approx 7 yards Lucci Linen, Fingering Weight
(4) Seashells or other mementos
(IF NEEDED) Dremel Tool or hand drill
(2) Silver ear wires
(2) Silver Big Hole beads
(OPTIONAL) (2) Jump Rings
Lucet
Scissors
Step 1 - Make lucet cord: Make a simple 24”lucet cord with the yarn. You can use the basic turn lucet cord or the no-turn lucet cord technique. Your choice! The lucet cord will be more than long enough for your earrings (we are erring on the side of caution and to make the project easier to work). You can save the extra cord for future projects. (Check out my book, Learn to Lucet, to learn more cords and get more ideas on what you can make with your lucet.)
Step 2 - Add first shell: Bring the end of the lucet cord from back to front through your shell (or other memento). Tie an overhand knot at the cord end to secure the shell onto the cord. Snip off any remaining end as close as possible to the knot.
Step 3 - Add big hole bead and start hangman’s knot: Thread the bead on and leave about 2” away from the top of the shelll (or your desired measure for the longest length of the earring). Fold the cord as pictured above. This is the beginning of the hangman’s knot.
Step 4 - Hangman’s knot: Complete the hangman’s knot as per this video. A few things to keep in mind as you work the knot in the video:
The “working end” is the length of lucet cord without the shell attached, the “length end” is the side of the lucet cord with the shell already attached.
You created the “S shape” already in step #2.
Start to work your wraps from the big hole bead, down.
I used 5 wraps for these earrings, but you can use fewer or more based on what appeals to you.
Tighten the noose around the big eye bead and pull any extra slack through to the working end of the lucet cord. Adjust and twist your knot as necessary until it looks like you want it to.
Step 5 - Attach second seashell: Slide the second seashell up so that it dangles above the first seashell. Tie an overhand knot as you did in Step 2, pull the knot tightly to secure then snip the cord as close as possible to the knot. You will use the remaining cord for your second earring.
Step 6 - Attach earwire: I made my own earwire with an extra large loop to fit through the big eye bead. If you don’t make your own earwires, you might need an appropriately-sized jump ring to join the earwire to the earring.
__
Did you make this project (or one inspired by it) with your lucet? Post your photos on Instagram , FB or Twitter with tag #LucetWorkout. For a chance to win a prize! On Monday, January 8, 2018 I'll pick my 3 favorite photos. Besides sharing your great work with our followers in our newsletter and on social media, we will give each of these 3 people a $50 gift certificate to use at stitchdiva.com
 |
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. |