Beaded Lucet Cord

In this tutorial I will be showing you how to make a lucet cord with beads set right into the cord. This is a fun type of cord to make, and it can be used for many types of projects. At the end of the tutorial I will include one of the ways you can make this cord into a lovely necklace or bracelet without the need for a metal clasp.

Below are the materials that I used for making the cord in this tutorial. But feel free to use any type of strong and smooth thread/yarn you want. But for your first try you will probably want to stay away from super thin thread and really thick yarn. Something around fingering to DK weight would probably be a good place to start. You also want to make sure you choose beads that can fit on a doubled over strand of your thread/yarn.

---Materials---

Size 3 crochet cotton

Size 6/0 glass seed beads

Crochet hook (with a head small enough to fit through your beads)

Note about crochet hooks- you could replace the crochet hook with a short piece of fine wire folded in half to make a beading needle. For this pictorial I will be doing that with a piece of 26 gauge wire. Although the gauge is not really important as long as the folded wire works with your chosen thread and beads.

Step 1 - Getting Started

If your lucet has a hole for the cording to go through, pull a 6-8 inch thread tail from the front to the back of the lucet. If your type of lucet does not have a hole just hold the tail centered on the front of the lucet while getting the cord started.

---A quick note before we start, I will be calling the first prong we make a stitch on P1 and the second prong P2. Because as we turn the lucet around and around the terms left prong or right prong could get confusing, as it would depend on what side of the lucet you were looking at. So to help keep track of where you are it is helpful to have one of your prongs marked in some way so you know what side you are on. ---

To start your cord you need to wrap your thread into a figure-8 shape around the prongs of your lucet. With the tail still in the hole of your lucet take the working yarn counterclockwise around the right hand prong (P1) from the front to the back, forward through the middle of the prongs to the front side of the left hand prong (P2), clockwise around the left hand prong to the backside, then back through the middle of the prongs, ending with your working thread in front of the right hand prong (P1) above the last loop.

Step 2 - Stitch on First Prong

Now we will wrap the thread around the P1 from the front to the back. Turn your lucet over counter-clock wise (like a page in a book) so that the backside of the lucet is now facing you.

Lift the bottom loop of yarn over the new loop your wrap has just made, and off the prong. Pull your working yarn to tighten up the stitch you just made. (you may also find it helps to pull on the top of the loop on P2 to tighten your knot up) But stop tightening it when the loop just goes closed.

Step 3 - Stitch on Second Prong

Now repeat the last step by wrapping your yarn around P2 from front to back, then turn your lucet counter-clock wise.

Now lift the bottom loop over the new top loop, and off the prong. Tighten your new stitch.

Repeat step 2 and 3 until you are ready to add your first bead. In this example I am doing 20 stitches total between each bead, 10 stitches on each prong. Although you do not have to keep stitch count. Another option is to just eye it and place beads at a similar spacing, or you can simply place them anywhere you want.

Step 4 - Adding Beads

With your thread in front of P1, use the crochet hook (or wire needle) to pull one bead onto the thread forming a loop of thread in the process.

Now place that loop of thread around P1, making sure the loop is not twisting. You want the working thread to still be going around the prong and coming out at the back like normal.

Now slide your bead into the middle of the cord that is forming.

Turn your lucet over counterclockwise like usual, and lift the bottom loop over the new top loop and off of the prong. Tighten down your stitch like before.

Then make a stitch on P2 just like in step 3. By wrapping your yarn around P2 from front to back, turn your lucet counter-clock wise, lift the bottom loop over the new top loop, and off the prong. Tighten your new stitch.

You have now locked you bead down, and you can continue making the cord with steps 2 and 3. If you are counting how many stitches you are doing between each bead you do not need to count the 2 stitches it took to lock the bead in place.

Step 5 - Ending Your Cord

When you are ready to end your cord cut a 6 to 8 inch tail, and pull it through the loop on P1 from the top to bottom.

Pull the loop off of P1 and tighten it down like you would normal stitch.

Then pull your tail through the loop on P2 the same way, from the top to bottom, take the old loop off P2, and tighten down the last loop.

You have now finished your cord! It is ok if your 2 tails are not quite the same, because we will be trimming them in the last step.

Step 6 - Making a Clasp

To make this style of clasp you will need a few of the same beads we used in making the cord and a wire needle. (A beading needle should work well for this too) Place your needle on one of the tails and slide on about 3 beads. Then take your needle off and move it over to your other tail. Pull that tail through the same 3 beads, but in the opposite direction.

Now pull 2 beads onto the thread tail your needle is currently still on, then move the needle back to the first tail and pull 2 beads onto it as well.

Now decide how long you want this clasp to be able to extend, then tie a couple of knots at the end of each tail. I normally tie 2 or 3 knots on top of each other to make sure the beads can not slip off.

Then just trim off the extra thread leaving about a ¼ inch tail after your knots.

And that’s it, all finished! You can make a necklace or bracelet with this style, and once you get the hang of it you can make these really quickly.

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