Ancient to Modern - the Lucet

Hello all - Jenny here. Wanted to take a sec and introduce Cooky Schock. She is a fibers/mixed media artist from San Diego. Former owner of The Shepherdess Bead store - that's how I met her during my tenure there. She is joining the team here at AJE, and you will get a full introduction soon, promise. These "Lucet" things really intrigue me - stop by at Beadfest for demos and more info. Cooky will be next to me at #462 in Artisan's Alley!   

Here's what she had to say: 

While researching different thread-made chains to use with my micro macrame work, I cam across and article about the lucent. Coincidentally, at the same time I saw a PBS special about the Vikings. In one scene in the background some men were making ropes using antlers as the tool. 

More research, more discoveries. Now fast forward to Medieval times where many objects of everyday use were hung by the waist with cords. Cords were used for drawing up bags to keeping up undies, etc. You name it and cords were involved! All these cords were handmade, usually on a simple but very essential implement known as the LUCET. This simple tool has been through many eras but the basic shape has remained constant.

The fork design is the most common, but a lucent made of more precious material such as ivory. .tortoise shell or mother of pearl usually did not have a handle. 

My first lucent was created using a pickle fork and sawing off the center tines!

The lucet I now sell are made from a variety of recycled exotic hardwoods made by a woodworker from Crickhowell, a small rural village in southern Wales. 

Any weight fiber can be used with any lucet and beads can be added as well. The braid itself is square and very strong. 

Besides using the cord for chain, you can create I-cord much easier and faster than knitting or crocheting.  It’s such an easy tool to use that even children have fun working with it. If you’re at BeadFest, please come by my booth #462 in Artisan Alley and try out this fun little tool know as the lucet. 

Freeform Friday - Victorian hair jewelry

Happy Halloween. Happy All Soul's Day & All Saint's Day...
It the time of year when "the veil is thin" and the deceased are brought to mind. With festivals and remembrances, with pictures and mementos... and with hair? 

Last week I shared with you the variety of Victorian mourning jewelry, designed and worn to commemorate and immortalize the lost loved one. But the tradition of hairwork encompassed more than mourning the dead. Hair was used as a token of remembrance among the living as well. 

The small town of Vamhus Sweden had a reputation for their hair plaiting cottage industry. As a town only needs so many hair weavers... they spread out over Europe in the early 1800's and the traditions took hold. ( I couldn't make this up). In the 1850's Queen Victoria gave Empress Eugenie a bracelet plaited of her own hair. And as we know from the rise in popularity of Whitby jet from last week - once Queen Victoria endorsed a product, it became all the rage. 

 Godey's ladies magazine - the Vogue of the 1800's says this: 

"Hair is at once the most delicate and last of our materials and survives us like

love. It is so light, so gentle, so escaping from the idea of death, that, with a

lock of hair belonging to a child or friend we may almost look up to heaven 

and compare notes with angelic nature, may almost say, I have a piece of thee 

here, not unworthy of thy being now."

Mourning Brooch
USA c. 1848 Gold, enamel, hair, glass
Inscription:
Brooch: “H. G. Otis, / Died Octr. 28th 1848 / G. H. Otis, Died Octr. 24th 1848.”
Locket: “George H. Otis Died 1848”

Brooch
USA, 1864. Hair, gold
H. 2, W. 2 11/16, D. 3/8 in.
Inscription: Front: “Julia” Back: “Died Apl 22. 1864”

 Intricate three dimensional pieces crafted from the hair of an entire family - framed in a shadow box.
Hair worked on a table with bobbins, as classic lace makers and tatters would do...  and a drawing room social activity? Fix a pot of tea, or a glass of sherry... we are working on hair tonight after dinner. Wow.

"Beginning in the 1850's through the 1900's, hairwork became a drawing room 

pastime. Godey's Lady's Book and Peterson's Magazine gave instructions and 

patterns for making brooches, cuff links, and bracelets at home. 

The work was done on a round table. Depending on the height of the table, it 

could be done sitting or standing... The hair must be boiled in soda water for 15 minutes. It was then sorted into lengths and divided into strands of 20-30 hairs. Most pieces of jewelry required long 

hair. For example, a full size bracelet called for hair 20 to 24" long...

Almost all hairwork was made around a mold or firm material. Snake bracelets 

and brooches, spiral earrings and other fancy hair forms required special 

molds which were made by local wood turners. The mold was attached to the 

center hole in the work table. The hair was wound on a series of bobbins, and 

weights were attached to the braid work to maintain the correct level and to 

keep the hair straight. When the work was finished and while still around the 

mold, it was taken off, boiled for 15 minutes, dried and removed from the 

mold. It was then ready to go to a jewelers for mounting. (hairwork.com)"

Photo credits Morning Glory jewelry

Photo credits Morning Glory jewelry

I find it a little bit creepy, and quite a bit fascinating. Not uncommon to this day to save a lock of a baby's hair. And I am reminded of the O. Henry story "The Gift of the Magi" where the newlywed wife sells her hair to but her husband a watch fob. ( He of course has pawned the watch to buy her gold hair combs...) 

I hope this was interesting to you! I found it more and more interesting in a quirky way the more I read... Have a hair raising weekend! 

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor.com

Resources - 

Morning Glory jewelry

Hairwork.com

Saturday Share...Ball Chain End Loops

Earlier this week on Facebook, a dear friend and fellow artist, Carol Myers, asked if anyone knew of a tutorial to make wire loops for the end of ball chain.  After several folks chimed in and googled and left links, we found several links to mass produced findings that would add a loop to the end, but not any hand-made ones.  

The standard connector for ball chain...boring!

I took this as a challenge and vowed to come up with a workable solution for today's post!  I had actually toyed with this before and never really got it worked out...the wire has to be sturdy enough to actually function as a hook for a clasp, but flexible enough to twist around the tiny wire between the little balls.

Some early attempts...pretty pitiful!

My first attempts were not pretty...but surprisingly functional.  I originally thought I would start about 3 balls from the end and wrap the wire around each ball until the end one and then make a loop, bringing the wire back down to wrap around the same 3 balls in the opposite direction.  That actually works and I am going to try it again with bigger chain and making it cleaner.  My next attempts utilized larger wire structures that were wrapped on with smaller gauged wire.

Here is what I finally liked.  You will need:

wire - 26g soft 6-8 inches
wire - 18g soft approx 3 inches
round nose pliers
flat nose pliers
butane torch
steel block or anvil
hammer
a bit of perserverance!

• Cut 18g wire into 2 pieces
• Using your torch, ball the ends of each piece.  You may go through a practice period to get 2 finished double ball pins the same length (I neglected to take a photo of that, sorry)
• Wrap the pin around the base of your round nose pliers
• Using flat nose pliers, right next to the ball ends, make a sharp bend to straighten.

• Using your steel block and hammer, gently harden your loop.  I put mine back over the round nose pliers and straightened out the legs a bit.
• Attach the end of the 26g wire to one of the legs of the loop.  I wrap around once just so it won't come off.  Then you can place the end of the ball chain where you want it and begin weaving the wire around.  It is hard to see the actual wrapping in the photos, as I was taking my own photos and only have 2 hands!!

The actual weave is an over/under, like a figure-eight, but with a third wrap...here is a crude diagram I drew that hopefully will explain it better.  I am sure there is a technical term for this.  The dots are the legs of the structure with the ball chain in the middle, and the arrowed lines are your 26 gauge wire...clear as mud?

• Continue wrapping until you feel the structure is secure...usually about 3 or 4 passes. Snip the wire and tuck it firmly so that it won't snag later.  You can straighten your wraps with your pliers or your fingernail. 
• Attach clasp of your choice.
• Optional: Use desired patina and give it a whirl in a tumbler for strength and polish.

I know you will do a better job of getting your wraps neater and more symmetrical!!

So there you go... would love to hear of ideas or methods any of you have played with finishing ball chain ends!

Happy Saturday! I am off to BeadFest for the afternoon!

Melissa Meman

Melismatic Art Jewelry

Art. Life. Love.