They say that what’s old is soon new again, what was in style will come in style again, that Retro is “in.” With all that in mind, I designed my Medieval inspired Surprisingly Easy Wavy Lace tabard, cinched at the waist with cord ties made with a Viking era lucet.

The tabard started out in the 13th century as a simple outer garment for “plain folks” such as peasants and monks. Later, in the middle of the 15th century, you could see knights wearing them over their armour, proudly displaying their coat of arms on the chest.

The hallmark of the humble tabard is no side seam. It’s held together by side ties or a belt. In the spirit of my Old is New again theme, I made my side ties with a good old fashioned Viking lucet and I’ve included a photo tutorial so you can make your cords that way too. (If you prefer making I-cords, I’ve included instructions for that). Although there are many types of cords you can make with a lucet, I selected the basic single thread cord. it’s a 4-sided cord that’s very strong. I’ve also included some resources for you to learn more about using a lucet.

My tabard is a surprisingly easy knit, made with knit stitches only. I’ve included instructions for joining the shoulders with a 3-needle bind off, in case that’s something you’d like to learn. If you can cast on, do a knit stitch, yarn over and knit two stitches together, you can tackle my design!

Lace s-t-r-e-t-c-h-es, so my pattern will fit sizes Small through XL. I’ve included guidelines in case you want to make larger sizes, but please bear in mind these are not meant to fit snugly around the body, but just cover the front and back.

I’m always available to answer questions and help my knitters achieve fabulous results, so feel free to Email me at the address listed on the pattern if you have any questions as you work up the design.