Probably, the first time you have heard of a lanyard is when you were given an ID card to hang from your neck at the school, office, or visiting some secure facility. But the concept of a Lanyard is centuries old, you know. Today, we will discuss what exactly a lanyard is and how to make one of them.
Lanyards are a successful piece of small but important business these days, as well as a craft or hobby. Starting a lanyard can be quite a lot of fun, we will see.
What is a Lanyard
A lanyard as we know it is a small cord or strap that you wear around your neck, wrist, or waist to hang something small and light, like keys or ID cards. To gather all the uses of a lanyard, we can redefine it as a piece of cord specifically designed to hold onto one end of a small object, and the other side of the cord or strap handled by a human.
That definition may sound odd, until you know that lanyards are not only used to hang small stuff from your belt or neck, but they are also used to trigger explosives — like pulling out the pin in an artillery shell, or on air-dropped bombs. They were also used in the Wild West (refer to “The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly”) by gunslingers to “sling” their pistols or revolvers from the waist or shoulders.
In shape, a lanyard is basically a short (1-2 feet long) piece of looped rope, cord, tape, or strap. One end of it is smoothly looped, and the other end usually holds the mechanism that latches onto a small object like a card or a bunch of keys.
How to Start a Lanyard
Let us look at some tips about starting a lanyard. It is not as difficult as some think, and it could be quite fun.
Choose the Material
The first thing about lanyards is that they are 99% fabric. So, you have to choose your fabric first of all. The material of the fabric should be strong enough to support the weight of the object it is supposed to hold up, and also it should be able to resist accidental jerking or yanks.
But not only that, the fabric of the lanyard should also be soft, in case you are going to wear it in contact with bare skin. It should not chafe or leave marks. It should not discolor when wet.
The material of the lanyard is important. You can use hemp rope or cords, if you are in a pinch. But you can also use leather, plastic, or other types of materials or fabrics that fulfil your needs and is safe enough.
Build the Lanyard
There is no one way for starting a lanyard, if you must know. The business kind of lanyards are processed in workshops, so you can hardly use their method at home.
However, if you are making a lanyard on your own, you should know there are lots of options, especially if you are making it from strong cords made of fabric or nylon. In fact, paracord lanyards are very popular among hobbyists and they look so great!
There are plenty of step by step guides available online about how to make a lanyard. Most of them are full with complicated knots and braiding the cables or cords.
If you are not much concerned about how pretty you are arranging the length of the cord, the basic process is simple. You make a loop, and at the end of the loop you tie up the hooking mechanism. That’s it!