A few years ago, I was reminiscing with a friend about how trends in decorating and crafts always seem to come around again.
“I’m going to bring back macrame,” I joked. Turns out I was onto something.
Macrame, a craft I remember doing in the 1970s with my mom, is back in a big way. If you can tie a knot, you can make all sorts of trendy macrame items, like hanging planters, curtains and wall hangings for your apartment. You can even use macrame knots to make jewelry, belts and other wearable items.
Today, I’m going to show you how to make this cool macrame plant hanger. I’ve hung mine outside for the summer and put a cool succulent garden in it. I also love the idea of using these planters inside for houseplants. And wouldn’t it be cool to hang one in front of a window in the kitchen and use it as an herb garden?
While the design looks intricate, you can quickly and easily make your own plant hanger while watching TV. And for this one, you only really need to know one basic knot that you probably learned how to tie as a kid: the square knot.
I am going to walk you step-by-step through the process of making this planter. But if you’ve never done macrame before, you may find it helpful to watch some YouTube videos to familiarize yourself with the basics of macrame knot-tying. I needed a quick refresher myself, but it turns out macrame is like riding a bike. You never forget!
To make your own plant hanger, you’ll need:
- a D-ring or 1.5-inch round metal ring
- jute cord
Step 1
Begin by cutting eight pieces of cord, each 5 yards long.
Gather the cord together and thread through the metal ring, folding in the center so you have 16 total strands of cord that are all equal length.
Step 2
Use a gathering wrap to secure the cording on the metal ring.
To do the gathering wrap, begin with an 18-inch piece of cord. Fold up about 6 inches to create a loop.
Lay the loop on top of your bundle of cords with the loop facing down and the loose ends of the cord facing up. Holding the loop and bundle of cords securely in one hand, use your other hand to wrap the long end of the cord around the bundle and around the shorter loose end of the loop. Wrap from top to bottom.
Once the gathering wrap is the desired length, feed the end of the cord that you’ve been wrapping through the loop.
Holding the wrap in place, pull from the other end to tighten the loop.
Pull until the loop disappears underneath the wrap. There will still be a length of cord coming from the top and bottom of the wrap.
Use scissors to snip both ends of the gathering wrap.
Step 3
Now it’s time to start tying some knots.
When I’m doing macrame, I like to hang my project from a hook on a door. I find it’s easier to work that way.
Now that the gathering wrap is secure, divide your 16 cords into four sections with four strands each. Make sure you group together strands that are adjacent to one another.
To avoid getting the various sections tangled, I use painter’s tape to keep each separate. I tape the sections I’m not working with off to the sides, onto the door.
For this plant hanger, I started with a half-knot.
To make a half-knot, you’ll be working with four strands of cording: an outside left strand, an outside right strand and two center strands.
Cross the outside left strand over the two center strands.
Lay the outside right strand on top of the left strand. Then, cross the right strand under the left strand and the two center strands to form a knot.
Pull both ends to tighten.
Continue tying half-knots, always working from left to right. You’ll soon get a twisted design. Continue until you have tied about 10 to 12 inches of twisted half-knots.
Repeat with the other groups of cording. When you’re finished, you’ll have four chains of cascading twisted knots called sinnets.
Step 4
Now it’s time to make the webbing that will hold your plant.
Take one of the twisted sinnets you created in the previous step and separate the four strands of cording.
Working with two strands of cord at a time, tie a 4-inch chain of overhand knots.
Repeat with the remaining strands of cording on each twisted sinnet.
When you finish, you’ll have eight thin chains of knots.
Step 5
Now it’s time to use a square knot to combine some of those chains together to create more support for your plant.
This time, instead of working from the same original twisted sinnet or chain, you’re going to work from adjacent chains so you create a V where the single strands come together.
As with the half-knot, you’ll be working with four strands of cord.
Start out by tying a half-knot.
Then finish the square knot by tying a second half-knot.
However, this time you’ll be working from right to left.
Bring the right outside strand over the two center strands. Lay the left outside strand over the right strand and loop it behind the right strand and the two center strands. Pull to make a knot.
All you’re doing is repeating the half-knot, working left to right one time, then right to left the next time. This will produce a flat chain instead of a twisted one.
Continue until you have a 3- to 4-inch flat chain.
Repeat this process until you have knotted together all the adjacent strands of cord and created the webbing to hold your plant.
Step 6
Working from the flat sinnets, repeat Step 4 above, creating eight 4- to 5-inch thin chains of knots.
Step 7
Gather all the strands of cord together and secure with a gathering wrap.
Trim the cord to equal length to create a tail.
Now all that’s left is adding your plant and hanging your gorgeous planter.
One of these succulent terrariums, which you can learn how to make on the ForRent.com blog, would look great in a macrame planter.
