Harry Murray
In this post you will learn all the basics, plus receive a tutorial to make your own DIY macrame wall hanging. Have you been wanting to try out macrame but feel like it’s too complicated or think it might be a hard hobby to learn?
You see, I tend to get a little information and then run with it; sometimes it works great, others not as much.
However, once I decided to try again and learn a bit more about macrame, I went from my first project to this:
I am so excited to share what I have learned so you can create a beautiful macrame project on your first try! When I first learned I was so surprised to realize, macrame is a giant friendship bracelet!
I used to make different kinds of friendship bracelets growing up and many of the knots are the exact same. Once you know how to do the basic knots, you can follow any tutorial and even get to the point of creating your own patterns!
Starting something new can always feel a bit daunting but I am happy to say, macrame is such a simple and easy hobby.
My best advice for beginners starting out is to practice the basic knots to make sure you know how to do them.
How long does it take to make a macrame project? If you want to make a macrame plant hanger, it only takes about an hour!
However a more intricate DIY macramé wall hanging could take 4+ hours. I must admit, I like instant gratification when I am making things and macrame is quite satisfactory for me 😆
I love that I can see the progress and even finish a project in one sitting! Depending on the project you are making, the basic materials and tools needed for macrame include:
Your local craft store (mine is Michael’s) should have everything you need, however I have found that Amazon is a great resource for the supplies too! When I first learned, the YouTube tutorial I watched used clothesline rope but I personally found it too thick and difficult to work with.
Plus, using clothesline, you can’t make the beautiful fringe ends you often see on macrame wall hangings and plant hangers. You can get a dowel to hold your macrame at a local craft or home improvement store. The general rule of thumb is you want your cord to be 4 times the desired length of your finished project. If you are folding the cord in half, you’ll want it to be 8 times the length. In the tutorial I am including in this post, the finished project will be around 30″ so we will be cutting each strand of cord at 20 feet, as we will be folding the cord in half to connect it to the stick. It seems like a lot, but when you are working with the project, you’ll notice how quickly some of the pieces shrink up!
In total we will use around 188 yards of macrame cord for this project. Now you will put the to tails through the loop in the back, pulling it tight to secure the cord to the stick.
Pull tight and repeat these steps, only start with the right strand of cord instead of the left, making a backwards “4”.
As you go, pull the knots tight, and you will start to see your work spiraling.
For the double half-hitch knot, you will need to add a couple more cords to your stick to practice. First, take the far left strand and hold it diagonally across the others with you right hand.
Pull it tight up to the top and repeat the same loop around your holding cord. It’s a very cute, decorative knot that is so simple, which is my favorite part!
As I mentioned before, one of my biggest problems was not cutting enough cord for my projects! I was not able to make the wall hanging I was trying to because my cord ran out!
Again, similar to not cutting your cord long enough, you want to make sure you buy enough! Not only did I run out of length for my project, I also didn’t have anymore to work with, so I ended up with a really small macrame wall hanging.
For example, with the project below, I was able to fit 28 strands of cord across my stick. Because it is folded in half, I needed it to be 8x the desired length which was 30 inches. If you don’t know how to do these knots and are just starting out, take your stick and a few 3 foot strands of cords and practice until you feel pretty comfortable with the knots!
Then, when you go to do your project, you aren’t trying to figure out how to do the knots, you can just make beautiful macrame!
When doing macrame, you want to make sure you’re pulling your knots tight but sometimes, if you pull them too tight (especially on a double half-hitch knot) it can deform your macrame that is behind it. My advice for this is to try and keep the same tightness throughout your project and if it starts to curl at all, try to go a little looser.
How to Make a Macrame DIY Wall Hanging First, you will need to measure out and cut all the cord for your project.
Next you will attach all your cord to the stick, starting with the three foot piece. This ends up creating a nice, tight lark’s head knot!
Hang your stick up on the wall using a nail or hook. Now, using the lark’s head knot, attach the 28 long cords evenly across your stick or dowel.
STEP 3: Create Triangle Using Square Knots and DHH First, using two of the attached cords, four total strand, create a square knot.
Continue decreasing by two on either end until you have one final knot at the bottom, creating a triangle. Create a line of spiral knots going down each side on the triangle. First we will start off with doing a row a square knots all along the bottom of the DHH from the previous step. Using those new square knot tails, make another square knot in the middle; this will continue the triangle shape of our macrame wall hanging.
Next, create the alternating square knot pattern we used for the top triangle, leaving the two unused cords at both the left and right ends. Last, you will finish off the project by closing in this section with DHH on either side.
Active Time: 3 hours Total Time: 3 hours Difficulty: Moderate Estimated Cost: $15 Materials 188 Yards of 4mm 3 Strand Cotton Macrame Cord Attach each of the 28 longer cords to your stick using a lark's head knot.
Starting at one edge, tie four stands (two sets of the attached cords) into a square knot and then continue making square knots until you get to the end. ON the left side, do the first part of a square knot using the "4" method.
Trim your ends to the desired length and hang! I feel confident that with all this information, you can make beautiful macrame projects from the get go! I hope you enjoyed this guide to DIY macramé and happy knotting!
