Craft: How to Make Your Own Personalised Macramé Plant Hanger
Have you been admiring macramé for a while but haven’t got round to buying yet? Here’s how to make your own for a budget-friendly option
If you were around in the 1970s, you may well remember the macramé craze that swept the globe, with houseplants dangling from containers made from knotted pieces of rope in every corner of the house. Today, it’s back in a big way. So, to avoid spending a fortune in the shops, here’s a quick guide to making your own. Choose your pot and cord colours to suit your style – and get crafting.
1 Using your paint and paintbrush, paint an irregular curved shape around the bottom half of the pot. With the same paint, paint two coats on all four wooden beads. Allow everything to dry.
2 Fold the eight 12.8ft (3.9m) strands evenly in half and thread them through the O-ring to the halfway point of the cord.
Tour a house filled with hand-crafted pieces
Tour a house filled with hand-crafted pieces
3 Using one of the 24in (60-cm) pieces of black cord, secure the bunch of cords with a wrapped knot.
4 Gather a group of four strands (you will have four groups of four strands) and tie a square knot, with one strand on either side of two middle strands.
Be inspired by ideas for personalising a rented home
Be inspired by ideas for personalising a rented home
5 Continue tying square knots for 6in (15 cm).
6 Repeat with all four groups.
7 Thread one of the beads through the inner two strands of each group of four cords.
8 Leave a 15.75in (40cm) length of cord between the square knot and the wooden bead, and secure with a square knot. Continue tying square knots under the bead for another 6in (15cm).
9 Repeat steps 7 and 8 with the remaining three groups.
10 To begin making the basket that will hold the terracotta pot, divide a group of four strands in half and join them with two strands from the group closest to them. Leave 2.4in (6cm) from the section of square knots and tie the four strands with a square knot. The basket will be made using alternating square knots. It’s up to you which direction you start from.
11 Continue around until you have four square knots completed and all the strands have been used.
12 Leave another 2.4in (6cm) gap and repeat step 10 once more, again halving each group and working adjoining strands into square knots. You should now have two rows of four square knots.
13 Leave a 2.75in (7cm) gap from the bottom of the last square knot. Close the piece with a wrapped knot using the other 24in (60cm) piece of cord.
14 Trim the ends of the cords, leaving 6in (15cm) of tassel ends.
Discover 10 reasons to ditch perfectionism in your home
14 Trim the ends of the cords, leaving 6in (15cm) of tassel ends.
Discover 10 reasons to ditch perfectionism in your home
Pop the vessel with a plant into the net, hang your creation and enjoy. This basic pattern can be adjusted to hold larger vessels and to hang them at different lengths. Once you get the hang of it, you can add more planters throughout the year. The options are endless!
TELL US…
Are you liking the macramé trend? Share your thoughts – and photos of your plant hangers, if you have them – in the Comments below.
TELL US…
Are you liking the macramé trend? Share your thoughts – and photos of your plant hangers, if you have them – in the Comments below.
Estimated cost £15 (not including plant)
Knots used in this project