Latest Obsession: Macrame

If you’re on Pinterest you’ve definitely seen them: woven wall art that looks like this and this and this, and this. It’s macrame, and I’m pretty much obsessed.

These macrame tapestries can be pricy, so, being my super-frugal self, I looked into how they’re made, and decided to try to make my own. I learned a few simple knots from the video on this blog, and bought $10 of jute cord on amazon. I was on my way to macrame city.

My first experimental hanging was tiny, took forever, but ultimately didn’t look too bad! It now lives in the guest bathroom. I poked holes in some tiny shells I had collected and used them as beads to finish off the bottom:

My First Macrame

The second one was bigger, and went much faster:

I used driftwood for the top rod of both macrame’s, but you could use anything: hoops, dowels, curtain rods, sticks… anything that you can loop the cord around.

Using driftwood with macrame

The most difficult thing about macrame is deciding what stitch to start with.After that, it just seems to flow.  I love how the piece evolves as you create the design – it’s so much fun to see your creation take shape out of just pieces of string.

Knowing the basic macrame knots is like knowing how to pick up a paint brush – using it properly is a whole different animal. I need some more practice to find out exactly where this new hobby can go.

Macrame with square knots and half hitch knots

I was pumped to discover you can make hammocks, swings, plant hangers, shawls, table runners, and other table pieces of usable art. It will probably take a while, but by the end of the summer, I hope to have my own custom macrame hammock in the back yard. (:

Have you tried to macrame? What are you going to make next?