Learning Macrame

Cord Setup

Mastering macrame knotting techniques requires practice, practice, and practice. The cord that you use should be strong enough to last through lots of repetitive movements and withstand knotting and unknotting. I would suggest hemp. It is inexpensive; you get a lot for your money. You can use yarn to practice with also but do not use it for items you will be selling; it has a tendency to stretch.

Once you feel that you fully understand how to make each knot and can make them nice and straight with equal tension, you will have the skills necessary to move on to jewelry projects. I have included some macrame jewelry project links at the bottom of each lesson.

You will first need to make a sampler, maybe 2 or 3. I would suggest making a separate one for each knot. That way you can see how the knots will look and how much cording it will take to make an inch or two of knots. Write down the length of the cord you are using, the knot you are making, and the ending length. Divide your beginning length by your finished length. This will tell you how many inches of cord it will take to make the desired length of your project.

For instance, if your cord is 16 inches and you end up with 2 inches of finished length you would divide 16 by 2, which would give you 8 inches. For each inch of your desired length, you would need 8 inches of cord. An 18-inch necklace would require 144 inches (18 x 8).

To make the sampler, cut a length of cord about 24 inches long. This is your anchor cord. You will be mounting your cords on it. Make a slip knot about 3 inches from the end and pin it to your knotting board, foam board, or pillow (depending on which you are using). Then make another slipknot on the other end and pin it straight across from the other slipknot.

Make a loop with one end of the cord

Cross short end over long end.

Slip short end under itself and up through itself

Tighten the knot

Slip knot completed

Note: A simpler way to make a slip knot is to tie a loose overhand knot in one end about 3 or 4 inches from end and slip the other end of the cord through the overhand knot. Tighten the overhand knot.

Mounting Your Cord

There are 2 knots commonly used to attach cord to your anchor cord or dowel, the Mounting Knot and the Lark’s Head Knot. They are both very similar to each other in that they start out the same way.

Take a length of cord and fold it in half making a loop. Take the loop and place it under the anchor cord, fold it over the anchor cord or dowel and pull the loose ends through the loop. Take each end and place them on top of the anchor to either side of the knot you just made. Fold them over and then pull them through the side loops you just made. This is called a Mounting Knot.

Place looped cord on top of anchor cord

Fold loop over anchor cord

Slip loose cord ends through loop and tighten

Place ends on top of anchor cord on each side of knot

Fold ends over and slip them through the loops and tighten

Lark's Head Knot

Note: Make your macrame knots as tight and neat as possible. The knots have a tendency to loosen so tighten them as you go along.

Place loop on top, or behind, anchor cord

Fold loop over anchor cord

Slip cord ends through loop

Tighten the knot

Basic Knots

Half Knot and Square Knot

You will also learn other basic knots, the Half Hitch Knot and Double Half Hitch Knot, in following lessons.

For demonstration purposes, it is easier to follow this macrame lesson with different colored cords. I will use red and blue cords as the knotting cords.Your left knotting cord (red) will also be your looping cord.

Loop left cord (red) to the right over other cords.

Place right cord (blue) on top of the red cord.

Slide blue cord under core cords and through loop.

Pull both ends to tighten. This is a Half Knot.

Loop red cord backwards over the other cords.

Place blue cord on top of the red cord.

Slide blue cord under, through loop and tighten by pulling both ends.

Square Knot Complete

Although your looping cord (red) switches back and forth left to right, right to left, your looping cord and pull through cord blue) will always remaining the same color through the entire lesson. This completes your square knot.

A group of square knots are called a “sennit”. If you kept making half knots, exactly the same way, using the left only as the looping cord, or the right only, you would end up with a spiral. In contrast to the regular square knot, if you were working with two different colors, your looping cord would change colors as you work. When working a regular square knot the looping cord does not change color.

Note: If you are working with cords that are all the same color you can shorten your knotting cords by winding those around two fingers to a workable length. Carefully slip the cord off your fingers and wrap a rubber band or a twistie around it. Use a different color rubber band or twistie for each knotting cord.

I use different colors for the twisties or rubber bands is because that way I can pick one cord and remember that color, rubber band or twistie, will always be the looping cord or will always be the pull through cord. This will also help to keep the cords from getting tangled up, especially if they are extremely long.

Alternating Half Hitch

For this lesson, use one length of cord, 60 inches long. This will make a simple bracelet with tie ends about 7 1/2 inches long. Prepare the 2 ends of cord with clear nail polishor Fray Check. Let them dry. This will make it easier to make that knots as the cord will not be fraying at the ends.

Example of Alternating Half Hitch Chain.

Fold cord in half making a one inch loop and tie with an overhand knot.

Pin loop to work surface. Loop left cord around and through the loop. Tighten by pulling up and to the left.

Loop right cord around and through loop. Tighten pulling up and to the right.

Repeat left and right half hitch another five times then slip on a bead.Continue alternating with 6 more left and right half hitches then a bead until you have strung on 4 beads. Finish with 6 more sets of half hitches.

Finish with an overhand knot. Do not trim cords yet.

Slip cord ends through loop.

Loop cord ends back over itself and pull through (like tying a shoelace).

When you have gotten your bracelet tied like you want trim it off about 1 1/2 to 2 inches from finish overhand knot.

You can string on a smaller bead if you like or leave it without. Tie a knot in the end of the cords leaving a 1/4 inch tail. Apply clear nail polish or Fray Check to protect it from fraying. Let dry before wearing. Enjoy!!

Double Half Hitch

You are using an anchor cord to attach your knotting to but you could use a dowel instead. When using a dowel, you could also attach your cords using and overhand knot as well as a mounting knot or lark’s head knot. For this lesson, use 4 length of cord, 60 inches long. Prepare the ends of cord with clear nail polish or Fray Check. This will make it easier to work with as the cord will not be fraying at the ends. Let them dry.

This knot is just 2 half hitch knots made side by side. To make the first half hitch, take your left cord, the knot bearer, and lay it across the other cords, with a little loop to the left. Place a pin inside that loop, to the right of it, and laying the cord across the other cords, as if you were underlining your mounting knots pin the other end to your work board.

Knot Bearer Cord

Take the next cord, bring it behind the anchor cord, then up and over the anchor to the left, and down behind it so that it crosses itself. Basically you are just making a loop over the anchor cord. This is the first half hitch.

Half hitch

Second half hitch

To complete the DHH, take the cord you were just working with and bring it to the right of the first loop. Make sure your knot does not loosen. This movement will make a loop below the knot bearer cord. Pull your cord through that loop and tighten it. This completes your double half hitch.

Double Half Hitch

Complete row of double half hitch

Continue on with the next cord until you have completed all. Tighten all your knots since they have the tendency to loosen. Then starting with your end cord on the right, come back the right to left reversing the direction noted as above.

Knot bearer working right to left.