Macrame | Hobby Portal

Who It Suits

Macramé is a textile craft in which fabric and structure are built by tying cord with knots rather than weaving, stitching, or felting. A beginner’s first session usually means attaching a handful of cords to a dowel or ring and tying rows of square knots until a flat panel appears; a first finished object is often a plant hanger, keychain, or small wall hanging.

It suits people who like tactile work, visible progress, and pattern repetition. The honest appeal: it is cheap to start, needs no dedicated space, travels well, and a small project can be finished in a few sessions. The honest constraints: progress is repetitive, consistent tension takes practice, cord length is hard to estimate because knots consume a surprising amount of cord, and a large wall hanging is a many-hour project.

Macramé is older than the 1970s wall hangings it is most associated with. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds macramé pieces dating from the 16th–17th centuries, and by the late 19th century the craft was a standard parlor pastime with dedicated instruction books — the Met’s collection includes an 1887 work-table guide covering “Knotting or Macrame” and an 1896 book of string work. Its strong association with 1970s interior style is why wall hangings and plant hangers are still the first image most people have of the craft.

Getting Started

A beginner’s first task is not a project but a set of knots:

Lark’s head knot — the mounting knot; a loop of cord is passed over a dowel, ring, or branch and pulled through itself, attaching the work.
Square knot (also called the reef knot) — the workhorse knot that builds flat panels; two cords wrap around the other two and are pulled tight.
Half hitch — one cord is wrapped around another and tucked under itself; repeated half hitches create texture and edging.
Double half hitch — two half hitches worked together, often used to attach cords or make decorative bands.
Spiral knot — a square knot in which one pair of cords is reversed each time, twisting the work into a rope-like spiral.

Patterns are written as knot diagrams: each symbol is one knot, and the lines show which cords pass over and under which. Learn to read a diagram before starting a pattern, because correcting a wrong row in macramé means untying knots one by one.

Start with a small project such as a keychain, coaster, plant hanger, or simple wall hanging, using smooth, non-stretchy cotton cord in a pale colour so the knots show clearly. Learn the lark’s head and square knot before buying a large bundle of cord.

Basic Gear

Essential:

Cotton cord, roughly 3–5 mm thick for a first project. Smooth, non-stretchy cotton is the easiest to work; jute and hemp give a rustic look but are stiffer and harder to tighten evenly.
A mounting point: a dowel, ring, branch, keyring, or board.
Scissors.
Measuring tape.

Optional at first:

Comb or brush for working the fringe.
Tape, pins, a clipboard, or a lap board to hold the project steady.
Beads, metal rings, or driftwood for later projects.
A pattern — many are free online, and a few basic ones are enough to learn from.

First Session

Cut a small number of equal-length cords — eight is a good count for a first plant hanger — and attach them to a ring or dowel with lark’s head knots. Then practise a row of square knots slowly, keeping the working cords even and tightening each knot consistently. Check that the panel is lying flat before moving on. A short sampler is more useful than a big project that becomes hard to correct.

First Month

During the first month, repeat small projects with different cord thicknesses and mounting methods. A workable sequence: one flat panel, one hanging project (a plant hanger is the classic), then one piece with brushed fringe. Keep notes on cord length, because beginners often underestimate how much cord knots consume; when in doubt, cut more cord than feels necessary and trim the fringe at the end.

Costs

Macramé can start cheaply: a small bundle of cotton cord, a dowel or ring, and scissors is a modest one-off purchase (roughly a few pounds or dollars, depending on where you shop; prices vary by region and change over time, so check current listings before budgeting). Many beginner patterns are free online. Costs rise with premium or coloured cord, beads, metal rings, driftwood, pattern purchases, kits, display hardware, and storage for bulky materials.

Space Needed

Small macramé projects need very little space and can fit at a desk, table, lap board, or wall hook. Larger wall hangings and plant holders need enough vertical drop for the cords, plus a place where the work can hang without tangling.

Macramé works well alone because the rhythm is easy to pause and resume. Local craft shops, makerspaces, and community centres often run macramé workshops, and craft nights, markets, and gift-making sessions make it social, especially when beginners need help reading knot diagrams or fixing uneven tension.

Common Mistakes

Starting with a large wall hanging before the basic knots feel natural.
Cutting cords too short.
Pulling some knots tighter than others.
Choosing slippery or stretchy cord for a first project.
Forgetting to measure the finished hanging space before starting.
Reading a knot diagram in the wrong direction, then untying rows to correct it.

Safety / Accessibility

Hand, wrist, shoulder, neck, and back fatigue can happen during long knotting sessions. Repetitive strain injury (RSI) develops gradually from repeated movement; the NHS advises keeping active and seeing a GP if pain does not go away or gets worse. In practice: work at a comfortable height, take regular breaks, choose cord that is easy to grip, and use larger cord, pre-cut kits, clamps, or a lap board if fine hand control or standing work is difficult.

Cords are a genuine hazard around young children. Long cords on wall hangings can strangle babies and toddlers — the US Consumer Product Safety Commission warns about cords within children’s reach, from window coverings to baby monitors — so hang finished pieces well out of a child’s reach, and keep loose cord, beads, and small hardware away from children under three, for whom they are a choking hazard. If macramé is a shared activity with young children, use short, thick cord and supervise.

Where It Can Go

Macramé can lead toward wall hangings, plant hangers, bags, belts, jewellery, curtains, lampshades, rope art, mixed-media fibre work, natural dyeing, or pattern design. Most people stay in the casual tier — useful household items, plant hangers, and gifts — and that is a complete hobby in itself; the technical tiers (large installations, fine knot work, pattern design, teaching) build on the same basic knots.

References

Last reviewed: 17 August 2026.

Safety:

NHS, Repetitive strain injury (RSI) — guidance on causes and self-care for hand, wrist, and shoulder strain from repetitive activity.
US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Safety Education Materials — includes cord-safety alerts (window covering cords, baby monitor cords) and an arts-and-crafts safety handbook.

Background:

Metropolitan Museum of Art collections — search “macrame” for dozens of objects, including a 16th–17th century macramé piece, an 1887 work-table guide covering “Knotting or Macrame”, and an 1896 book of string work.
Victoria and Albert Museum collections — search “macramé” for historical pieces.