The length of your Macrame cable should typically be four times that of your project. Go for eight times the length after you’ve tied a Lark’s Head Knot to divide your rope into two cords.
It’s critical to consider the pattern when measuring the length of your cord:
- You will probably need more rope if your pattern includes a lot of knots.
- You can shorten the rope if your pattern includes a lot of straight cords.
- The length of the cord must increase with its thickness.
- Three-ply and braided ropes require more length per knot than single-strand cable does.
- Always cut more rope than you think you’ll need if you’re unsure.
- Always account for extra cord when making a fringe.
To make a plant hanger, how much rope would I need?
Whatever it is about succulents, I might have a slight addiction to them. Okay, mild isn’t completely accurate because I constantly add them to bookcases, shelves, and other objects. Ha! However, it is only because they are really simple to maintain and essentially match any style of design.
Anyway, the wall divider that separates our dining room from living room has a rather odd cutout that was made by the home’s constructor, and I have no idea what to do with it. I have tried placing a variety of objects in the space, which is tall and rather narrow, but nothing has truly worked. Then, when I realized that this month’s Michaels Maker subject was “DIY Trends,” I began to consider trends that I love and wanted to attempt. I immediately knew what I wanted to try, especially since it contained more SUCCULENTS!
So, yes, a straightforward Rope Plant Hanger that I could keep neat and slim while yet vertically filling the space.
It resembles the macrame plant holders that all of our mothers used to make in the 1970s, but it’s much simpler and has a lot less shag dangling from underneath. Additionally, because it’s not fussy at all, this only takes MINUTES to make. However, it has just enough detail to be attractive to look at.
…and this is it from the opposite side. Such a good fit! And not in the least fussy:
Additionally, it would be quite simple to modify this to your preferences. Make the bottom fringe much longer, use thicker rope, go through with two pieces of rope rather than one, etc. Additionally, you could hang this outside, in a room’s corner, from the ceiling, etc.
SUPPLIES:
- a planter
- Acrylic Color (I used a little bottle of outdoor paint)
- Hemp Rope
- Screw Hook (or another type of wall- or ceiling-mounting hardware)
- Adhesive tape
- potted plant with soil
Before anything else, painting your pot is entirely optional. However, if you want to modify the color, paint your pot with acrylic paint twice.
I also chose to use this outdoor paint because my Terra Cotta pot is porous in order to prevent my paint from becoming sticky and wet every time I watered my plant and the container became a bit damp. (I’m not even sure if regular acrylic paint would ever be an issue, but I saw this at Michaels right next to the pots and thought I’d give it a shot.)
Even after you put your plant inside, it usually won’t reach the very top of the pot, so be sure to paint down a few inches down the interior of the container.
Additionally, if you’re hanging your plant within a container that has a drainage hole in the bottom, you’ll need to cover that hole. I just taped it down with a few layers of duct tape, pressing it securely into place. It will stay properly sealed up until the dirt is added on top.
Now that your paint has dried, you can start building the rope holder. Cut 8 lengths of rope that are long enough to hang some of it at the bottom and have plenty left over to hang it above the pot. You should allow just a little extra length so that you can tie the knots around the pot.
Now, several inches from the end of your 8 strands of rope, tie a knot. You can always make your ends extra long for now and cut them shorter later. How far you tie from the end also depends on how long you want your ends to hang down at the bottom.
Next, invert the pot and divide the strands into groups of two, placing the knot in the middle of the base of the pot.
The pot’s bottom will be divided into four equal sections by each of those sets of two strands. In order to see the knots down the side of the pot once it is hanging, tie a knot into each of those groups of two just past the edge of the bottom of the pot.
To hold the ropes in place, keep them equal, and keep them in their ideal positions, add a strip of Scotch tape now.
Next, grab a rope from one set of ropes, then a rope from the next set over, and knot them together in the space between the two higher knots. To reach the next level of knots, continue around the pot in the same manner.
Tape this level of knots in place after gently pulling the ropes to remove any slack.
Depending on the size of your pot, you should add different degrees of knots, but I ultimately needed four. Before you reach the top edge of the pot, the very last level of knots should come to an end, around 1/2 inch away.
Turn your pot over while holding the ends of all your ropes in one hand. Make a knot at the top of your ropes (or wherever you want to hang it from), then check to make sure each rope is the same length and supporting the pot evenly before trimming off any extra. Take the tape off. You can then choose how long you want the rope parts to hang below the pot once it has been hung.
It’s time to attach your rope plant hanger by adding a hook screw (or other hanging hardware) to the wall.
How may a plant hanger be made step-by-step?
- Tie a loop knot directly beneath the ring with your 5-foot-long piece of thread.
- Make a square knot with four strands. 6) Repetition.
- With the following quartet of four chords, repeat this process, then do the same with the remaining cords.
- Make a half square knot and leave a 2 1/2 inch space.
- Continue until you have a 5 inch spiral.
- To tie the remaining knot groups, repeat this technique.
- Use the two right cords from the first group and the two left cords from the adjacent group to tie a crossover square knot across the gap, which should be 6 inches wide.
- Do the same with the remaining knot groupings.
- By alternating the cords from the prior stage, make another crossover square knot with a 6-inch gap.
- Make a loop knot and leave a 3 1/2 inch space.
- To complete the cord with a tassel, trim the extra cord.
Can I make macrame using normal yarn?
Macrame cord is the term for the yarn used in the craft. You can use a variety of materials, including cotton twine, hemp, leather, or yarn.
What length is ideal for a macramé plant hanger?
- a wall nail, doorknob, hook, etc. merely a hook to suspend the plant hanger while you tie a knot
- Understanding the different knots (try it as an exercise first; otherwise, you’ll get frustrated): Check out my PDF guide for additional information on them, or look at my nifty graphics here:
- A lark’s head
- round knot:
- winding stitch:
You require eight 5.4 m cords. I always measure the first length of cord first, so I don’t have to keep using the tape measure to measure the other seven lengths. You will also need 1 x 1 m and 1 x 2 m for this lesson.
After finishing, you should hang the plant hanger someplace. Others employ a metal ring. I didn’t have one, but if you make your own (this is a little more difficult; a less difficult version is to use a metal ring), you actually don’t need one:
- Eight cords are strung together, then folded in half to create 16 strings with a loop top (see picture below, I do not know if my explanations are the best, just ask in the comments if you need clarification)
- about 7 cm below the top of the loop, tape with washi tape (see picture above)
- The 2m cord will now be used, and the top of the loop will have a larks head tied to it (see picture below)
- You now have a lovely decorative loop, but it is not securely fastened. Eliminate the tape. Cut all the extra strings that hang out, and then use a screwdriver to put them into the “Gathering Knot” to bind the loop together with the 1 m string:
Now that the hardest portion is over, we can finally get going. As I mentioned, you could also just use a ring, but I think a string loop looks much nicer.
The 16 strings will now be divided into 4 groups of 4, and knotting will begin:
- A 25 cm long portion is knotted in one group using spiral stitches (this is a variant of the square knot, see above). To guarantee that the pattern has the same length everywhere, this is repeated for the other 3 groups.
- Then, for the following 15 cm, tie no knots and let the strings hang freely before tying a large standard knot. This was done once again for each group.
- Now tie a square knot along a length of 25 cm. To make sure that the pattern is the same length everywhere, this was performed for the remaining three groups.
- The string is now released for 10 cm, and two square knots are tied, BUT using two strings from one group and two strings from the next group (see figure below). Repeat this for the other 3 groups, making sure that only nearby strings are tied together and that none of the strings cross over any other strings.
- Next, you leave 10 cm open once again before taking each of the adjacent threads and tying two square knots to join them.
- Now that you’ve reached the end, you can simply tie all of the strings together in a big knot.
Pay close attention to
- the pattern will bend if the knots are too tightly tied.
- Try to keep the knots uniform, but it should be simple as long as you don’t tug too hard.
- The finished plant hanger will be about 1.4 meters long and is suitable for pots with a diameter of 15 to 25 cm. Although mine is 19 cm in diameter, it can also fit smaller
- Practice the knots beforehand to avoid getting too frustrated.
- A different thread type, thickness, or size will make the plant hanger smaller or larger.
Enjoy making this macrame plant hanger tutorial, and feel free to ask any questions in the comments! See my PDF macrame instruction guide!
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How do you determine the length of a Macrame rope?
The general rule of thumb is to multiply the finished length of your project by 4 to get the length of your cords. At the end, add additional for however much fringe you desire.
You must then multiply the result by two to determine the actual cord length if you plan to fold the cords in half and fasten them to a dowel (for a wall hanging, for example).
This approach isn’t very precise, and you usually have extra cord leftover. However, this is a good option if arithmetic is not your friend.
The shortest piece of extra cord that remains once the project is complete is measured, multiplied by 2, and the sum is deducted from the cord length for future use.
It functions nicely for me and doesn’t cause too much brain damage. I then keep the unused scraps for future endeavors.