Transcripts
1. Intro: Hi, I'm Megan and I'm self-taught macrame artist. I'm also the owner and creator of my own little business, Luna Crafts Online So in today's class, I'm going to be showing you how to make this really pretty mini macrame wall hanging. It's very simple, minimalistic and understated in its design, but I find it really adds to the perfect finishing touch to any wall or a baby's nursery. And I hope you enjoy this and you can feel free to check out any of my other classes on Skillshare too. I created my small business Luna Crafts Online back in December 2018. Since then I've fallen more and more in love with macrame and fibre arts and the process of creating bespoke wall hangings. I find creating something with my hands very therapeutic and relaxing. I'd love to now be able to teach other people about this craft and hopefully inspire others to be creative. My hope is that my lessons, we'll teach you some basic knots and patterns so that you'll be able to create your own wall hanging, Plant hangers and even macrame bags. Not only for yourself but for friends and family too as they make really amazing gifts. Some of my other hobbies include yoga, running, baking, and houseplants. I have probably about 60 houseplants. So I have a lot of different macrame plant hanger tutorials to share with you. I really hope you learn some techniques from me so you are able to create your own unique, beautiful wall hangings.
2. Supplies & materials : So to make this mini macrame, wall hanging, you're going to need some macrame cord. So this is my favorite to work with. It's a three mm, three ply macrame cord, I'm just using a white colour, but feel free to use any colour of your choice. And as you can see, if you split it apart is splits into four fibres, so this is what I'm going to be using today. And then in order to measure out the cord, the easiest way I find to do it is to unravel your cord a bit. And then I grab my tape measure. I'm measuring out 85 cm, is that's half of the measurement that we need. So here and then at the 85 cm point. I'm just going to make a loop like so, you can put your tape measure away for now. And then I'm just going to be running the cord all the way down and then finding where the end is and then snipping is one length and we're going to need 10 of those in total. So you're going to need 10, lots of a 170 cm. Just like I measured out there. One cord that measures around 50 - 60 cm. This is going to be your hanging cord. A dowel, so mine measures between 14 and 15 cm. Going to need some scissors, these are very old and rusty, but still really shop. A wire brush or a comb, but I really do recommend a wire brush. It really splits the fibres of the cord really quickly and you can create a really pretty tassel using it. And lastly, a tape measure. So let's get started.
3. Setting up & larks head knots : So to start off our wall hanging we're going to be attaching our 10 lengths of a 170cm lengths of cord onto our dowel using a larks head knot. Then just measuring my dowel here and it's about 14 and a half cm, which is perfect. And just grabbing one of my 170 lengths of cord and I'm splitting it in half. Then I'm going to be taking this halfway point over my dowel. Like this. I'm going to take it underneath. And then I'm just going to push these two cords through this loop here. And then you can pull that to secure at the top. And that is a larks head knot I'm grabbing another cord and I'm splitting it in half like so. Taking the midway point over the dowel, behind and then I'm passing those two cords through that loop there and just pulling it against the other one. So now just going to repeat that using the eight cords and then I'll come back once it's finished. Perfect, so now they've all been added in the larks head knot. And we can move on to the next step which is creating our design.
4. Main pattern double clove hitch knots: So in order to create the main design, the only knot we're going to need is a double clove hitch knot So if you just count out 10 cords from either side and split it in half, and then you can put the right side away for now, we won't be using that just yet. And then concentrate on this side on the left. Just tightening all my knots, making sure they're nice and neat. And then I'm grabbing this first cord, the first one on the left. I'm going to be angling it down towards the right. Now the angle is your choice. You could do a shallow angle like I'm doing or you could do more of a pronounced angle. But I'm going to be going along with this shallower angle. So now I'm taking this second cord, which will be the first cord now. And I'm going to bring it up and over the cord that's in my right hand. And it's going to come behind. And then through this loop here, just like that. So you can pull that to the top of your work. Then we're going to repeat the exact same step on the same cord, so up, over. And it'll come behind and then through the loop. So that is one double clove hitch knot so it's a really easy knot once you get the hang of it and you can create, really pretty designs using it as well. So now we can just put that cord out of the way because we won't be using it. So I'm grabbing the next cord. I'm just going to repeat the exact same step. Comes up, over from behind and through, the loop, and we repeat twice on each cord. So I'm just going to continue doing this knot until I've reached the end cord from this section. And I'm going to continue holding my cord in my right hand at that angle so I can create that nice angled line. So now that I've finished the last cord of that section, it's time to bring in the right half. I'm going to repeat the exact same steps as this line here on the other side so they can meet in the middle. So again, I'm taking this first cord, so it would be the last cord on the right and I'm going to be holding it in my left hand. I'm angling it at the same angle as the first section down towards the left. So I'm taking the next available cord. I'm going to be bringing that up, over And then from behind it's gonna come through this loop here. And then you can pull that to the top to tighten it. And again repeat once more on the exact same cord. So I'm just going to continue doing this with all the other cords on this section until I've reached the last cord again, like the first section. So I've finished both sections now and now it's time to join the two cords together. So you can either doing one double clove hitch knot going towards the left or one going towards the right. And I'm going to do one going towards the right because that's what I prefer. But it's entirely up to you. So I'm just joining the two rows together, doing one double clove hitch knot Just like that. And now they're nice and secure. And I'm just smoothing out with the cords so it's a bit easier to see. And now we're going to create our second row. So again, I'm taking this first cord on the left. And now we can just follow the first line that we have created. You don't need to try and hold it at the angle because you can just pull them snug up against that first row. So I'm just repeating the exact same double clove hitch knot method and then meet in the middle. And then I'm going to repeat that on the right side as well. And then I can join the two together. Now I've got my second row complete, it's time to join the two together. And just like we done on the first row, I'm going to create a double clove hitch knot going down towards the right. You'll want to remember which way you do this last, knot that joins the two rows together so you can use it for every row, so it will look nice and uniform. And then we just repeating these exact same steps. So I'm taking the first cord now and then I'll be creating my third row. And then you can create as many rows as you'd like. So I created nine rows in total on my wall hanging, but feel free to do as many or as little as you want. And let's move on to the next step.
5. Finishing touches - trimming, combing & adding hanging cord: So now we can move on to the finishing touches, which is to cut the tassels and comb them all out. I'm just laying them as flat as I come and grabbing my scissors and my tape measure. And I'm going to be measuring roughly how long I would like my cords to be. So I went with around 12 cm that was quite a good length for my wall hanging. It's entirely up to you whether you cut yours straight You could do it in a semicircle. Or if you're like me, I'm going to try and follow the angle that I created in my rows. So I'm just splitting the cords roughly in half doesn't have to be exact. It's just easier. And then I'm just going to lay them flat and hold them in my finger like this. And then I'm with my scissors, I'm going to try and cut them at the same angle as my rows of knots. Just like this. And you can save the cords scraps as well because you can use them for other things. And then I'm just going to repeat this on the other side, trying to cut that same angle again. So you can see mine aren't exactly perfect, but that doesn't matter now because we're going to comb them out and then we'll do a final trim after that. So in order to comb them out, I found it easier to grab one cord and unravel it. So if you're using 3ply cord, you should that it splits into four groups of cords quite easily. Just like this. I'm just going to repeat that on all the other cords until I have unraveled them all So now that they are all unravelled, oops apart from that one I missed one somehow, I'll just quickly unravel that. So now that they're all unravelled I'm going to grab my wire brush and just comb it all out. And you can see how quickly it just combs out and makes it nice and smooth and soft. And then I can I'm just taking my scissors. I'm just gonna do a final trim and try and mimic the angle the best I can. Just like that. So now all that's left to do is to grab your 50 cm length of cord and we're going to attach it either end of the dowel. And to do that, I'm just going to tie it in a standard double knot. Nothing fancy. Just a double knot will do. I would recommend if you're making a larger wall hanging or a plant hanger or something to add a dab of superglue or fabric glue, just to give you peace of mind. So now you can decide how long you want your hanging cord to be. Shorted or you could have it longer like this. This seems like a good length for my wall hanging. So I'm just gonna tie a double knot on the other end. Just like that. Yeah, that seems like a good length to me. So I'm just going to snip off the excess cord from the hanging knot. And now your mini wall hanging is complete. So I think these would make really cute gifts for friends and family or for a baby shower as well, I think that would make a really unique, cute handmade gift. Now all that's left to do is hang it up and enjoy. And we'll move on to the next step where I'll give you the class project.
6. Final thoughts & class project: So I really hope you love this mini macrame wall hanging as much as I do. I just loved the rows and rows of the same knot. I think it's really minimal but beautiful. And for. The class project, I would like you to make your own mini macrame, wall hanging so you could use some inspo from this one or you can take inspiration from my other classes and combine them to make your own wall hanging. Or you could even use different coloured cord. Or if you have a special piece of driftwood that you've collected from somewhere that you love and would like to make something from it. You could always use this for that. I think it would look really pretty on a nice organic piece of driftwood. And if you could share your progress pictures and your final pictures in the class project section, I would really love to see them and I'm sure everyone else would love to see it too. And I really hope you enjoyed this class and check out some of my other Skillshare classes. Thanks for joining me on this class, and I hope you have a lovely week.
Megan Chaffe, Owner of Luna Crafts Online
