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. In today's class, I'm going to show you how to make two different kinds of macrame key rings. So this one is a bit of an easier one, so it's more for beginners. And then there's also this really pretty, arrow design, which I think is more intermediate level. So it's up to you which one you choose. Of course, you can make both. They're both equally is pretty to me and I can show you how to make them. 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. But 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 hangings, 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 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. Arrow keyring (intermediate): So let's make this lovely arrow keyring that you see on the right on the screen. So for this, you will need 4 lots of 90 cm lengths of cord. Here I'm using three millimeter 3 ply cord. You'll need one lot of 20 cm length. 1 lobster clasp of your choice, this one measures two cm. So now we can begin, so I'm just grabbing one of 90 cm length of cord and we're going to split it in half, and we're going to attach it using a larks head knot so take the midway point and we're going to go through the bottom of the key ring, just like this from front to back. And then we're going to pass the two cords through the loop here. Just like that. And then you can pull that to tighten it and secure it at the top. And that's a larks head knot So I'm just going to repeat that with the other three cords, making sure that that all split exactly in the middle. And just like that they're all attached. Now. Now we can begin the arrow design. So for this we're going to be creating rows or double clove hitch knot. So I'm just taking this first cord like this. And we're going to angle it down towards the right. Just like that. So you're going to bring this second cord on the left. We're going to bring it up and over like this. And from behind It's going to come through this loop here. Just like that. Now you can pull that to the top to tighten it. And then we're going to repeat the exact same steps on the same cord to repeat twice with each cord. So the cord will come up, over, and then from behind it will come through the loop. Just like that. Now that we've done that twice on that cord, that's the double clove hitch knot So we can move on to the next cord. Now, repeat the exact same steps, making sure it's repeated twice with each cord. I'm making sure to angle it at that angle down towards the right. Today this until you've hit the middle cord. So you should make three double clove hitch knots in total. And then we're going to repeat the same on the other side. So we're gonna take this last cord and angle it down towards the left, trying to mimic the same angle as before. And then take the next cord, bring it up, over, behind and through the loop. So super easy once you get the hang of it, you just have to remember to repeat it twice with each cord. And remember to try and keep the angles as symmetrical as you can, once you've got the first-line done on either side it's much easier to keep the angle same. So now that side is done, it's time to join the two middle cords together. So you can either do this by doing one knot going towards the right or doing one going towards the left. I'm going to do one going towards the right. But whatever side you choose, just make sure to always do the knot going towards that direction. So they all look the same and it won't mess up the pattern. So just like that our first line is done. And now it's super easy to do the second line, you just did the exact same steps. So you take the first cord and create three double clove hitch knots. And then you take the last cord and angle it down towards the left and create three double clove hitch knots And then again, just join the two in the middle by doing the knot, whichever way you decided to go. So for me it would be going towards the right and it's as simple as that. But you can repeat this, doing however many rows you would like. I recommend doing eight rows. I found that was quite a good length for a key ring. And of course we're going to add the tassel at the end. So just bear that in mind that you need enough cords to do the tassel unless you want to opt out of that. So like I said, I'm just going to repeat this until I have eight rows in total. And it looks something like this. So you could just leave the bottom bit as is, and you could just cut it to mirror that angle there. And you could just comb it out if you wanted. You could just leave it as is it's totally up to you. But I'm going to show you this fun little twist where we grab our 20 cm length of cord. So for this, turn the key ring around so the bump of the knot will be at the back. And just gather all your cords in your left hand. And we're going to create a wrapping knot. So taking the cord and I'm going to create this small tail at the top. We're going to create this little loop here, small tail and the loop at the bottom. And then we've got this longer tail here that we're going to wrap around all of the cords quite tightly as well. As you can see, I'm just wrapping it and I've done about two or three wraps. And then we're gonna take that longer cord. I'm going to pass it through the loop. Just like this, that cord will go through this loop that we left, we can gently hold that in place. And then if you pull on the shorter tail at the top, you'll see the loop will start to close and it will secure that cord in place. You want to pull it so it's about halfway through the wraps. You don't want to pull it all the way through. as it might undo your knot, just like that, so they're now all secure. And we can just trim off the excess cords from the wrapping knot and of course we can trim our tassels as well if you wanted. I'm gonna trim mine for a slightly neater look just like this and then that is that keyring is complete. I really loved the detail of this one and I think it's a nice sturdy keyring and it makes it so it's easier to find in your back if you have lots of things in your bag, as it's quite chunky. And we can move on to making the easier macrame keyring, which is the nice tassel beaded one.
3. Bead tassel keyring (beginner): So in order to make this beaded tassel keyring, we are going to need one lot of 40 cm of cord. I'm using three mm three ply cord, which is my favourite to use. You're going to need one 15mm wooden bead. And sellotape is also really handy for threading the bead onto the cord. So that's optional. So you're going to need 10 lots of 20cm lengths of cord for the tassel. You can use colours of your choice. Here, I'm using three different types of white. So this white had a gold speckle in it, I've got 4 lots of normal. And then I'm using three lots of this single twisted natural cord, which together create a really nice soft creamy palette. And I really like it. You're going to need 1 2cm lobster clasp keyring. And I forgot to show you that you will need one 20 cm length for wrapping, knot at the end as well. So I'm just going to grab everything. And we're grabbing our 40 cm length of cord, gonna attach this using a larks head knot so we're going to fold the cord in half. Take this midway point. and we're gonna push it through this loop at the bottom here, from front-to-back. I'm going to pass the two cords through the loop there. And you can just pull that to the top to tighten it, and secure it, and then that is a larks head knot It's really easy and it's how you would attach your macrame cord to most things. I'm going to grab my sellotape now and just rip off a small bit and then tape the the end of the cords together. And we're going to thread on our wooden bead So as you can see, it makes the cord a lot sturdier and harder and makes it so much easier to push through the small hole, of the bead, just like that, and then slide the bead up to the top. And the easiest way to take all the sellotape off is to just pull the two cords apart like this. And then you can just pull the sellotape off. Now that the first part is done, what we're gonna do is grab our cords. So if you've used all the same colours of cords you won't need to do this step But what I'm gonna do is just separate them out and then mix them together and lay them out. How I would like them to look. So you can see I'm spitting up the three single twists, putting some normal white cord in between. And then I'm just going to mix in the gold speckled cord as well. And just like that, That's how I would like them to look ideally, it might not come out that way, but at least I've mixed them all together. So now we're going to go ahead and take these two cords and split them in half like this. And then we're going to grab all of the cords and just lay them over the wooden bead, making sure that it's at the halfway point. Just like that. So you have an equal amount on either side. And then we're going the two ends from the bead like this. And we're going to tie them in a normal knot So I cross them over. put one end through the loop and then repeat that. So it'll be a double standard knot just to secure all the cords. Just like that. Pull it nice and tight. And now you can go ahead and slightly rearrange. If you wanted them to look in a different order. You can just pull them to the top like this, but make sure you keep an equal amount on either side. And now it's time to complete a wrapping knot, which will just secure the cords in place. and make sure none fall out. So we're gonna take our 20 cm of cord and we're going to make a small tail at the top like this. and a loop at the bottom. You can see we've got a small tail here and this loop at the bottom. And then you see we've got this longer tail and wrap the long tail all the way around like this, around all of the cords. Until we've done about two or three wraps, make sure to do it quite tightly as well. So you still got the on the small tail there. And now it's time to pass this longer tail through the loop that we left at the bottom. Just like this. And you can gently hold that in place and pull on the top tail and you'll see the loop will start to close. So pull it until it's about halfway through the wraps. You don't want to pull it all the way through as it could undo your knot. I'm going to go through each cord of the tassel to make sure that they're not bunched up and that they're laying nice and flat. Just gives it a much neater finished look. And then I'm just gonna go ahead and trim the tassel to my desired length. You could cut some short, some long or all the same length. And of course, trim off the excess cords from the wrapping knot. And just like that, this one is finished. So this was super easy to create, but it creates a really, really lovely textured keyring. I really think they make great gifts for friends and family as well. So let me know which one that you prefer. And we can move on to the last class where I'll go over my final thoughts and I'll give you the class project.
4. Final thoughts & class project: So I hope you loved these keyrings as much as I do. Which one do you prefer? Out of curiosity. I would love for you to make either one of them. You can make both the them. You could switch up the colours, obviously, even on the arrow key ring, you could do two different colours and create a nice pattern that way. I really think you could switch it up and make it entirely you own. Or of course, you could even leave out the wooden bead and just do the exact same process, just minus the wooden bead. So if you could share your progress pictures and your final pictures in the class project section, I would really love to follow along and see your journey. And if you fancy checking out any of my other macrame classes, I have quite a few available on Skillshare now, and I'm really enjoying making them and I really, really love seeing your progress and your final product. And it really makes my day every time I see one. So I hope you enjoyed this class. And of course I had you make your own keyrings.
Megan Chaffe, Owner of Luna Crafts Online
