Macrame Wall Hangings

Lessons

1. Before You Tie Anything

   What to buy, why cotton, and how to set up so you don't waste cord.

   • •What this class is and what you'll walk out with12 min
   • •Cotton cord, not the poly stuff, and here's why15 min
   • •Buy the dowel, sand the ends, don't cut it yourself14 min
   • •Measure twice: cutting cord without coming up short18 min
2. The First Two Knots

   The lark's head to mount your cord and the square knot, the one that does most of the work.

   • •Mounting cord on the dowel with a lark's head15 min
   • •The square knot, slow, twice22 min
   • •Getting your tension even so it doesn't pucker20 min
   • •Step back every few rows and don't fall in love with a mistake16 min
3. The Other Two Knots

   Half hitches and the diagonal lines they make, which is where a plain hanging starts to look like something.

   • •The half hitch and the double half hitch22 min
   • •Diagonal lines and where beginners run them backward20 min
   • •Spiral knots, the twisty ones people always want18 min
   • •Practice row: all four knots on one small sampler25 min
4. Planning Without a Pattern

   You don't need a printed pattern, just four knots and a rough plan for where they go.

   • •Why most beginner patterns are harder than the thing they make14 min
   • •Sketching a simple layout on paper first16 min
   • •Color: natural and one accent, and I'll admit that's Deborah's department12 min
   • •Cutting the rest of your cord to match your first row15 min
5. Building Your Hanging

   Working the whole piece top to bottom without letting it drag on for six weeks.

   • •Starting the top rows and keeping them square25 min
   • •Filling the middle: mixing square knots and half hitches24 min
   • •Freestyling a section that's yours22 min
   • •When something's wrong, undo it now, not later18 min
6. Finishing and Giving It Away

   The last steps, trimming the fringe once, and what to do with a hanging when it's done.

   • •Tying off the bottom and adding a hanging cord16 min
   • •Combing and trimming the fringe, last, on the wall20 min
   • •Fixing the crooked bits, or leaving them, that'll do14 min
   • •Late is still done: finishing at home and giving it to someone12 min

Class discussion