Boho style decor has taken on a life of its own lately, popping up in homes in all corners of the world. And what’s one popular element often found in bohemian style spaces? 70’s textile craft macrame, of course! So today we’re teaching you how to make a simple macrame wall hanging out of yarn.
Materials
- 3-4 skeins of yarn in different colors
- Scissors
- 16″ long dowel or stick
- Scotch tape
- Super glue (not pictured)
Step
Begin by cutting your yarn into pieces that are 3 yards long each. You’ll need 10 pieces of each color. Select one of each color and fold them in half, placing the folded end over the dowel and pulling the tails through the hole as shown above. Repeat this process for the remaining yarn.
Step
Now that you have all 10 clusters attached to the dowel, tape it down to your work surface. Each set of three colors will act as one strand… you’ll never use one individual piece of yarn. Take the outside cluster of the three colors and fold it in a “4” shape over the next two clusters as shown above.
Step
Take the fourth cluster and fold it in a backwards “4” shape underneath the middle pieces (so the opposite of what you did in the previous step). It helps to bunch the tails up into a ball so you can maneuver them better.
Step
Bring those tails up through the hole in the first “4” shape.
Step
Put the opposite set of tails down through the backwards “4” shape. Pull the tails taut so they end up about 2 inches from the dowel. Repeat this same knot in reverse, so start by putting the right piece over to the left in a backwards “4” shape and then put the left piece under to the right side, etc. For a general instructional diagram, check out this post. Continue across in the same manner.
Step
On the next row, do the opposite pieces so that you start to form diamond shapes. (Leave the end two strands alone – you’ll use them on the next row.) Do 5 rows and then trim the ends to your desired length. I like fringe, so I left about 2 feet on the bottom. Tie a 2 foot long string across the top from one end of the stick to the other, and secure with a bit of super glue.
Hang it on the wall using a nail or screw. It’s a very light piece, so you most likely won’t need to insert a wall anchor.
The final product is a bit unusual, thanks to the materials (traditional macrame is made with rope or cord, not clustered yarn). And you can really customize the colors this way too! Imagine what it might look like with neon pink? Or a mix of cool and warm colors?
You can also customize it by changing the scale… use 4 or 5 yarn colors per cluster and loop 16 clusters around the stick for a larger version of this piece. Have fun with it!
