Macrame Rug

Macramé is being transformed from a 1970s relic into a hot, trendy art form. A fascinating fact… Given their skill at making knots, it should come as no surprise that sailors are largely responsible for spreading macramé around the world. It was a great way to pass the time and could then be bartered or sold when they docked.

This tutorial fits in perfectly into our beginner projects as it requires no tools or even fixing materials like glue, all you need is some yarn, string or cord. Scroll down where I detail the all the options.  Macramé is a form of textiles produced using knotting (rather than weaving or knitting) techniques. In this project I teach you just one knot the square knot which is one of the first knots to learn on your Macramé journey! This craft helps to find slower and mindful moments through our busy lifestyle. Often, just 10 minutes of macramé is enough to help you completely relax and let your mind wonder!

I’m sure you’ve seen some amazingly beautiful images by photographers who have used macrame rugs underneath a bowl or basket, they are so inspiring and I adore them!  I think they provide a great professional look, they can fit in with a variety of styles from boho, to shabby chic, rustic or even vintage.  I also love macramé wall hangings and plant holders… stick with me and I will be crafting more macramé projects!  This technique I’m showing you is very simple and only uses one type of knot so it’s not going to have a complex pattern like some you see, but you have to start somewhere right?

Macramé Coaster

In the video below, shown as one of our MONDAY MAKES on facebook, I show you how to make a coaster size macramé piece, it would take too long to show you a large size on video, you’d all be falling asleep!  Follow the directions below to make the coaster size, you can then experiment yourself to create a larger size suitable for your photoshoots!

You need just 2 knots, the lark knot to attach your lengths to the short piece of string just as an anchor, then the main knot for the rug is a square knot.  You can find step by step photos of these in the sidebar.

Tools

• Sharp Fabric Scissors
• Ruler / measuring tape
• Masking Tape
• Comb

Materials

• Your choice of yarn, rope or cord! See below for suggestions
• 10 x 1.2 meters of your choice 
• 1x 30cm piece of string

Technique

1- Fix your string with masking tape onto your table top

2- Using a lark knot place the 10 pieces of cord onto your piece of string.

3- Measure 6cm under your string and start a row of 5 square knots

4- Continue to make alternated rows of 5 and 4 square knots until you have 11 rows.

5- Cut your cords under the string and then measure 6cm under your last row of square knots and cut all lengths of cord

6- Unravel each of the cords on both sides then with the help of a comb brush them into a beautiful fringe!

Do a row of square knots working your way from left to right using 4 strands each time.

For the alternate square knots, you’re going to ignore the first 2 cords and the last 2 cords.

Divide the remaining cords into sets of 4.

Complete square knots using these sets.

Take note of the varying lengths the ends become as you progress with more knots. Consider this when calculating your final size and make sure you stop knotting in time leaving a decent sized fringe!