Macrame was the latest craft tackled by the Crafty Crew this month, who had a giggle over the different ways this craft is pronounced on the YouTube videos viewed before the meeting. New group member Steph was a complete star as we quickly found the rough jute string Michelle brought along was quite difficult to work with, whereas Steph's smoother eBay purchase was much better. Diane demonstrated the knots she'd learned; the initial binding knot which starts and finishes the work, then the square knot used for the decorative pieces. This knot is worked in two stages and we quickly got used to Diane's comparison with the shape of a pretzel to guide us to producing the correct knot. A complete square knot worked several times produces a decorative straight result, whereas a repeated half square knot introduces a interesting twist. There was only enough time for everyone to get used to the different knots and for Diane to demonstrate how a completed hanger for e.g. a planter would look. Everyone agreed it's a technique they'd like to try further and came away from the meeting inspired. Our next meeting is on Monday 15th April at Ginny's house, where we will get ready for leading the main group in a card making session later in the month. Some resources and tips the Crew found useful for this session:
Macrame plant hanger YouTube tutorial - Diane thinks this is a better tutorial as the presenter makes the knots seem less complicated to do
Macrame plant hanger YouTube tutorial 2 - this is the actual plant hanger design Diane demonstrated
Link to the eBay cord Steph provided. Note it's worth exploring what's out there - some of the Crew thought a slightly thinner cord might produce better results depending on the project and the look envisaged. The booklet Michelle brought along uses cord between 1.5 and 3mm thick for its projects. Diane suggested rattail cord is worth exploring, especially if a shiny, satiny look is required and it comes in lots of different colours
For those of you on Pinterest Ginny suggests typing in Macrame into the App for an overload of inspiration! (Googling or a YouTube search will probably give similar results too)
Fixing the cords onto a hanger bar like Diane's via a hook, peg or ring is useful. The cords not being worked with can be held out of the way and it's an easy way to see the work in progress. Ginny suggested a nail hammered into a board might make a useful substitute for those not having a hanger bar. Weighting the cords down with pegs or similar may also help, particularly if using something like jute string which tries to ravel up on itself again
Don't be surprised at the length of cord required to complete a project. 8 lengths of cord are often needed and the amount used soon mounts up - 20 metres or more is not unusual