This document provides information about macramé, including its history and materials. Macramé originated in the 13th century Arabic world and involves knotting cord rather than weaving or knitting. Common materials include cotton, hemp, and nylon cords. The document then describes several basic macramé knots - the lark's head, square, spiral, alternating square, and gathering knots - and provides illustrated instructions for tying each one. It concludes by listing image sources and references for further information about macramé techniques.

1. By Bernard E. Richardson | Master Teacher & Art Educator | 2023
© Bernard E. Richardson | 2023

2. MACRAMÉ
Macramé is a form of textile making using knotting instead of weaving or
knitting.
• It is a versatile form of Fibre arts and basically consists of a series of
knots tied together to create anything from wall hangings, plant
hangers and jewelry to bags, belts and even other clothing items.

3. Macramé History
• Macramé comes from a 13 century Arabic weavers’ word migramah
which means ‘fringe’. This refers to the decorative fringes on the
camels and horses which help, amongst other things to keep the
flies off the animal in the hot desert regions of northern Africa.

4. Materials Macrame Materials
For most macrame projects, you will need:
• Cord
• Scissors
• Measuring tape
Other material needed for some projects include:
• Rings/hoops - metal, wooden or plastic
• Cord
• Dowel sticks
• Wooden beads (assorted colours and sizes)s
• Purse handles, belt buckles etc {depending on what you are
making)
Macrame Cords
Macrame cords are made from natural and synthetic materials.
• Natural fibres are the best to use as they are soft, flexible and
widely available. They are easy to tie and wont stretch
• Includes cords made from cotton, hemp, jute, leather, silk and
wool.
• Synthetic fibres include cords made from polyester, nylon, satin
and olefin

5. Lark’s Head knot
To make a Lark’s Head Knot:
1. Measure and cut a length of cord. Fold the cord in half,
bringing the ends together.
2. Bring the folded loop up in front of the dowel, then back
down behind the dowel.
3. With the loop pointing downwards, pull the two ends of
the cord through the loop.
4. Pull down on the ends to tighten the knot, making sure
both ends are even.
• This knot is the basic starter knot used to attach the
rope to a ring, dowel rod, driftwood or even another
rope.
• It can be tied forward-facing or reverse-facing.

6. Square knot
• The Square Knot is a versatile macrame knot can be use
in almost every pattern.
• It is made with four cords: two outer cords, called working
cords, around two middle cords, called filler cords.
To make a Square Knot:
1. Start with 4 pieces of cord making 2 lark’s head knots.
2. Place the right outer cord across the 2 middle cords,
3. Run the left outside cord over the right outer cord then under the
middle cords and up through the opening.
4. With the outer cord strands, gently tighten the knot.
5. Make sure the knot is pulled tight, but be careful no to pull too tightly.
6. Now repeat Steps 2 – 4, starting with the left side this time.
Place the left side outer cord across the two middle cords
7-8. Run the right outer cord over the left outer cord then under the
middle cords and up through the opening. Gently tighten the square knot
with the outer cords.

7. Spiral knot • This knot is also called the Half knot spiral because it is
made with half of a Square knot.
• For the spiral knot, the cords are tied/moved in the
same direction each time, which causes the twisting.
To make a Spiral Knot:
1. Start with 4 pieces of cord making 2 lark’s head knots.
2. Place the right outer cord across the 2 middle cords,
3. Run the left outside cord over the right outer cord then under
the middle cords and up through the opening.
4. With the outer cord strands, gently tighten the knot.
5. Make sure the knot is pulled tight, but be careful no to pull
too tightly.
Now repeat Steps 2 – 4 until the knot begins to twist
and creating the spiral.

8. Alternating Square knot
To make an Alternating Square Knot:
1. Start with 4 pieces of cord making 2 lark’s head next to each
other creating two groups.
2.Create two sets of square knots.(Place the right outer cord
across the 2 middle cords and pull tightly).
3. For both groups create equal length of square knots.
4a-b. Use the cords 3 & 4 from the left group and 5 & 6 from the
right group, use them to create a square knot in the center.
Gently tighten the knot.
4. Tie square knots to a desired length.
5. Repeat from Step 2.

9. Gathering knot The Gathering knot gathers and holds the cords together as
a ‘starter knot’ and or as a ‘finishing knot’.
To make a Gathering Knot:
1.Gather the group of cords together (whether to start or finish).
2. Take a separate individual cord and wrap it around your group of
cords. Make a soft loop on one end of the separate cord.
3. Begin wrapping the separate cord around and around the loop
you made and the group of cords underneath starting at the top
and working downwards.
4. After wrapping, push the remaining end of the cord through the
loop.
5. Pull on the cord at the top of the wrap to slide the loop into/
under the wrapped cord. Pull to tighten the wrapped cord as
needed.
6. Trim both the wrapping cord and the pull cord close to the
wrapped knot. The gathering knot is completed.

10. Image Courtesies
• https://theideagarden.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/mac2c-768x491.jpg
• https://live.staticflickr.com/5608/15814595681_26812949c4_b.jpg
References
• Fabricland. (2022). Macrame knots information a simple guide on how to create the basic
macrame knots for beginners sheet https://fabricland.ca/howto/macrame-knot-info.php
• Make & Fable. (2023) 5 questions and answers for a macrame beginner
https://makeandfable.com/2021/06/5-questions-from-macrame-beginner/
• Wendy. (My french twist – a year of making beautiful things.
https://www.myfriendtwist.com/macrame-made-easy/square-knot/
• Judy Palmer. ( ). Hang it up with macramé. Grace Publications, Ontario.

11. The End