Home & Garden Home How to Make Macrame Plant Hangers for Your Home No prior knotting experience needed. By Olivia Young Olivia Young Writer Ohio University Olivia Young is a writer, fact checker, and green living expert passionate about tiny living, climate advocacy, and all things nature. She holds a degree in Journalism from Ohio University. Learn about our editorial process Published August 31, 2022 Dmitry Marchenko / EyeEm / Getty Images Home DIY Pest Control Natural Cleaning Family Green Living Thrift & Minimalism Sustainable Eating Overview Working Time: 30 minutes - 1 hour Total Time: 30 minutes - 1 hour Yield: 1 plant hanger Skill Level: Beginner Estimated Cost: $5-10 Bohemian home decor is back in vogue, which means social media inspiration pages are awash with rattan, houseplants—so many houseplants—and earthy, natural tones. What embodies the boho aesthetic better than macrame? Macrame seems like a tricky and time-consuming hobby, but it doesn't have to be either of those things with a simple pattern—and rest assured: This one is the simplest. You'll hardly have to learn any fancy knots, and you can adapt the length of the cords to any size pot. Even experienced cord workers will be drawn to the minimalistic look of these flower child-approved macrame plant hangers. Knots to Know You'll need only three essential (and impossibly easy!) knots for this project—and one of them you already know.Wrap knot: Used to secure a bundle of cords together, this knot is common for attaching cords to rings for plant hangers and tassels.Square knot: This is an important and popular decorative knot that is widely used in macrame to bind around an object (in this case, a plant).Overhand knot: The simplest of knots and one you almost definitely use regularly, the overhand or "single" knot is made by creating a loop in a piece of cord and pulling one end through. What You'll Need Tools Scissors Materials 3mm macrame cord Ring (metal, bamboo, plastic, etc.) Potted houseplant Instructions Cut Your Cord Cut eight pieces of cord, each the same length—for a larger plant, you'll want them each to measure 10 feet. Then, cut an additional, shorter piece a couple feet long for your wrap knot. Slip Cords Through Ring Bundle your eight long cords together so they're even in length and thread them together through the ring. You want the ring to land at the mid-point of the cords so that when you fold them over the ring, you get five, five-foot-long strands. Secure With a Wrap Knot Dorling Kindersley / Rob Streeter / Getty Images Using the shorter piece of cord you cut, create a "U" shape, leaving about four inches of slack on the left end of the cord. The "U" should be one to two inches long. Left of the "U" will be your "short tail" and right of the "U" your "long tail." Place your "U" over the bundle, just below the ring, then begin wrapping the long tail around the bundled cords and over the "U" shape. The short tail should poke out from the top of the coil. Keep wrapping until you reach a length that looks good to you, stopping before you reach the bottom of the "U" so that a loop is left exposed at the bottom of the coil. On the final wrap, thread your long tail down through that loop. Pull the long tail to tighten the knot and the short tail to pull the bottom loop up into the knot. Finish by trimming the tails close to the knot so they aren't visible. Measure Consider the plant you plan to put in your hanger. Is it a spiller? If so, it probably doesn't need much headroom. If it's bushy, though, make sure not to constrict it. Divide your 16 strands into four groups of four. Once you decide how far down you want the top of your pot to hit, mark it lightly with a pencil—this is where your first square knots will go. Create Your First Row of Square Knots Alla Simacheva / EyeEm / Getty Images You'll make a total of eight square knots on this first row—two on each four-cord bundle. To create one square knot, take one of your four bundles and separate the two outer strands from the remaining two in the middle. Where you marked with a pencil, lay the left-side cord over the center two cords but under the right-side cord. Then, thread the right-side cord under the center cords and up through the hole created on the left side. You should see an overhand knot with the two inner cords in the center. Repeat this and pull to tighten for one square knot, then repeat to make two conjoined square knots on each of the four bundles. Create a Second Row of Square Knots With this row, your planter should really begin taking shape. You will join your four bundles together now and create a circular shape by splitting each bundle into two with one inner cord and one outer cord. You should have eight groups of two cords. Create new four-cord bundles by joining adjacent groups of two. Measure how far down you want your second row of square knots to be (should be about halfway down the plant pot), mark the cords lightly, and secure with two conjoined square knots as you did with the first row. Finish and Fill Sarah Sosiak / EyeEm / Getty Images To finish your macrame masterpiece, you can do another wrap knot or a simple overhand knot using all 16 cords. Feel free to trim the remaining cord ends if you prefer shorter fringe. Fill your DIY macrame plant hanger with one of your botanic babies, hang from the ceiling using the ring, and voila! You have a bohemian dream corner. Frequently Asked Questions What kind of rope should you use to make a macrame plant hanger? The great thing about macrame is that you can use almost any material you have lying around, preferably in cord form. If buying new, aim for a sustainable and high-quality material like organic cotton, jute, or hemp. How much weight can macrame hold? If working with proper macrame cord, then your project should be able to hold as much as the ring will allow. Macrame knots are extremely secure under pressure. How do you keep cord ends from fraying? To keep ends from fraying, you can tie an overhand knot at the ends, tape them, or—if working with a poly-based material—melt the ends with a lighter.