The document is a comprehensive macrame knot guide by Curious Craft Studio, providing detailed instructions and terminology for various macrame knots including mounting knots, basic knots, clove hitches, and end knots. It includes visual aids and video links for better understanding, aimed at both beginners and enthusiasts. The guide emphasizes the importance of knowing the filler cord and offers tips for successful knotting.
The document is a comprehensive macrame knot guide by Curious Craft Studio, providing detailed instructions and terminology for various macrame knots including mounting knots, basic knots, clove hitches, and end knots. It includes visual aids and video links for better understanding, aimed at both beginners and enthusiasts. The guide emphasizes the importance of knowing the filler cord and offers tips for successful knotting.
The document is a comprehensive macrame knot guide by Curious Craft Studio, providing detailed instructions and terminology for various macrame knots including mounting knots, basic knots, clove hitches, and end knots. It includes visual aids and video links for better understanding, aimed at both beginners and enthusiasts. The guide emphasizes the importance of knowing the filler cord and offers tips for successful knotting.
The document is a comprehensive macrame knot guide by Curious Craft Studio, providing detailed instructions and terminology for various macrame knots including mounting knots, basic knots, clove hitches, and end knots. It includes visual aids and video links for better understanding, aimed at both beginners and enthusiasts. The guide emphasizes the importance of knowing the filler cord and offers tips for successful knotting.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com WELCOME! “ The expert in anything was once a beginner.” Helen Hayes
Let’s knot together!
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xo Tuija www.curiouscraftstudio.com 2 INDEX
p. 4 MACRAME TERMINOLOGY
MOUNTING KNOTS
p. 5 Lark’s head p. 6 Double lark’s head p. 7 Lark’s head with half hitches p. 8 Reversed lark’s head p. 9 Reversed lark’s head with half hitch v1 p. 10 Reversed lark’s head with half hitch v2 p. 11 Lark’s head with twist
BASIC KNOTS
p. 13 Half knot p. 14 Square knot p. 15 Square knot + twist p. 16 Bow / shoelace knot p. 16 Overhand knot
CLOVE HITCHES
p. 17 Intro to clove hitches
p. 18 Horizontal clove hitch (double half hitch) p. 19 Diagonal clove hitch p. 20 Vertical clove hitch p. 21 Clove hitch “mess” or “untightened”
END KNOTS
p. 22 Gathering knot
VIDEO TIP:
If you click on “Watch Video” you will be
redirected to Youtube. When you watch the videos on Youtube, go to “Settings” on the bottom of the video to select 720p or 1080p HD settings for better viewing quality.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 3 MACRAME TERMINOLOGY You will want to know these basic macrame terms when starting to learn macrame.
Macrame cord: • Also referred to as macrame rope or yarn. You will find that macrame cord can come in 3 forms – braided, 3 ply, and single strand.
Working / knotting cords:
• The cord or set of cords you use to make the actual knots.
Filler cord: • The cord or set of cords that your knots wrap around.
Mounting cord: • Mounting cords, dowels, and rings are the terms used for the items that you can at- tach the vertical “knotting” cords to at the very beginning of the work.
Wrapping Cord: • The cord used to gather and wrap a group of cords. You often see this at the top or bottom of a plant hanger.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 3 LARK’S HEAD WATCH VIDEO
This knot is the most basic macrame mounting knot, because it’s great for adding cords to start off your work or for adding cords in the middle of your work.
Fold your cord in half and place the loop over the filler cord or dowel. Then bring the loop around the back and pull your two cord ends through the loop to tighten.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 4 DOUBLE LARK’S HEAD WATCH VIDEO
Make a lark’s head knot like on the previous page and add another lark’s head knot on top of it and pull all four cord ends through the loop.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 5 LARK’S HEAD with HALF HITCHES WATCH VIDEO
Start by making a lark’s head knot as seen on page 4. Then add a half hitch on both sides of it:
• Bring the working cords above the dowel
• Take them around the back and through the loops you created. Tighten.
Photos 3 and 4 are both finished knots, but seen from the front and back. I personally like the latter knot better, but to everyone their taste!
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 6 REVERSED LARK’S HEAD WATCH VIDEO
This knot is the same as the normal lark’s head knot - only seen from the reverse side!
Fold the cord in half and place the loop UNDER the filler cord or dowel. Bring the loop around the front and pull your two cord ends through the loop to tighten.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 7 REVERSED LARK’S HEAD WATCH VIDEO
with HALF HITCHES v1
Start by making a reversed lark’s head knot as seen on the previous page so that you start with a knot like in the first photo. Then add the half hitches on both sides of the knot:
• Bring the working cords above the dowel
• Take them around the back and through the loops you created. Tighten.
Photos on the bottom row are the two sides of the finished knot. I always use the first version, but please, if you use the second version let me know with a photo - I would love to see it!
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 8 REVERSED LARK’S HEAD WATCH VIDEO
with HALF HITCHES v2
This is almost the same knot as the one before this, yet it looks very different!
Start by making a reversed lark’s head knot as seen on the previous page so that you start with a knot like in the first photo. Then add the half hitches on both sides of the knot:
• Take the working cords below the dowel
• Bring them around the front and through the loops you created. Tighten.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 9 LARK’S HEAD with TWIST WATCH VIDEO
In this fun version of the traditional lark’s head knot another cord is added to pass by the front of the knot that otherwise looks just like a normal lark’s head.
Follow the six photos on this page and the next:
• Fold the cord in half and place it onto the dowel (with an equal length of cord hang- ing on both sides of the dowel). • Take a hold of the back cord from the left side of the front cord, right underneath the dowel, and bring it to front. • Twist the back cord anticlockwise to form a loop. • Bring the loop up, behind and underneath the dowel. • Pass the cord ends through the loop and tighten (make sure both cords ends are still approximately the same length).
Adjust the “twist” to it’s correct place in the front of the dowel.
If you’d prefer the twist to go from right to left, start off by grabbing the back cord from the right side of the front cord and repeat the steps.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 10 LARK’S HEAD with TWIST WATCH VIDEO
Continued.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 11 HALF KNOT WATCH VIDEO
Half knot can be used on it’s own, but it is most commonly seen as part of the square knot.
Half knot can be knotted with either the left cord on top or the right cord on top.
Set up: You need four cords for a half knot: two filler cords in the middle and two work- ing cords on the sides.
• Place the leftmost working cord over the two central filler cords and under the right- most working cord. • Take the rightmost working cord under the two filler cords and through the loop you created with the other working cord.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 12 SQUARE KNOT WATCH VIDEO
Square knot is two half knots made in opposite directions. You need four cords for a square knot: two filler cords in the middle and two working cords on the sides.
First make a half knot (see previous page). Then repeat another half knot underneath the first one, but keep the same working cord on top of the filler cords as you did in the previous half knot.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 13 SQUARE KNOT with TWIST WATCH VIDEO
Square knot with twist is a fun technique to use for surfaces and chains and it can be done right or left facing. The knots below are left facing as the little “bump” of the square knot is on the left.
First make one square knot. Then invert the filler and working cords and make another square knot.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 14 BOW KNOT (SHOELACE) I imagine everyone knows this knot, but here it is just in case you don’t know what knot this name refers to!
• Make two loops with the same cord and tie them tight with an overhand knot.
OVERHAND KNOT Did you know the name to this basic knot? Well here it is, probably the most common knot there is in the world: overhand knot.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 15 CLOVE HITCH If you follow my blog you already know that this is my favorite knot! Hence I will dedicate a full page of presentation for it. It deserves and needs it. Or you can read my blog post about the clove hitch knots here. Let’s go!
In theory the clove hitch knot is super easy. The issues with clove hitch knots start when you need to change direction! Or tie vertical knots, or in a way that I like to call “untight- ened” to create funky looking surfaces.
The solution lies in your filler cord, aka the cord that the clove hitch is knotted around. This is the number one most important advice I like to give beginner macrame learners:
Know your filler cord & keep it straight inside the knot.
Too often the issue is that the working cord and
filler cord switch places.
DOUBLE HALF HITCH or COW HITCH?
The clove hitch knot is often also referred to as
double half hitch or cow hitch. The two parts of the clove hitch are called half hitches, so per- haps that’s where the name double half hitch comes from.
BASIC STRUCTURE
The clove hitch’s structure is simple: While the
filler cord stays always straight inside the knot, the working cord loops around it twice so that the cord goes in and out from the middle of the knot. On the “right” side you see two cords and on the “reverse” side you see one loop going across.
DIRECTION
All four different versions of the clove hitch you will find after this page are knotted right facing. The direction is determined according to the knotting direction, aka where the following knot would come to be.
You can make left facing clove hitch knots by mirrowing the steps and working towards left.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 16 HORIZONTAL CLOVE HITCH WATCH VIDEO
Set up: Horizontal filler cord that stays straight and the working cord hangs from the top.
• Take the working cord behind the filler cord, and loop it around the filler cord and back down. • Using the same working cord, make another loop around the filler cord and pull the end through the loop and tighten.
Note how the working cord goes into and out of the knot in the middle of the knot.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 17 DIAGONAL CLOVE HITCH WATCH VIDEO
Set up: Hold the filler cord diagonally. The working cord hangs from the top.
• With the working cord, make a loop around the filler cord. • Use the same working cord, make another loop around the filler cord and pull the end through the loop and tighten.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 18 VERTICAL CLOVE HITCH WATCH VIDEO
Set up: Hold the filler cord vertically. The working cord comes from the side and moves horizontally from one knot to the next.
• With the working cord, make a loop around the filler cord. • Use the same working cord, make another loop around the filler cord and pull the end through the loop and tighten.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 19 “UNTIGHTENED” CLOVE HITCH WATCH VIDEO
Knot each new row in the opposite direction as the previous one and “lodge” the knots within each other to create a mesh.
Right facing knot set up: Left cord is the filler cord going diagonally towards the right.
• Pass your working cord under the filler cord and make a loop with the working cord around the filler cord. . • Make another loop around the filler cord and pull the end through the loop. • Tighten the knot, but leave around 0.5mm of space inbetween the two half hitches.
www.curiouscraftstudio.com 20 GATHERING KNOT WATCH VIDEO
This is a nice and simple technique to bundle cords together. It suitable for a variety of designs, such as plant hangers and tassels.
• Bundle together the cords you want to be wrapped.
• Place the wrapping cord on the cord bundle with a loop facing one way and the end of the cord facing the other way. • Start wrapping your cord tightly around the bundle of cords (at least five times). • Once you’re done wrapping, pass the end of the cord through the loop. • Pull on the cord end to slide the loop under the wrap and create a knot. Position the knot halfway inside the wrap. Cut the wrapping cord on both sides.
