macrame 3-pot planter tutorial

 

Why a macrame 3-pot planter tutorial? Here’s why: I have a friend who is, without a doubt, the best stepmom in the world. She keeps her children involved in wholesome activities all summer and lovingly encourages them to enter their accomplishments in local contests and fairs. Well, she roped me and my budding macrame skills into the county fair hoopla, too (pun intended).

To please my friend, I acquiesced; but in the process, I really started getting into the challenge. That’s what’s so great about art, right? The creative process always unleashes your inner child. For the macrame planter category, I’ve come up with this 3-pot planter, 24 inches wide but just small enough to hang on a door.

I call this planter Indigo Fair. It may look complicated, but all you really need to know are 3 basic knots – Square Knot, Half Hitch Knot, and the Wrapped Knot. You can find tutorials for them here.

Supplies needed:

• 18 pieces of 5 mm cotton rope, each measuring 10 feet
• one wooden dowel, 24″ long and 3/4″ diameter
• three 15-oz tin food cans, painted

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step 1

First, I painted the ends of the pole copper. An easy trick is to tape a piece of paper over the pole, leaving only the end exposed. Then place it in a cardboard box to spray paint it.

step 2

Cut 18 pieces of 5 mm rope, each measuring 10 feet long. I’ve been yearning to make a project with colored cord and fell in love with this indigo shade. It’s 100 percent cotton and frays easily for a playful fringe. 

Tie 18 Lark’s Head Knots onto the pole. 

step 3

About 1.5″ down from the Lark’s Head Knots, start with the first individual cord on the left and make a row of 9 Square Knots.

step 4

About 1.5″ down from the last row of knots, starting with the 3rd individual cord on the left, make a second row of 8 Alternating Square Knots. 

step 5

Again, about 1.5″ down from the last row, starting with the 1st individual cord on the left, make a row of 9 Square Knots. You now have a total of 3 rows of knots.

step 6 – left section

Now you need to start thinking of this planter as 3 individual projects, working with one section of 12 individual cords at a time.

Starting with the first 6 cords on the left, weaving left to right, begin making Half Hitch Knots, angling downward. Then, starting with the 12th individual cord from the left, weaving right to left, begin making Half Hitch Knots, also angling downward toward the center (of this section).

step 7

Make a second row of Half Hitch Knots just like the ones above. 

step 8

Make a chunky center knot with the 4 middle cords in this section. (I’m not sure if there is a proper name for this type of knot, but watch this video to see how I did it.)

step 9

Now, beginning on the inside and working outwards, make 4 more rows (2 rows for each side as shown) of Half Hitch Knots. 

step 10

About 2″ down, starting with the 3rd individual cord on the left, make a row of 2 Square Knots.

Using the 4 loose cords (2 on each end), tie a third Square Knot. This will begin to make the “pocket” for the flower pot.

step 11

About 2″ down from the last row, make another row of 3 Alternating Square Knots. Then about 2.5″ lower finish it off with a Wrapped Knot. Untwist the cords to create fringe.

step 12 – before starting next section

Now that you have finished the left section, look at the remaining 24 individual cords. About 1.5″ from the last (3rd) row of knots, starting with the 3rd individual cord on the left, make a row of 5 Alternating Square Knots. 

Again, about 1.5″ down, starting with the 1st individual cord on the left, make another row of 6 Alternating Square Knots. 

step 13 – middle section

Now focus only on the middle section, which consists of 12 indidivual cords. Directly underneath the middle Square Knot, begin weaving the Half Hitch Knot. Start with the 6th cord from the left and weave Half Hitch Knots from right to left, angling down toward the left. 

Then with the 7th cord, weave Half Hitch Knots from left to right, angling down toward the right.

step 14

About 1.5″ down from the center top of the arch, make a Square Knot with the center 4 cords.

Then, starting with the far left cord, weave Half Hitch Knots from left to right, angling downward towards the center. (Use only the first 6 cords.) 

Next, starting with the far right cord, weave Half Hitch Knots from right to left, angling downward towards the center.

step 15

About 2″ down from the bottom of the “V” make a row of 2 Square Knots, starting with the 3rd individual cord from the left. Using the 4 loose cords (2 on each end), tie a third Square Knot. This will begin to make the “pocket” for the flower pot. (This is the same as step 10.)

step 16

Then about 1.5″ down, make a row of 3 Alternating Square Knots.

Again, about 1 – 1.5″ down, make another row of 3 Alternating Square Knots.

step 17

About 2.5″ lower than the last row of knots, finish it off with a Wrapped Knot. Untwist the cords to create fringe.

step 18 – right section

You now have one section left (12 individual cords). About 1.5″ inches down from the last row of knots, beginning with the 3rd cord from the left, make a row of 2 Square Knots. About 1.5″ inches down from this row, make a row of 3 Alternating Square Knots.

step 19

Starting with the cord on the far right, directly underneath the last row of knots, tie Half Hitch Knots from right to left, angling down. Next, tie another row of Half Hitch Knots from left to right, angling down as shown.

step 20

About 1″ down from the last row of Half Hitch Knots, beginning with the cord on the far left, make a row of 3 Square Knots.

Again, about 1″ down, make another row of 3 Alternating Square Knots (with the front knot creating the pocket.)

Finish with a Wrapped Knot.

final touches

Now that the wall-hanging is finished, fill the pockets with containers. I used copper painted tin cans to complement the copper ends of my pole. Then fill the cans with flowers (faux succulents would work well, too) and enjoy!

The biggest compliment is a little share – pin the photo below!