{"title":"How to Macrame: 7 Basic Knots Every Beginner Must Know","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/macrame/how-to-macrame","category":{"slug":"macrame","name":"Macramé"},"creator":{"name":"Majestic Macrame","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd5eTUwuil91_GO3fQDYIQg","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOczXVaVNtM"},"tldr":"Learn the 7 fundamental macrame knots in one tutorial. Larks Head, Square, Spiral, Half Hitch, and more - the building blocks for any macrame project.","totalDurationSeconds":661,"difficulty":"easy","tools":["Wooden dowel or rod","Scissors","Tape measure"],"materials":["Macrame cord (3mm or 5mm cotton cord)"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Step 1: Tie a Larks Head Knot","text":"Every macrame project starts with attaching cord to a rod. Fold a long cord in half, drape the fold over the back of the dowel, then bring both cord ends through the loop and pull tight. That's a Larks Head Knot.Each Larks Head produces 2 working strands. Most projects use 4-8 Larks Head knots side by side, giving you 8-16 working strands to knot down through the body of the project."},{"number":2,"title":"Step 2: Tie a Square Knot","text":"Square knots are the workhorse - most macrame walls and plant hangers are mostly square knots. With 4 cords (from 2 Larks Heads), take the leftmost cord OVER the middle two and UNDER the rightmost. Then take the rightmost cord UNDER the middle two and back through the loop.Reverse direction for the second half: start from the right this time. Going right-then-left creates a flat, balanced knot. Skip the reverse and you get a spiral instead (that's Step 4)."},{"number":3,"title":"Step 3: Combine Sets With Alternating Square Knots","text":"Tie square knots in two adjacent groups of 4 cords. For the next row, take the middle 4 cords (2 from each adjacent group) and tie a square knot using those. The pattern shifts so each row of knots offsets the row above.This alternating diamond pattern is the foundation of most macrame wall hangings and plant hanger bodies. Continue down the project, alternating each row with the one above."},{"number":4,"title":"Step 4: Tie a Spiral Knot","text":"Tie ONLY the first half of a square knot - left cord over middle and under right, right cord under middle and through the loop - then repeat exactly that same direction. Don't reverse.The cords twirl as you go. Always lead with the same side (left if you started left, right if you started right). When the cord twists, just spin the project around to keep working from the front."},{"number":5,"title":"Step 5: Tie Double Half Hitch Knots","text":"Take one cord (the 'lead' or 'leader') and hold it horizontally across the others. Each remaining cord is a 'filler' - wrap each filler OVER and UNDER the leader twice, creating two knots per filler.The leader stays straight; the fillers do all the wrapping. The result is a clean horizontal line of knots. Angle the leader for diagonal lines, and you can build any geometric or floral pattern by chaining lead cords together."},{"number":6,"title":"Step 6: Tie a Single Half Hitch Knot","text":"The single Half Hitch is just one wrap (versus two for Double). Always lead with the same cord - take the left cord over the right and through the loop, then repeat with the same left cord over and over.As you keep going, the cord starts to spiral. It's similar to the Spiral Knot in step 4, but uses just two cords instead of four. Useful for narrower decorative spirals."},{"number":7,"title":"Step 7: Tie an Alternating Half Hitch Knot","text":"This time, alternate which cord is the leader. Tie a Half Hitch leading with the LEFT cord, then a Half Hitch leading with the RIGHT cord, then left, then right - back and forth.Alternating creates a delicate woven pattern that lays flat instead of spiraling. Great for thin braided sections, jewelry, or as decorative borders within larger pieces."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-05-20T13:36:39.611Z","published":"2026-04-26T18:21:40.501Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}