How to Make Macrame Earrings: 3 Easy Patterns

Grab two earring hooks, two jump rings and your jewelry pliers. Twist one jump ring open sideways with the pliers. Pulling it apart wide warps the circle. Slide the open ring through the small loop at the bottom of a hook, then twist it closed again so the ends meet flush. Repeat for the second hook. Every one of the three earring styles starts this way.

For the feather earrings, fold an 8 inch piece of cord in half. Push the folded loop through the jump ring, then bring both cord ends through that loop. Pull the ends to tighten. That is a lark's head knot, and it gives you two center cords hanging down. Do the same on the second earring so the pair is ready for its fringe.

Pin the earring to a cork trivet or tape it to the table. Fold a 5 inch cord in half and lay it under the two center cords with the loop on the left. Fold a second cord and lay it on top, loop facing right. Bring the ends of the bottom cord up through the top cord's loop, and the top cord's ends down through the bottom loop. Pull all four ends tight.

Tie the next row the same way, but flip the direction. This time the bottom cord's loop faces right and the top cord's loop faces left. Alternating gives the feather a neat braided spine down the middle. Pull the row tight and push it up under the last one. Keep going until you have five rows on each earring.

Lay both earrings flat. Take a pet slicker brush and comb through the fringe on the front, then flip and brush the back. The fine wire bristles pull the cotton strands apart until they turn fluffy and soft. Hold the knots in your other hand so you do not tug them loose. Keep brushing until no twist is left in any strand.

Your earrings will look like fuzzy pom poms at this point. With sharp scissors, snip the fringe into a leaf or feather outline, longer at the top and coming to a point at the bottom. Take small cuts and turn the earring as you go. Hold the two earrings side by side to match their size before the final trim.

For the second pair you need two wooden half circle frames and eight 6 inch cords. Fold one cord in half and push the loop through the frame from front to back. Bring both ends through the loop and pull snug. Add three more cords the same way, side by side along the curve. Four lark's head knots is all this pair needs.

Open a jump ring with your pliers. Thread it through the small hole at the top of the wooden frame, then slip an earring hook onto the same open ring. Twist the jump ring closed. Repeat on the second frame. Comb the cord ends straight and trim them level, or brush them out for a softer look. This is the quickest pair of the three.

Thread two 12 inch cords through a jump ring and center it. Lay one cord across and one up and down so you have four ends. Fold the bottom end up over the right one. Bring the right over the top, the top over the left, then tuck the left through the first loop. Pull all four ends tight. Repeat until you have five crown knots stacked.

Tie a 12 inch piece of jute twine around the base of the crown knots. Hold the short end along the fringe and wrap the long end around five or six times. Knot the ends at the bottom of the wrap. Thread them onto a large eye needle and pull them up under the wraps, then snip. Add the earring hook to the jump ring and trim the tassel.