Braided rope macramé—is another one of the arts to be resurrected by those who enjoy working with their hands. Just as surface needlework, quilting, and embroidery are becoming increasingly popular, macramé has turned the 1970s relic into a hot, fashionable art form.

A flexible style of fibre work, macramé can be used to create anything from picture frames and flower hangers to accessories, wallets and even apparel pieces. Using basic materials such as cotton rope, jute, yarn, or hemp, macramé may be as complex or simple as the craftsman would like. Adornments such as wood or glass beads, as well as coloured threads, may also give up a variety of artistic ideas.

Know a little about the fascinating past of macramé before jumping into simple techniques and suggestions about how to start making your own or buying a modern macramé.

The History of Macramé

In reality, Macramé’s origins are very fascinating, with the root’s centuries old. Some claim that the term derives from the thirteenth century Arabic term migramah, which says “fringe.” Others claim that its roots lie in the Turkish term makrama, which corresponds to “napkin” or “towel,” and it was a way of securing weaving bits by using excessive threads all along bottom or top of knitted fabric.

Either way, the decorated macramé originally first appeared in the sculptures of the Assyrians and the Babylonians, depicting the fringed embroidery used to decorate costumes. In the thirteenth century, Arab craftsmen used elegant stitches to complete the extra yarn of shawls, veils, and towels.

Although most of them think of macramé as the trend of the 1970s, the art gained a large amount of popularity in Victorian London. First brought to London at the end of the 1700s, Queen Mary herself educated her ladies-in-waiting. Many Victorian households had some kind of macrame cord décor. They were used not only to decorate clothes but also as covers, bedspreads and rugs.

Given their ability to make knots, this should come as no shock that sailors are primarily responsible for the rise of macramé across the globe. It was a perfect way to spend time, and then they’d be sold or battered when they docked, taking it to places like China and the World. Belts, Hammocks and bell fringes were some of the most common artifacts produced by American and British sailors in the mid-nineteenth century. Writings like the 1877 Imperial Macramé Lace Book, which describes in detail about various knots and designs, shows how common the practice was at that time

After declining from popularity, Macramé saw a revival in the early 1980s. It was used to represent the Bohemian theme and to make picture frames, plant hangers, jewellery, and clothes. The art gradually lost popularity, but the movements appear to be very cyclical. Today, macramé is thriving, gaining momentum again as innovative craftsmen come up with modern styles that have reinvigorated historic knotting techniques.

There is a wide range of synthetic and natural fibres that you can use to produce macramé. Regular projects usually need three mm to six mm thick strings. Jewellery and tiny decorative objects are made by micro-macramé, which basically means that the string used is 0.5 mm to 2 mm thick.