How to Make Alternating Square Knots in Macrame
If you can tie a square knot, you have mastered one of the most important, most commonly used macrame techniques. Alternating square knots produced over many rows of knotting creates a flat piece that works much like a flat piece of crocheted or knitted fabric. Combined with other knots and with some shaping, these pieces form the basis of macrame tote bags, wall hangings, jewelry or even vests or tunics.
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Things You'll Need
- Cord or heavy-weight string, four 20 inch lengths
- Wooden dowel, 12 inches long
- Masking tape
- Work table
Instructions
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1
Fold a length of cord in half. Place the dowel on the work table, parallel to the table edge. Place the looped end of the cord beneath the dowel, then thread the cut ends up, over the dowel and through the loop. Pull the ends until the cord is snugly knotted to the dowel, and adjust the knot so that it is below the dowel, and the loose ends extend down the work table towards you. Repeat with the remaining three lengths of cord, knotting them onto the dowel, and spacing the resulting knots evenly across the length of the dowel.
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2
Place the dowel with the knotted cords about 14 inches away from the edge of the table nearest you, and parallel to the edge. Arrange the loose ends of the cord so that they are pointing towards you, and parallel to each other. Tape the dowel ends to the table so that it won't shift as you work, taking care to avoid catching the knotted cord in the tape. You now have eight cord lengths extending down from the dowel.
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3
Tape the bottom of cords 2,3,6,7,10,11,14 and 15 (counting from the left) to the table. These taped cords will serve as the filler cords for the first row of square knots.
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4
Lift cord 1, form a C-shaped loop to the left of the remaining cords, then place the rest of the cord on top of and perpendicular to the remaining cords (parallel to the dowel). Lift cord 4 up (replace cord 1 if it is moved out of position as you pull cord 4 up). Place the cord over cord 1, then thread it under cords 2 and 3, then through the C-shaped loop of cord 1. Pull the ends of cords 1 and 4 to tighten the knot. This is the first half of the square knot.
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5
Lift cord 1 (it's now to the right of cords 2 and 3), form a backwards C-shaped loop to the right of the half-knot you just tied, then place the rest of the cord on top of and perpendicular to cords 2 and 3 (parallel to the dowel). Lift cord 4 up (it's now to the left of the half-knot you just tied). Place cord 4 over cord 1, then thread it under cords 2 and 3, then through the C-shaped loop of cord 1. Pull the ends of cords 1 and 4 to tighten the knot. Step 4 and 5 together result in a square knot.
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6
Using the technique outlined in steps 4 and 5, tie square knots across the remaining cords. The taped cords are the filler cords, and the adjacent loose cords on either side of each filler will form the square knots over those filler cords. You will have 4 square knots spread across the width of the cords, located just below the dowel.
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7
Remove the masking tape holding the loose ends of the filler cords. For the next row, tape the ends of cords 1, 4, 5, 8,9,12,13, 16 to the table. These cords will be much shorter than the filler cords from the previous row.
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8
Tie square knots with cords 3 and 6 over filler cords 4 and 5, cords 7 and 10 over filler cords 8 and 9, and cords 11 and 14 over 12 and 13. This row of square knots is considered the alternating row, because it places a square knot between and just below the previously tied row of square knots.
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9
Continue knotting additional rows as follows: The next row of knots will be tied over the cords as outlined in steps 4 and 5, followed by another row of knots ties as outlined in steps 6 and 7. Continue in this way until your macrame piece is the desired length.
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Tips & Warnings
Pull the dowel out of the top of the macrame piece when you've finished your last row of alternating square knots: The loops will open out, but the piece will not unravel nor will the knots come out.
References
- Photo Credit reef knot image by bluedelta from Fotolia.com
