Advanced Hemp Macrame Instructions
Many people enjoy making macramé projects. Though gimp is one of the most popular macramé mediums, linen cord and hemp are often used for jewelry making, especially hemp. It is inexpensive and has a casual, stylish feel that weavers can enhance with beading. Hemp also comes in a variety of colors, though the most common is its natural sandy beige.
Macramé works well as a craft for people of all ages because the knots range from very simple to more advanced and difficult. The more advanced stitches often require more strands of hemp, longer strands and higher dexterity. The twist stitch is one such stitch.
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Instructions
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1
Cut two of your hemp colors by measuring off a foot for each inch of finished product you want. For instance, to make a 10-inch necklace, cut 10 feet of two of your colors. The third color should be half again as long as the other two; in this case, 15 feet. This stitch takes up a lot of length in each stitch.
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2
Find the center of all three strands. Lay the longest strand vertically across the index finger of your non-dominant hand with the center touching your finger. Lay the other two strands horizontally on top of the first about 1/8 inch apart with their centers touching your finger as well.
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3
Hold the strands' centers in place with your thumb. Bring the bottom length of the vertical strand up over the other two in a loop about ¼ inch high. Slip the strand between your middle and first fingers to hold the loop in place. Bring the top length of the vertical strand down to form a second loop to the left of the first. Hold it in place between your middle and ring fingers.
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4
Bring the left length of the top horizontal strand through both loops. Slip it over the right loop and under the left loop and then over the left loop and under the right loop so the end sticks out to the right.
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5
Bring the right length of the bottom horizontal strand over the right loop and under the left and then over the left loop and under the right. Gently tug on the ends of all three strands until the loops are tight and form a small, color-blocked brick.
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6
Place the little brick on your middle finger so that the longer strand is vertical and sticks out on the right side of the top of the brick and the left side of the bottom. Fold the top right length down and the bottom left length up to form two loops about 1/8 inch high and side by side.
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7
Fold the bottom left horizontal strand over the left loop and under the right. Fold the bottom right horizontal strand over the right loop and under the left. Bring the upper left strand over the left loop and under the right one and the upper right strand over the right loop and under the left one.
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8
Make sure strands of the same color are folded through the loops parallel to one another. This requires some bending of the hemp, which causes the spiral. Pull on the ends of the strands until the stitch is tight. Repeat Steps 6 and 7 for the rest of the piece.
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References
- Photo Credit hemp grey string image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com
