When we go to build our house (I’m working on manifesting this dream) we’re going to have a full basement. Right now we just have a partial basement and our house is using EVERY BIT of our 850 sq feet of upstairs space and just about every bit of that partial basement. I dream of this luxurious future basement A LOT. It’ll have an exercise room, a movie room, a GIANT craft room for moi, a full bath and kitchenette. But I’m also excited about the space in between all those rooms. My dream 1970’s rec room.
I grew up in the 1990s and my parents grew up in the 60’s/70’s and it’s safe to say the 1970s were their formative years. So there were lots of nostalgic nods in my home growing up that were inspired by that decade. I remember going to different friends’ houses, or maybe an older church friends’ house and they would have a basement. Their basement hadn’t been updated and still rocked orange shag carpet and wood panel walls. I don’t know if it’s the warm colors, the wild use of orange, or if it’s that it all felt the same and unique at the same time but I’m all heart eyes over here when I think about it.
One of the decor items in my house, and my grandma’s house and probably most of my friends’ houses was a hanging macramé plant holder. At some point, probably in the 2000’s I thought these were quite tacky. HOWEVER I am completely admitting to all now that I am in LOVE with them. They are no longer tacky to me and I want a million of them everywhere. It probably helps that I’m also trying to introduce ferns and indoor plants in my house without my sweet cat, Dippy, also eating them. The perfect solution is going to be to make a macramé plant holder AND it’ll be something I can add to my 1970’s rec room that will be in my basement!! My husband is adamantly against installing orange shag carpet and wood panel walls, so I’ll have to settle for little touches and hints of my 1970’s vibe I’m going for.
I have only ever dabbled in macram̩ here and there. Maybe you have too? If you did the craft of friendship bracelets yesterday you, maybe unknowingly, have now macram̩-d! We are going to use those same knots to create a macram̩ plant holder that can hold a small plant РYou can still use this tutorial to hang a large plant also and I will detail how when we get there!
Supplies time! I bought all my supplies on Amazon because I unfortunately don’t have enough time sometimes to go to the craft store. This also gave me the space I needed to read reviews and chose the best product since I had no experience buying macramé materials. I suggest the macramé cotton yarn I purchased and the kit with circles, sticks, beads etc., because it’s plenty for starting out without feeling like you’re going to run out! I made two plant holders and I still have enough material to easily make about 7-8 plant holders, but I think I’ll tackle a wall hanging in the future! I am an Amazon affiliate so any qualify purchases made from clicking these links I will receive a small commission.
Macrame cord – AIFUN Macrame Cord 3mm X 547yd Not Dyed 100% Natural Cotton Macrame Rope, 4 Strand Twisted Cotton Cord Rope for Handmade Wall Hanging,Plant Hangers, Crafts, Knitting, Gift Wrapping(3mm X 500m)
Macrame accessories – Macrame Cord Kits DIY Wall Hanging Wood Beads 100 pcs Wooden Sticks 4pcs and Wood Rings 18pcs for Crafts/DIY Plant Hangers
You’ll need to cut 8 cords 12 feet in length and grab one of your wooden circles from the kit. I chose one of the large ones. Now you’ll tie those onto your wooden ring, see the sequence below! Make sure to tie them on there evenly. To do this I make sure the ends match up before I tie it on. Also I realize now I didn’t take a picture but after that loop is drooped over the ring, you’ll pull the two tail ends through the loop. You’ll want the knots on top to face you when working on your plant holder!
Now you’ll want to hang it on something to make it easier to continue! I used a wreath hanger on my garage door and worked on it in my kitchen haha. You’re going to mostly be making square knots in threes. To help you see where/how many you’ve done I included a professional looking image on the right. If there is a sideways V, or a < that is one complete square knot. So once you have three you can move on to the next set of four strands.
Now you’ll start from the right and skip the first two strands and work the next four. Complete 3 sets of 3 square knots.
Now you’ll do another set of square knots but this time it’ll be 6 inches from where you last left off. You will start on the right and with the first four strands.
Now it’s time to make this actually hold a plant! Or at least, it’s the first step! Take your two strands from the far right and the two strands that are the farthest left and again, going 6 inches from where you last worked make your 3 square knots! Continue doing this for the remaining strands, working in sets of 4 that are right next to each other continuing to be careful to not twist strands.
At this point your plant would still fall to the ground so here’s the next step to closing up your holder – it’s the second to last step for getting it to hold a plant! Go two inches where you last were and create a square knot using two strands under one square knot sequence and two strands from a square knot that is right next to it. On one plant holder at this point I only did two square knots and on my second one I did three and they both turned out great!
Next you’ll want to take alternating strands again and now you’ll make chinese ladders! I mostly made mine until there was only about 4-5 inches left of the working cord. Once I had all four Chinese ladders I took the longest worked cord and wrapped it around all four of them and tied a knot to hold it on.
Next you’ll want to brush out your tail – well if you want, it’s definitely optional! I like it being brushed out. I have a fine tooth brush that is actually meant for one of my animals but it worked perfectly to make it look great! You can also just pull apart the strands if you don’t have a brush! Here is a link to what I’m talking about on Amazon.
If you want to accommodate a larger plant I’d suggest adding more strands in the beginning. So instead of 8 strands of 12 feet, I’d suggest 10 strands or 12 strands so you can continue to have a number that can divide by four. You would follow the same guidelines of this pattern, with the first step being to create either 5 sets (10 strands) or 6 sets (12 strands) of the 3 square knots. And continue to work just like the example with the next step being to create either 4 sets (10 strands) or 5 sets (12 strands). When you get to the part of making the circle (connecting the far right side with the far left side) depending on the size of your pot/plant you might want to make and extra round of connections, kind of like going out then going in to create a diamond. You’ll also want to, when creating the knots to start the closure make sure that you’re dropping down enough to have a set of knots meeting your pot in the middle to support it on the sides! I think writing it out it sounds complicated but I know if you were doing it in real time, it would make sense to you! 🙂
For today’s drink pairing I did a lot of research on popular drinks in the 70’s. I also wanted simple and somehow I ended up with a strawberry daiquiri (which is not quite simple haha) and then I kind of went rogue while making it! I didn’t want to get out my blender so I knew I wouldn’t make a frozen strawberry daiquiri, and then I started following a recipe but I didn’t have the equipment (shaker) and that’s when it started to keep going sideways. I’ll just share what I did which was delicious! I’m calling it a Fizzy Strawberry Mac-ra-me, a play on and pronounced like Daiquiri! haha
Fizzy Strawberry Mac-ra-me
Ingredients
- 6 fresh strawberries – chopped and cubed
- Strawberry Banana juice frozen into cubes (Mine was V8)
- 1.5 oz white rum – or opt out if going for a mocktail
- 1.5 oz spiced rum – or opt out if going for a mocktail
- 1.5 oz lime juice
- 1.5 oz simple syrup
- 1 can of Sprite
Directions
- In a separate glass (I used an aluminum wine glass) add about half of the chopped strawberries, lime juice and simple syrup. Muddle the mixture for a few minutes with a muddler or use the back of a spoon. Then add some regular ice and stir until well mixed.
- Strain the mixture evenly into glasses, if adding alcohol add it now, if not, skip!
- Add a few Strawberry Banana ice cubes
- Fill with Sprite
- Garnish with the rest of the chopped strawberries
- Enjoy!
Muddling! After straining
There you have it! Macrame day!! I REALLY loved this craft and making up a drink was so fun! Be sure to tag @creativeunicorncrafts on socials so I can see your creations!
Pencil me in for tomorrow’s crafting! Except use a pen since someone can erase pencil!
XOXO
-Robin
