How to Make Macrame Succulent Hangers
Making macrame is so easy! Try it out with this simple but cute, modern succulent plant hanger DIY, perfect for your home decor!
Summer is a great time for crafting. When the weather gets too hot, it’s the perfect time to go indoors with a few craft supplies and a head full of crafty ideas.
After a lot of running around, my family and I went to my hotel room to get crafty. We had fun with Spirographs, clay, glitter, and even macrame cord. We had a little photograph session in the hotel’s bathtub with a bit of help from my mom and sister, and now I’m going to share this little project with you.
It’s super simple. I must admit, I’m not entirely sure if this is proper macrame, as I haven’t researched the knots, but it looks very much like the others I’ve seen on Pinterest and elsewhere, and doesn’t require any special skills.
Though in my tutorial, everything is laid out on a white surface, I strongly recommend working with your knots as the project hangs. I placed my steel ring over a doorknob and worked from there, moving over to take pictures as necessary. When lying flat, things get very confusing, but when hanging, you can turn and twirl and work very quickly.
Supplies Needed for Macrame Plant Hangers
- Macrame cord
- Steel rings
- Scissors
- Lighter
- Faux succulents
- Glass planters
(these are from Dollar Tree)
- Rocks
or other filler
You can purchase macrame cord at craft stores (or on Amazon), and frayed ends can be smoothed out to look much cleaner with a little flame from a lighter. Take care, as too much fire can cause it to burn and turn black.
recommended: DIY Floral Dreamcatcher
A little bit goes a long way. Also, take care because the molten plastic ends can and will stick to anything they touch, from couch cushions to thighs.
Instructions for Macrame Plant Hangers
Cut four pieces of macrame cord roughly two outstretched arms wide. Fold them in half and run the gathered cord through the center of a steel ring. FYI, I purchased my steel rings in the leathercraft section of a craft store; you can also find them on Amazon.
Pull the ends of the cords through the loop to create your first knot around the steel ring. This ring is how your planter will hang.
You will now have eight macrame cords hanging from the steel ring. Divide them into pairs of 2 that naturally work efficiently together. Cords nearer each other will most comfortably divide off together.
Starting approximately where you’d like your hanger to meet with the top of your glass planter, form overhand (simple) knots. You can grab both cords and create a knot, or you can tie the two strings together into two overhand knots.
The second option offers more flexibility in positioning your knots, but the first option is much sturdier. If you’re having trouble getting your macrame going because you’re struggling to get these first knots evenly spaced, I’d suggest going that route.
Place your planter with the top of the vessel at the first knot and measure out the approximate middle of the planter. Now, we’re going to start with that traditional macrame look.
Rather than tying knots in the already existing pairs, you’ll work either left or right (it doesn’t matter either way) and tie an overhand knot at that level with the nearest neighboring cord, as seen above.
Next, you’ll need to finish your hanger by tying a knot of all of the cords at the bottom. Try to space this the same distance from the middle knots as they are from the top. That is to say, you’ll have the top knots 2 inches apart, the middle knots 2 inches apart, and the final bottom knot, joining all the cords together.
This bottom knot will bear the weight of the entire planter and its contents, so ensure it is secure.
Trim the excess cord to have a lovely, decorative dangle on the end. Use the lighter to sear off the ends and prevent fraying.
Add your empty planter to ensure it fits well and works without any issues.
Fill your planter with faux or real succulents, stones, dirt, or any other required filler. Then, place your succulent into your hanger, and you’re all set!
There might be a bit of a learning curve for your first planter, but after that, you’ll knock them out super quickly. My second took just under 10 minutes! Since I used faux succulents after hanging them, they require absolutely nothing further than occasional dusting. Cool, right?
