8. Sweet Wall Hanging with Raw Wood Dowel
Introduction
A foundational classic: a simple mini wall hanging suspended from a sanded wooden dowel or a clean backyard twig. It offers children an open canvas to design geometric shapes using basic knot patterns.
What This Idea Means
This project combines all core macrame techniques: mounting cords, balancing alternating knots, establishing geometric angles, and styling hanging fringe.
What You Need
- 1 smooth wooden craft dowel (15cm long, 10mm diameter)
- 8 lengths of 3mm single-strand cotton cord (100cm each)
- 1 hanging cord (25cm long)
- Slicker brush and scissors
How to Make It
- Tie the 25cm hanging cord to both ends of your wooden dowel using double overhand knots to create a wall hanger.
- Mount the 8 long cords across the dowel using Lark’s Head knots, giving you 16 working strands.
- Row 1: Tie four standard Square Knots across all 16 strands.
- Row 2: Leave the first 2 strands on the left and last 2 strands on the right unworked. Tie three alternating Square Knots across the 12 center strands.
- Row 3: Leave 4 strands on each outer side unworked. Tie two alternating Square Knots across the middle 8 strands.
- Row 4: Leave 6 strands on each outer side unworked. Tie one single central Square Knot across the 4 middle strands. This creates an inverted triangle pattern (V-shape).
- Cut the bottom hanging tails at an angle, starting long at the center and cutting upward toward the sides to follow the V-shape.
- Comb out the cut ends with a slicker brush for a soft fringe finish.
Tips and Variations
- Tip: Step back every few rows to check that your horizontal lines look balanced from a distance.
- Variation: Replace the plain wooden dowel with a piece of smoothed beach driftwood or a clean fallen branch for a woodland look.