Make your own honey bee plant hanger
This 120cm long plant hanger gets its name from the picot knots combined with the yellow rope which makes me think of small insect wings! You can also switch to use alternating square knots here.
Knots used (see gallery):
- Overhand knot (OK)
- Wrap knot (WK)
- Square knot (SK)
- Square knot sennit (SK sennit)
- Picot square knot (PSK)
- Josephine knot (JK)
- 4-ply crown knot (4-CK)
Materials
- 38m of twined 2.5mm cotton rope
- Wooden ring, 4 – 5cm diameter
- 8 wooden beads, 2–2.5cm diameter with
- 6–10mm diameter hole
- Equipment
- Brush
- Crochet hook (to help thread the beads)
Preparation
Cut the following:
4 cords, each 3m long (filler cords)
3 cords, each 6m long (working cords)
1 cord, 8m long (extra-long to make the wrap knots)
Instructions:
Pair a 3m cord with a 6m cord. Pass them through the ring, folding both in the middle, then bundle the 4 cords together with an overhand knot (OK) to keep them from falling out or moving in the ring. Repeat with the remaining cords, except for one 3m filler cord and the extra-long working cord. Pass the last filler cord and the extra-long working cord through the ring and fold both in the middle. Bundle together both ends of the filler cord with one end of the extra-long working cord using an overhand knot, and leaving the other long end loose.
Step 1
Using the loose extra-long working cord, make a 4–5cm long wrap knot (WK) just underneath the ring, gathering all the other cords together.
Step 2
Untie the overhand knot (OK) with only 3 ends, and add in the cord you used to
make the wrap knot. Use both long cords to tie a sennit of 17 square knots (SK). Untie the other overhand knots one at a time and tie 17 square knots with each
set of cords.
Step 3
Tie 2 picot square knots (PSK). Thread the filler cords through a bead (you might need the help of a crochet hook or tapestry needle), then tie 2 more picot square knots under the bead. Repeat for the other 3 sets of cords.
Step 4
Tie another sennit of 6 square knots and repeat for the other 3 sets of cords.
Step 5
Tie 3 picot square knots. Thread the filler cords through a bead, then tie 3 more picot square knots under the bead. Repeat for the other 3 sets of cords.
Step 6
Tie another sennit of 9 square knots and repeat for the other 3 sets of cords.
Step 7
Take a filler cord and a working cord from 2 sennits and tie a Josephine knot (JK), placed about 10 cm (4 in) from the sennits above. Tie 3 more Josephine knots to finish the net.
Step 8
To tie the cords together, make a 4-ply crown knot (4-CK), using the 4 sets of cords as working cords, as shown in the illustration. Place your fist on a table with the tail of the plant hanger held upside down, and lay the cords down to make it easier to work the crown knot. Place the crown knot about 10cm (4 in) from the Josephine knots above it. Tie 5 to 6 rounds of the crown knot.
Step 9
Take the longest remaining cord and tie a 4–5cm (11/2 –2 in) long wrap knot around all other cords.
Step 10
Fray all the ends and use a brush to give the tail more volume.
This is an edited extract from Macramé by Fanny Zedenius published by Quadrille RRP $27.99 (NZ proce) and is available in stores nationally. Photographer: © Kim Lightbody