Macrame Planter Hanger Workshop
As I spent most of June visiting family in England, exploring Budapest and eating way too much ice cream and feta (not together) in Greece, our last Crafternoon was ran by my lovely friend, Sasskia.
Sasskia runs The Bunyip Hotel in Cavendish with her partner, Nathan, so it was the perfect spot to let our happy crafters loose, even upturning chairs in pursuit of the perfect knots (more on that below) to create some retro-rad macrame planter hangers.
What is a macrame planter hanger you say? Well, it's basically knotted rope that forms a kind of basket, in which to place a bowl or vase. They were all the rage in the 70's, and trendy shops all over Australia are currently selling ready made macrame hangers for a small fortune (though K Mart have launched some cheapies- perhaps less lovingly made). There are some really awesome and time-rich folks out there who can create incredible designs with all sorts of cool knots - did I just say cool knots? - like the beauties here:
...and these natural ones from Macramaking.
Anyhow, Sasskia designed her own version using decorative Josephine and Knife Knots which just look FAB!
This is the Knife knot:
These are the Josephine knots (easy tutorial for those HERE):
Sasskia handed out tutorials on these knots and how to build the macrame planter hanger, and if you fancy having a go, you can find good tutorials for those knots and many more right HERE at free-macrame-paterns.com
During the Sunday afternoon session, each person made a groovy plant holder using these two different types of knots. The top loop of the holder is a Knife knot and the rest of the hanger is made up of 9 Josephine knots. Within 2 and a half hours all 11 guests had completed their first macrame pot holder, complete with decorative bowls- and just look how happy some of them are with their creations!
Upturning a chair was a great way to hold the first loop of the hanger still while knotting the bowl holder part, but you could also hook it onto a closed door handle, jam it into a drawer or weight it under something heavy!
Sasskia rightly suggested planting the smooth white bowls with something that doesn't mind infrequent watering (as the bowls don't have drainage holes), for example air plants, cacti or our old favourite... succulents!
As I was DEVASTATED to miss this awesome craft, Sasskia kindly made me one to collect on my return, and here's how I planted mine:
I used rocks for a fake base drainage layer, as succulents hate to have their roots sitting in a bath of water, and added a mix of soil and sand (again to keep them happy- succulents like their soil not too clumpy). I popped in my succulent and literally that's it! Ready to put back inside the macrame hanger!
I'm going to hang mine in the laundry as a) there's already a ceiling hook looking sturdy but bare and 2) doing laundry is better when you can look at something awesome as you go!
A HUGE thanks to Sasskia for running the session and to all crafters who came!
Hoping to get an equally as lovely bunch at July's Crafty Evening in The Roxburgh on Thursday 30th- details HERE :)
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