I’m always looking for new ways to make macrame easy to wear. In this case, I made use of chain to create a cute bracelet with a little bit of a vintage vibe to it. A colorblocked bracelet is ideal for casual looks.
Cut 5 strands of black and 5 strands of ivory that are each 36 inches/92 cm long.
Lay one ivory strand out, and tie one of the black strands around it as shown. That’s a lark’s head knot, with a half hitch on each side. Be sure that the black strand is tied at it’s center.
It should look like this when it’s tightened.
Slide the first black strand to the center of the ivory strand, then tie the other strand as shown – half on each side of the first black knot.
Pin down the base strand at the center. Bring the left strand from the center pair across the rest of the strands on the left.
Tie a double half hitch with each of the remaining strands on the left, except for the ivory strand that everything is tied around.
It should look like this. Let the black strand join the ivory one.
Bring the next strand on the left across, and tie around it the same way.
Repeat that with each strand on the left until it looks like that.
Now do the same on the right side.
When both sides are tied it should look like this.
Bring the farthest left strand across the rest of the strands on the left. Tie double half hitches with the strands on the left.
Let the strand on the left join those on the right.
Bring the strand on the far right across, and tie double half hitches over it with all the strands on the right, and the one from the left that just joined.
It should come together like this.
Tie the left side strands…
And then the right side strands. Keep alternating left and right until it looks like the next picture.
After the join point you should have a full black stripe and a black stripe that has 2 strands remaining on each side. You can make yours a different length, of course, but make sure you have enough length left to tie 4 more rows whenever you stop.
Open up a jump ring and place it as shown. It won’t be secure for a while, but I always add mine now so I don’t forget about it when it’s time.
Tie the row from the left, then the row from the right. The last knot will secure the jump ring.
Do one more row on each side.
Flip the whole thing vertically. It’s okay if the jump ring falls out – the point is that there’s a spot for it to go back into.
Bring all the left side strands down and across. Bring the right side strand closest to the center across. Tie a double half hitch with each left side strand, making sure the row lines up neatly on the back of the macrame piece. This is a hem to finish the edge.
Lift the left side strands out of the way, then bring the right side strands down and use the center strand from the left to tie around.
Do the same thing once more on each side.
You should have two rows like this. Apply fray check to those two rows and let it dry thoroughly.
Trim the strands, being careful not to catch the jump ring in your scissors. That could really mess up your blades. Swing the jump ring around so it opens off the edge of the macrame.
Attach a chain to the jump ring that’s in place, then add a jump ring in the slot on the other end and attach more chain to that. Finish it with a clasp and you’re done! This colorblocked bracelet is quick to make and would look great in lots of different color combinations, too.