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Macramé Wreath Ornament

When I was a kid I spent hours and hours making Macrame bracelets out of hemp cording. Some with beads and some in fun colors. I haven’t been a kid for a while but my hands still remember how to make the knots.

Macramé wreath ornament made with twine, silver bell and and buffalo check ribbon

I always liked the look of the spiral pattern and I decided that was what I wanted to add some texture to my ornament for the Ornament Exchange Blog Hop.

My partner for the exchange was Brittany from Our Home Made Easy, she told me she liked warm neutrals and had no particular theme. I decided to go for a rustic textured twine with a simple bow and a bell.

I love working with ribbon for holiday ornaments because it’s a cheap way to switch things up year to year and there are so many options. I used the buffalo check for myself and sent the metallic burlap to Brittany.

There were several attempts before I nailed the macrame portion of this ornament. The first attempt used thin bracelet making hemp, the next was with 20# twine and I finally settled on a spool of 28# twine.

You need a thick twine to make everything look proportional. The smaller cord around the metal ring did make a pretty cool bracelet but it didn’t have enough heft to stand up to the bow and the bell.

I picked up all three weights of twine at Joann’s in the jewelry section but you can avoid my mistake and just grab the thicker stuff. I actually got it when I was getting the supplies for the Snowman Charms.

spools of buffalo check and metallic burlap ribbon and twine

Make sure you’re ribbon has a wired edge. It’s the easiest way to make a nice bow, you might need to manhandle it a bit but once you get it the way you want it it will stay. 

I made the buffalo check ornaments with silver bells for my tree. The metallic burlap and gold ornaments were made for my ornament exchange partner, she wanted more neutral colors and I think they turned out really well.

The buffalo check ribbon and the metallic burlap ribbon both came from Michael’s. Ribbon is constantly on sale this time of year, I did not spend $10 on a spool of ribbon and I don’t think you should either. 

I couldn’t find the metal rings in the store to save my life, I ordered them from Amazon. I did find 3 inch rings at Joann’s a few weeks after I finished these ornaments. 

Macramé Half Knot

You only need to master one knot for this ornament! Sounds pretty good right? We’ll be using the half knot, it probably gets that name because it takes 2 to make one whole knot.

Usually you would be tying your knots around more twine but for this ornament the metal ring takes the place of the center stands. If you aren’t familiar with the half knot it might be easier to practice on something flat.

Start by finding the middle of the twine, tie it around the metal ring. 

metal ring with twine tied to it to make a macrame half knot

The first half of the knot is making a D, with the twine on the right with the tail going over  the ring

metal ring with twine tied to it to make a macrame half knot

The next step is to take the twine on the left, go over the right piece, under the ring and through the D.

Pull it tight and repeat. If you keep making the D on the same side it will start to twist into a spiral. 

Macramé Wreath Ornament Supplies:

macrame wreath ornament supplies

Instructions:

1. Pull off a long piece of twine and find the center. It depends on how tight your knots are but I was able to make one with a 12 foot piece.

I measured by holding the end in one hand and measuring to the center of my chest, that’s about a yard. I did it 4 times for a 12 foot piece. It’s not exact but it’ll get you close.

It does get really annoying dealing with long strands but it’s not hard to add another piece if you run out so you can go shorter.

2. Tie the twine around the ring so you have 2 even tails. Stick a piece of doubled over twine against the ring inside the know. It will act like a spacer and a threader, you’ll see why you need it at the end.

3. Completely cover the ring with half knots. You can push and pull and change the amount of spiral as you go and again at the end.

tie off the macrame ornament

4. When you reach the beginning tie it off. The easiest way to do that is by passing one tail though the loop of extra twine you left in the beginning then pulling the little piece out by the tails.

You’ll end up with one of the long tails though the loop, tie the two tails together and clip the tails.

gold bell threaded onto twine and tied in a knot

5. Cut an 12 inch piece of twine, thread on a large jingle bell. Tie a knot with both strands of twine about an inch from the bell. You want the bell to hang in the center of the ring

ribbon folded to make a bow

6. Cut a piece of ribbon and fold it over in thirds to make the bow

macrame ornament bow

7. Squish the ribbon together with one hand, hold it against the ring and then tie the twine tight.

8. Fluff up the loops and trim the pieces of hanging ribbon at an angle

9. Tie the a knot in the twine to make a loop for hanging

two macrame wreath ornaments made with twine, jingle bells and metallic burlap ribbon or buffalo check ribbon

Check out my Christmas page for more ideas or start here:

Turn scraps into pretty fabric ornaments combining prairie points, yo-yos and fancy buttons

Make adorable Santa Hat Punch Needle Ornaments with this quick pattern utilizing 2 loop lengths for texture

 

Leanna

Tuesday 27th of November 2018

The macrame idea is brilliant, these ornaments make me wonder why I didn't think of that. Beautiful job.

Super Mom - No Cape!

Tuesday 27th of November 2018

Oh how fun! It's been years since I've done any macrame!

Erlene

Monday 26th of November 2018

I used to do this on hangers. What a great idea to do it on a ring for an ornament. Pinned.

Debrashoppeno5

Monday 19th of November 2018

The ornaments are so cute. I love the detail of the bow and bell but the macrame is the star!

Bri Adams

Sunday 18th of November 2018

This takes a lot of talent. You're incredible!