How to Make an Easy Macrame Belt
Learn to Make an Easy Macrame Belt with a free tutorial & pattern. Knot a retro belt with beads to tie around your waist or through belt loops
Servings: 1 macrame belt with beads
Cost: $20
Equipment
- Clamps or packing tape
- Tape measure
- Scissors
Ingredients
- Free Pattern for the Easy Macrame Belt with Beads
- Macrame cord- not a slick type, string like type, in a color of your choice
- Pony beads- in color(s) of your choice
- Small rubber bands- the type for hair work well
- Tape
- Tape measure
- Scissors
- Clamps or packing tape
Instructions
- Start out by using a tape measure to take a waist measurement of the person that will be wearing the belt. I recommend going through the belt loops of a pair of jeans to take this measurement. Then you know it will fit right.A macramé belt, such as the one we’re making, will need to tie in front. So we’ll take two inches off of that measurement which leaves room to tie the knot at the front of the jeans. This measurement will be the macraméd part of the belt.The belt will also have long sets of dangling cords- one on either end. That’s what we will use to tie the belt in the front.These ends add 12-inches to both ends of the belt. So add 24” to the previous measurement. Write down this number to use in the next step. (waist measurement – 2 inches + 24 inches = total belt length)
- Measure your strings to be four times as long as the total belt length you just calculated. So the length that you will measure is the waist measurement – 2 inches +24 extra inches x 4.Place a small piece of tape around macrame cord where you are going to cut it. Wrap it tightly around the cord. Cut in the middle of this wrapped tape so both ends of the string are tape covered.The end of the string becomes kind of like the end of a shoestring. This makes it easy to string the beads later. It also keeps the cord from unraveling.
- We need eight different strands to make this macramé belt. So lay the cords out on the floor and fold each one in half. Now gather the folded ends all together in your hand and measure up 12 inches from the folds. Tie an overhand knot 12 inches from the folded ends to keep all the cords together. This creates one end of the belt with about 11-12 inches for the ties.
- Next, we’re going to secure the end of the belt to the work surface in a way that will allow you to do your macramé and hold the belt in place. Use packing tape or clamps to secure the cords.I’m choosing to secure my macramé belt to an old breadboard I use in my crafting. You can see in the pictures that I used clamps.
- String 30 beads on two of the cords. I used multi-colored pony beads for this belt. My first belt was created with brown pony beads. Pony beads work well because the hole in the bead is quite large. I couldn’t find real wooden beads in the right size that had large enough holes for the cord to fit through.You do not need to add the beads, this is optional.
- Now take the end of one cord and wind it around the palm of your other hand. Wind until there’s about 2.5-3 feet of cord unwound. Wrap a small rubber band around the wound-up cord. Small hair rubber bands work well for this. Repeat this for each of the 8 cords.
- You used an overhand knot to tie all of the cords together. The only two other knots you need are the half hitch knot and the square knot. We can do this!Half hitches- a demo of this knot can be found at time marker ** of the video and the picture shows it as well.Square knots- a demo of this knot can be found at time marker ** of the video and the picture shows it too.The pattern shows you which chords to use and which knots to use. It also shows you where to string beads on your cords if necessary. It is really worth watching the video and walking through the pattern with me. I show it two times with a wider camera angle and a more close up angle as well.
- Macramé pattern (Free Pattern for the Easy Macrame Belt with Beads)Begin the macrame pattern, pushing the beads up into the pattern as you go.Separate the cords out in front of you. I will count the cords (1-8) from the left hand side.Beads should be on cords #3 and #7 to start with.Cord #1 “floats” diagonally down across all cords from the left side to the right side- lay it across all the other cords.Make half hitch knots with every other cord (7 cords) over the floater cord.Push up one bead on each bead cord- which is now cord #2 and #6.Tie a square knot in cords #2 and #5 that go around cords #3 and #4.Push up one bead on cord #2Cord #8 “floats” diagonally back across all the cords from the right side to the left side- so lay it back across all the other cords.Make half hitch knots with every other cord (7 cords) over the floater cord.Push up one bead on cord #3 and #7 (back in their original order again)Tie a second square knot in cords #4 and #7 around cords #5 and #6.Push up one bead on cord #7.Macrame the whole belt by continuing this pattern. Keep measuring the length. Repeat this pattern until your belt is the length needed.
- Tie an overhand knot in the other end of the belt. The macrame part of the belt between the two overhand knots should be the waist length minus two inches.Wrap the ends of the cords with tape about 10-11” from the overhand knot. Cut the cord through the middle of the tape. Add 3 beads to each cord and tie an overhand knot so that beads don’t fall off the ends.Take off the clamps or tape attaching the project to your work surface. Cut the four folded ends of the cords. Finish the 8 cords as you did the opposite end of the belt with tape, 3 beads, and an overhand knot as described above.Remove the tape from the ends of every cord on both ends of the belt.Woo-hoo, you are done!
Video
Notes
I recommend purchasing cord that is like a heavy string. The first cord that I tried was kind of shiny, and it would not stay in the knots that I was trying to tie. It would kind of work itself loose and was very difficult to work with.