Are you ready to dive into the wonderful world of macrame? If you’re new to the craft, learning the basic knots is a great place to start. In this article, I’ll guide you through the 17 of the most common macrame knots, with some tips and tricks to help you along the way.

Basic Macrame Knots

You can create a wide variety of stunning designs with just a few basic knots. Whether you’re a complete beginner or have some experience, this comprehensive guide will teach you how to tie the 12 essential macrame knots.

Grab some cord, and let’s get knotting! With a bit of patience and practice, you’ll be creating beautiful macrame pieces in no time.

Types of Macrame Knots

Now, onto the knots! For organization’s sake, we’ll organize the 17 macrame knots in this list into five categories:

  • Mounting Knots
    • Lark’s Head Knot
    • Reverse Lark’s Head Knot (Cow Hitch)
    • Vertical Lark’s Head Knot
  • Square Knots and Half Knots
    • Left Half Square Knot
    • Right Half Square Knot
    • Left Square Knot
    • Right Square Knot
  • Hitches and Variations
    • Half Hitch
    • Double Half Hitch (Clove Hitch)
    • Horizontal Double Half Hitch
    • Diagonal Double Half Hitch
    • Vertical Double Half Hitch
  • Sinnets
    • Alternating Square Knots
    • Spiral Stitch (Half Square Knot Spiral)
    • Half Hitch Spiral
  • Gathering Knots
    • Overhand Knot
    • Wrapping Knot

Macrame Terms to Know

And before we can talk about the knots, it’s important to be familiar with some of the key terms and concepts in the world of macrame. Here are some macrame terms to know:

  • Cord – The material used to create macrame knots. Common macrame cords include cotton, jute, and hemp.
  • Working Cord –  The cord or cords that you use to make the knots.
  • Filler Cord – The cord or cords that your knots wrap around.
  • Sinnet – A series of knots tied in a particular pattern.

Supplies You’ll Need

And the last thing before we get onto the knots themselves, let’s talk about what supplies you’ll need to tie them. Macrame doesn’t require a lot of supplies, but choosing quality materials will help ensure your project turns out the way you want it to. You’ll need:

  • cord or rope (cotton, jute, or hemp are popular choices)
  • scissors
  • macrame board or something to attach your project to
  • tape measure or ruler

Mounting Knots

These types of knots are used to attach your cords to your dowel, ring, or another base.

Lark’s Head Knot

The lark’s head knot is a super simple knot used to attach your rope to a dowel rod, ring, or even another rope. It can be tied forward-facing or reverse-facing. Here’s how to tie a forward-facing Lark’s Head knot.

loop of macrame cord and wooden dowel on a gray background
loop of macrame cord around a wooden dowel on a gray background
loop of macrame cord and wooden dowel on a gray background to make a lark's head knot
loop of macrame cord and wooden dowel on a gray background to make a lark's head knot

To make a Lark’s Head Knot:

  1. Measure and cut a length of cord. Fold the rope in half, bringing the ends together.
  2. Bring the folded loop up in front of the dowel, then back down behind the dowel.
  3. With the loop pointing downwards, pull the two ends of the cord through the loop.
  4. Pull down on the ends to tighten the knot, making sure both ends are even.

Reverse Lark’s Head Knot (Cow Hitch)

The Reverse Lark’s head knot, also called a Cow Hitch knot, is another way to attach your macrame cords to a dowel. It’s basically the same as the regular Lark’s Head knot, just tied facing the opposite direction.

loop of macrame cord under wooden dowel on a gray background
loop of macrame cord under and over wooden dowel on a gray background
loop of macrame cord under and over wooden dowel on a gray background
loop of macrame cord under wooden dowel on a gray background

To make a Reverse Lark’s Head Knot:

  1. Measure and cut a length of cord. Fold the rope in half. 
  2. Bring the folded loop up behind the dowel, then forward and down in front of the dowel.
  3. With the loop pointing downward, pull the ends of the rope up and through the loop. 
  4. Pull down on the ends to tighten the knot, making sure both ends are even.

Vertical Lark’s Head Knot

The Vertical Lark’s Head Knot is often used to attach new macrame cords to existing cords. It’s very similar to a regular Lark’s Head knot, just tied in a different orientation.

You can also tie a series of Vertical Lark’s head knots. Tie the first one as normal, then each subsequent knot following the directions below.

To tie a Vertical Lark’s Head knot:

  1. Make a counter-clockwise loop with the working cord, passing it over-then-under the center cords.
  2. Make a counter-clockwise loop with the working cord, passing it under-then-over the center cords.

Square Knots and Half Knots

Square Knots and Half-Square Knots are simple and versatile macrame knots that you’ll use in almost every pattern. Here are some characteristics of this category of knots:

  • Square knots and Half-Square knots are made with four cords: two outer cords, called working cords, and two middle cords, called filler cords.
  • Each Square knot is made from two Half-Square knots.
  • Square knots and Half-Square knots can be left or right-facing, depending on which cord you start with.

We’ll start with the half knots, and then move to the square knots.

Left Half-Square Knot

To tie the next few knots, you’ll need four cords. To set up, cut two pieces of rope and attach them to a wooden dowel with lark’s head knots. You will now have four strands of cord.

4 macrame cords on a wooden dowel on a gray background
4 macrame cords on a wooden dowel on a gray background making a half square knot
4 macrame cords on a wooden dowel on a gray background making a half square knot
a half square macrame knot on a wooden dowel on a gray background making a square knot

To make a left-facing half-square knot:

  1. Bring the left working cord over the two filler cords and under the right working cord.  
  2. Bring the right working cord under the two filler cords and up over the left working cord.
  3. Tighten the knot.

Right Half-Square Knot

A right half-square knot is the mirror image of the previous half-square knot.

4 macrame cords on a wooden dowel on a gray background
4 macrame cords on a wooden dowel on a gray background making a right half square knot
4 macrame cords on a wooden dowel on a gray background making a right half square knot

To make a right-facing half-square knot:

  1. Bring the right working cord over the two filler cords and under the left cord.  
  2. Bring the left working cord under the two filler cords and up over the right cord.
  3. Tighten the knot.

Left-Facing Square Knot

Each square knot is made from two half-square knots, worked one after the other. A finished left-facing square knot will have a small vertical bump on its left side.

a half square macrame knot on a wooden dowel on a gray background making a square knot
4 macrame cords on a wooden dowel on a gray background making a square knot
macrame cords on a wooden dowel on a gray background making a square knot
a macrame square knot on a wooden dowel on a gray background

To make a Left-Facing Square Knot:

  1. Tie a left half-square knot
  2. Tie a right half-square knot.

Right Facing Square Knot

A right-facing square knot is similar to a left-facing square knot, just tied in the opposite way. A finished right-facing square knot will have a small vertical bump on its right side.

4 macrame cords on a wooden dowel on a gray background making a right half square knot
4 macrame cords on a wooden dowel on a gray background making a right square knot
a right square macrame knot on a wooden dowel on a gray background
a right square macrame knot on a wooden dowel on a gray background

To tie a right-facing square knot:

  1. Tie a right half-square knot.
  2. Tie a left half-square knot.

Hitches and Variations

The macrame knots in this category are called half hitches and double half hitches. You can tie hitch knots in various ways to make all sorts of beautiful macrame designs.

This category of knots can be a little trickier for beginners to get the hang of. But with a little practice, they just might become your favorite type of macrame knots.

Half Hitch

The half-hitch knot is a very simple knot. You don’t often see it by itself. Instead, the half-hitch knot is more commonly combined in different ways to create the rest of the knots in this category.

You can tie hitch knots with an existing project cord, or a new cord.

a white cord laying onn four tan macrame cords on a gray background
tying horizontal double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background

To tie a half-hitch knot:

  1. Set up a vertical working cord, and a horizontal filler cord.
  2. Loop the working cord under, over, and back under the filler cord to left.
  3. Tighten the loop, forming a counter-clockwise knot.

Double Half Hitch

A Double Half-Hitch knot, also called Clove Hitch Knot, creates horizontal, vertical, and even diagonal lines in macrame pieces. 

Double half-hitch knots are made by tying two half-hitch knots around a filler cord. By working a series of double half-hitch knots around the same anchor cord, you can create a raised line in your design.

By orienting the filler cord in different positions, you can create horizontal, diagonal, or even vertical double half-hitch designs.

tying horizontal double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background
tying horizontal double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background

To tie a double half-hitch knot:

  1. Start with a half-hitch knot.
  2. Using the same working cord, make a second half-hitch knot to the right of the first knot.

The two half-hitch knots should sit next to each other without overlapping. Make them tight to keep them looking tidy.

Horizontal Double Half Hitch

A row of double half-hitch knots on a horizontal filler cord will create a horizontal raised bar across your work. Just like before, each horizontal double half-hitch knot is made from two half-hitch knots tied from the same working cord.

tying horizontal double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background
a row of horizontal double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background

To tie horizontal double half-hitch knots:

  1. Set up a vertical working cord, and a horizontal filler cord.
  2. Tie two half-hitch knots with the first working cord.
  3. Tie two half-hitch knots with each remaining working cord.

Try to keep all half-hitch knots at the same height to make the raised bar look as neat as possible.

Diagonal Double Half Hitch Knot

Diagonal double half-hitch knots are very similar to horizontal double half-hitch knots, except the row of knots is positioned diagonally instead of horizontally.

starting a row of diagonal double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background
starting a row of diagonal double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background
starting a row of diagonal double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background
a row of diagonal double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background

To tie diagonal double half-hitch knots:

  1. Set up a vertical working cord, and a diagonal filler cord.
  2. Tie two half-hitch knots with the first working cord.
  3. Tie two half-hitch knots with each remaining working cord.

Tighten each knot firmly to make the raised bar look as neat as possible.

Vertical Double Half-Hitch

A vertical double half-hitch knot is made from two half-hitch knots tied around a vertical filler cord. In this example, we’ll use one working cord to make vertical double half-hitch knots across multiple filler cords.

starting a row of vertical double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background
starting a row of vertical double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background
starting a row of vertical double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background
starting a row of vertical double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background
starting a row of vertical double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background
the second of vertical double half hitch knots in macrame cord on a gray background

To tie vertical double half-hitch knots:

  1. Set up a working cord, and a series of vertical filler cords.
  2. Tie two half-hitch knots around the first filler cord
  3. Tie two half-hitch knots around each remaining filler cord.

Tighten each knot firmly to make the design look as tidy as possible.

Sinnets

In macrame, the term “sinnet” refers to a series of knots tied in a particular pattern. By combining different knots in various ways, you can create all sorts of beautiful sinnet patterns.

Spiral Stitch (Half Knot Spiral)

The Spiral Stitch is a sequence of half-square knots, worked one after another in a vertical column. Spiral Stitch is also called a Half Knot Spiral.

You can make a left-facing spiral by tying all left-facing half-square knots, or a right-facing spiral by tying all right-facing half-square knots. Whichever version you choose, just make sure all of the half-square knots are facing the same way. 

To make a Spiral Stitch:

  1. Start with 4 cords: 2 working cords, and 2 filler cords.
  2. Use the two working cords to tie a left-facing half-square knot.
  3. Keep tying left-facing square knots until the spiral is as long as you’d like.

Alternating Square Knots

Alternating Square Knots is a cool pattern created by alternating the filler and working cords for each subsequent row of square knots. It creates an intricate-looking pattern that’s actually pretty each to do.

To tie alternating square knots:

  1. Start with 2 or 3 groups of 4 cords. In the picture about you’ll see 3 groups of 4 cords.
  2. Tie the first row of 3 square knots, using cords 1-4, 5-8, and 9-12.
  3. Rearrange the cords so the the filler cords become the working cords and the working cords become the filler cords,
  4. Tie the second row of 2 square knots, using cords 3-6, and 7-10.

You can tie the rows of square knots close to each to create a dense pattern, or leave more space between the rows to create a more open design.

Half Hitch Spiral

The half-hitch spiral is another spiral pattern made with just two cords. It creates a thinner spiral pattern that’s often used in macrame plant hangers and macrame bracelets.

a sinnet of forward knots on two macrame cords

To make a half-hitch spiral:

  1. Start with two cords: a working cord and a filler cord.
  2. Tie a half hitch with the working cord, looping over then under the filler cord.
  3. Make more half-hitch knots in the same way, allowing the knots to spiral as you work.

If you’re familiar with making friendship bracelets, you might recognize this knotting pattern as a Spiral Staircase bracelet design with “forward knots”.

Gathering Knots

And finally, we have a group of knots that are used to finish projects.

Overhand Knot

The overhand knot is a basic knot that we use all the time – not just for macrame. I’ll bet you already know how to tie this one.

Overhand knots are often used to prevent the end of a length of rope from unraveling. They can also be used to tie two or more cords together at the bottom of a piece.

starting a overhand knot to secure a group of macrame cords on a gray background
an overhand knot to secure a group of macrame cords on a gray background

To tie an overhand knot:

  1. Gather the cords together, and tie them as one.
  2. Bring the cords up and over themselves to make a loop.
  3. Bring the ends back and through the loop to make the knot.

Wrapping Knot

Wrapping knots are used to secure a group of cords. You can use this knot at the beginning or end of a macrame project.

starting a wrapping knot to secure a group of macrame cords on a gray background
tying a wrapping knot to secure a group of macrame cords on a gray background
tying a wrapping knot to secure a group of macrame cords on a gray background
a wrapping knot to secure a group of macrame cords on a gray background
a wrapping knot to secure a group of macrame cords on a gray background

To make a wrapping knot:

  1. Start with a group of cords to be gathered, and a separate length of working cord.
  2. Fold the end of the working cord, and lay it down next to the area you want to wrap.
  3. Wrap the long end of the working cord around all cords: the filler cords and the working cord itself.
  4. Make several wraps around the group of cords, until only a small section of the folded working cord is left unwrapped. Pass the long end of the working cord through the folded loop.
  5. Pull the top end of the working cord up, which will pull the looped end underneath the wraps. Trim both ends of the working cord.

Macrame Knots Tips and Tricks

There you have some of the most popular macrame knots! With practice, you’ll be able to create a wide variety of macrame designs using these knots. Here are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind:

  • Use good quality cotton cord.
  • Keep your knots tight and even to ensure a neat, professional-looking finished product.
  • Practice on a small scale before tackling larger projects.
  • Plan out your design beforehand, and measure your cords carefully to ensure the right length.
  • Experiment with different materials and knot combinations to create unique designs.

More Macrame Resources

For even more macrame inspiration, check out these related articles.

What’s Next?

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Sarah Stearns has helped millions of makers find their next craft project with free patterns and step-by-step tutorials on her blog, sarahmaker.com.  Read more.

With over a decade of experience in knitting and crochet, she has been featured in prominent publications like The New York Times, Scientific American, Good Housekeeping, Vox, Apartment Therapy, and Lifehacker.

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