Several types of macrame knots can be used to create jewelry and other textiles. Many macrame knots may look familiar to people because they are knots used in everyday life, such as the underhand knot or the square knot. Several knots are designed to attach the fiber or yarn to an object while others are decorative and used to embellish a piece of jewelry or other craft.
The most basic of all macrame knots is the overhand knot. To make an overhand knot, the crafter forms a loop with a piece of thread, yarn or hemp. She then tucks one end of the thread into the loop and pulls it tight. The overhand knot is also used to tie shoelaces.
If a crafter needs to attach her macrame project to a rod or post in order to secure in place for working, she can use the Lark's Head knot to do so. To make a Lark's Head knot, she folds the thread in half and drapes the loop end over the rod. She then pulls the tails of the thread through the loop, securing it to the rod.
Other basic macrame knots are the square knot, also known as the flat knot, and the half knot. As its name suggests, the half knot is half of one square knot. Four pieces of thread are needed to make both styles of knot.
To make a half knot, the outside thread on the right side is placed over the top of the two threads in the middle and underneath the outside thread on the left, forming a loop. The outside thread on the left is then brought underneath the two middle threads and up through the loop formed by the outside right thread. To finish the knot, the crafter pulls the two outside threads tightly. Making a series of half knots will create a spiral.
Square macrame knots are made by first completing a half knot. The thread that started on the left side is then treated as the thread on the right side and brought under the two threads in the middle and over the other outside thread. Next, the thread that started on the right side but is now on the left is brought over the two middle threads and through the loop formed by the other outside thread. A series of square knots is known as a sennit.
A crafter can turn a series of square macrame knots into a berry knot. After making a sennit of at least three square knots, she can bring the two threads in the center up and over the row of knots, pulling threads back down so that the sennit rolls up into a ball. She then makes another square knot, securing the balled sennit, which looks like a berry, in place.
