What is macrame?
Macrame is a type of textile created by tying a material like string, cotton, twine, jute, or hemp into a complex series of knots. Macrame can be manipulated into many forms to create covers for 3-dimensional objects such as lampshades, hanging planters, ottomans and more. Because most macrame is made of string, it is most often cream or white in color. Macrame originated in the Middle East in approximately the 13th century and slowly moved across the globe thanks to international trade, and later, sailors, who adopted the craft as a way to pass the time and sold mementos out of local ports. The demand for macrame reached a fever pitch in the Victorian era (it’s even rumored that England’s Queen Mary led her ladies-in-waiting in macrame-making classes) and again in the free-wheelings 1960s and 70s when the artisan spirit made macrame an instant success. Because macrame is similar to netting it is often used to create hanging objects like wall hangings, hanging planters, hammocks, and swings.
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