Macramé wall art

Weave our spooky macramé Halloween Bat & Ghost

Brush up your knots to make up Alice Venn's decorations that are anything but creepy

Use basic knots to make up this ghoulishly gruesome twosome. If you’ve never tried macramé before, the ghost design is an easy one to master with hitch knots and double half hitch knots required. Once you’ve got the practice in, why not try the vampire bat – the wings are a little trickier, but the end results are worth it, so don’t be scared!

Ghost macramé

Kit List

◆ Cord: 4mm black x 6m, 4mm white x 4m ◆ Black felt ◆ 15cm wooden dowel ◆ Hot glue gun ◆ Sharp scissors

1Cut five 45cm pieces of black cord. Referring to the photos in the step panel, fold them in half and place them onto the dowel. Take a black cord and make a vertical double half Hitch knot. The first row will be the same colour. When you get to the end of the row, follow it back round to begin the next row. 2After three double half Hitch knots, stop and add in the white cord. Make four white double half Hitch knots and continue the row in black. The next row will be two black Hitch knots, followed by six white Hitch knots and to finish the row another two black Hitch knots. 3Now that you’ve got the hang of the technique, follow these steps to make up remaining rows: Row 4: one black, two white, one black, two white, one black, two white, one black Row 5: one black, eight white, one black Row 6: one black, three white, two black, three white, one black Row 7: one black, eight white, one black Row 8: one black, eight white, one black Row 9: one black, eight white, one black Row 10: one black, one white, one black, one white, two black, one white, one black, one white, one black. 4Trim a piece of black felt to fit the back of the macramé and stick it down using a hot glue gun. Trim the bottom of the hanging to the length you want.

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Bat macramé

Kit List

◆ 12 x 52" black 3mm cord ◆ Two wooden beads ◆ Cushion or corkboard ◆ Safety pin or pins ◆ Sharp scissors ◆ Tape measure

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1Start with one piece of cord and make a single reverse Lark’s head knot in the centre. Pin it down to a cushion or corkboard. Make a double half Hitch knot to start. Take another cord and make a reverse Lark's head knot. Make a loop on each side to form another single half Hitch knot on either side. Slide them over to make the first row. 2Take the cord from the right and cross it over the other cords. Take the left cord and make a double half Hitch knot and continue this to the end of the row. Repeat this step again for the next row. This should form a triangle shape. Repeat this step again, so you have two of the same. 3Place both triangles together facing each other. To join them together, make a row of double half Hitch knots. Take the two cords from the middle and thread two wooden beads on to make the eyes. Take the two cords and the two either side and form a square knot. Take the cord below the square and make a row of double half Hitch knots either side and stop at the centre below the square knot. 4To create the wings, follow Step 1 again and add in two extra cords using the same technique. Take the first cord and cross it over the other cords, then make a row of double half Hitch knots. Ensure you leave a gap between the rows to form the bat shape to the wings. Don’t pull on the knots too tightly, this will also help with forming the shape. Continue until you have four rows in total. Repeat this step to make the second wing the opposite way. 5Lay out the wings next to the head. Place the first cord of the wing over the cord of the head and form a row of double half Hitch knots. Repeat this on the other side. Continue making rows until you get to the last three cords. Miss two cords and use the last one to make the final row. This will finish the body of the bat. Repeat on the other side. 6Turn the bat over, knot the two extra cords from the last step, and cut. Knot the ends of the bat wings and cut. Trim the remaining cord at the bottom to the length you want. Using the longest leftover cord, wrap it around the cords and knot to complete the bat.

Try something new

Helping Hand

◆ Take your time learning the knotting technique and following each step ◆ Measuring out the cord correctly is very important ◆ Pinning the cords for the bat to a cushion or corkboard will make them easier to work with ◆ Use Sellotape at the bottom of the cord. It will make it easier to thread the wooden beads on

New skills!

“This is an easy technique, which can be used in bigger projects. The ghost hanging is the perfect size to learn”

ALICE VENN, DESIGNER