Nothing gives a room a quick update like a vase of fresh flowers. And since we’re quite partial to hanging macrame planters, we thought we’d make a bouquet-friendly edition. For today’s #31DaysofDIY project, we’ll show you how to make dip-dyed hanging macrame vases. We’ve made two kinds for you to check out — one using a standard knot pattern and the other using the fancy-shmancy Josephine knot. It’s crazy easy and affordable to make these vases, and it’s a refreshing way to display flowers, don’t you think? So let’s do some macra-makin’!
No idea what #31DaysofDIY is? It’s a brand new tradition here at Brit + Co that’s all about kicking off 2015 right. We’ve challenged ourselves to make or learn something new every single day for the month of January, and we’re inviting all of you along for the ride. From DIY basics like Sewing 101 to learning to design and laser cut our own stencils, we hope this month of making inspires you to make all year long.
Tools + Materials:
– string, rope or twine (we used off-white twine)
– mason jars (we spray-painted our jars using this tutorial)
– scissors
– food coloring
– boiling water
– mixing bowls
Standard Knot Instructions:
1. Cut four pieces of 48-inch-long twine. Gather, fold in half and tie the top into a looped knot.
2. Separate the twine into four groups of two, then tie each group in a knot about one inch away from the large knot.
3. Split each macrame duo and create new groups of two. Tie these new groups in a knot about one inch away from the previous knot. Repeat this step one more time.
4. Add food coloring to boiling water and stir. Dip dye your macrame net as deep as you’d like. Let dry.
5. Put your dyed macrame net onto a mason jar, then tie all the strings together at the top. Add flowers. All done!
Josephine Knot Instructions:
1. Cut eight pieces of 48-inch-long twine. Gather, fold in half and tie the top into a looped knot.
2. Separate the macrame into four groups of four, then tie a Josephine knot with each group about one inch away from the large knot. (FYI — there’s a helpful GIF below for how to tie this intricate knot.)
3. Create new groups of four by splitting each group in half, then tie four more Josephine knots about two inches away from the first knots.
4. Fit onto the mason jar and tie double knots around the neck of the jar, so that it fits snugly inside the net.
5. Add food coloring to boiling water and stir. Dip dye your macrame net as deep as you’d like. Let dry.
6. Put your dyed macrame net onto a mason jar, then tie all the strings together at the top. Add flowers, and there you have it!
Standard Knot
We’ll start with the standard knot pattern. You’re a knot, dye, and dry away from this beauty above :)
Cut four 48-inch strings of twine. Gather, fold in half and tie the top of these strings into a looped knot. Then separate your strings into four groups of two. With each group of two strings, tie a standard knot about one inch away from your large knot. (You want to make sure the mason jar has sturdy knots to sit on so that it will hang evenly.) Then split each group of strings to make new groups of two, and tie each of these new couples in a knot about one inch away from the previous knot. Repeat this step one more time.
Make sure the net safely holds the mason jar. If it feels wobbly, add one more row of knots.
Time for the dip dye. Add a few drops of food coloring to boiling water and stir. The more food coloring you use and the longer the net is dipped, the darker the color. (You can also swap out the food coloring for Rit Dye if you want a super rich hue.) Dip your knotted net as deep as you’d like. Let dry.
Put your dyed macrame net onto the mason jar, then tie all the strings together at the top of the string. Add flowers and water, and voila! You’ve officially made a macrame hanging vase. Easy, right?
Josephine Knot
See that fancy knot above? Don’t feel intimidated. It’s surprisingly easy, we promise. Take a gander…
The Josephine knot is really just a fancy pretzel. Watch this GIF a few times to get the hang of it.
Start with eight strings of twine at 48 inches long each. Make a looped knot in the very middle, just as you did with the standard knot. Then separate your strands into four groups of four. Tie four Josephine knots about one inch away from the large knot, as shown. Repeat one more time about two inches away from the first Josephine knot, splitting your groups of string again.
Pro Tip: Don’t tighten your Josephine knots until you’ve loosely tied each group of four. This will help you evenly space out each knot.
To ensure that the net stays firmly on your mason jar, tie double knots around the neck of the jar. Take it off the mason jar so that you can dye the string.
Dip dye again! Add food coloring to boiling water and stir, then get dippin’. Let dry.
Ta-dah! We think that the Josephine knot gives an extra-special touch to the hanging vase.
We’re SO pleased about how this DIY turned out. And we love the flexibility of this DIY — you could easily use paracord or jersey in lieu of macrame, and any kind of vase, jar or planter will work. We’ll definitely be reinventing these again :)
Have you ever made your own hanging vase or planter? Have you done any projects with macrame? If so, we’d love to see! Share your DIYs with us on social media using the hashtag #31DaysofDIY — we look forward to checking them out!
