Tidying up my little plant garden around my kitchen sink, I decided that (one of) my spider plant babies would appreciate being hung!

Tabitha (son Ronan’s girlfriend) had inspired me with a menagerie of macrame, including plant hangers (their flat is full of plants). And friend Heather showed me how she macrames – though this was a wee while ago now.

Undaunted by my cloudy memory, I decided to dive in!

And very quickly required assistance…

I’m sure I have a 1970s craft book which will have detailed illustrated instructions on making a macrame plant pot hanger – but what I required was a bobby basic beginner’s guide. Which You Tube provided.

I have a ‘roll’ (it’s not a ball neither a hank nor coil or cone) of special macrame string, but determined that my first effort should be in ordinary every day string from the middle drawer, as it was bound to go wrong!

This wasn’t strictly my first effort, as I do remember macramaying in guides – though I don’t think there was a specific macrame badge – maybe a craft badge? [Now available as a ‘vintage’ cloth badge – craft for 99p on eBay!]. I could fill a piggy bank – I had an armful!

Macrame mayhem

I didn’t use half the length of string the online expert used – but my plant pot was tiny (the kind a baby orchid comes in)! So I improvised. Which also meant altering the ‘pattern’, which, to be honest, is true to form. I just can’t follow a recipe – I have to veer off piste and do things ‘distinctively’…

And it wasn’t any different with the macrame pot holder.

Instead of 30 knots, I did 6 (or 7 or 8).  I was supposed to alternate knotting, but managed to manoeuver my way around that instruction too! And so it went on.

It was an enjoyable time knotting though – until it came to trying to get the pot/plant into the thing. I broke a couple of the spider plant leaves, and bent the umbilical chord of the baby. This was quite upsetting. And it just wouldn’t stay put, squirming about deliberately. The plantling is also admittedly somewhat (very) lop sided which certainly didn’t help.

I must admit I found myself getting a little bit frustrated. So I hung it up and was contemplating calling it a day. Until I thought maybe I could hang the ‘holder’ strings together and tighter with little bows. Which Tabitha agreed could work.

And so, there we have it!

It still slides about in there, but maybe that is to do with the rounded pot as much as my amateurish macrame meddlings… And it’s absolutely fine, as long as nobody touches it!!