DIY Macrame Badminton Net // Easy Macrame Knot Instructions

A few of you might remember when I shared my Outdoor Oasis and Outdoor Games Project back in July. I thought I would share a bit more about the Making of the DIY Macrame Badminton Net - that was surprisingly easy to make - and instructions and images for how to tie each of the macrame knots I used in the project!. This is not our first rodeo, when it comes to macrame (see our DIY macrame hanging planter project), so it might be obvious at this point that we like a bit of the fringe over here at the House of TDC.

This also happens to be one of the very first projects for the site that I worked on with Beth, my fab Gal Friday (you will be getting to know her a bit more now that we can come up for air from all of the projects going on), so let us just say she got a dose of the crazy that happens around here, right off the bat! Trial by Fire, eh?

The full step by step for the DIY Macrame Badminton Net can be found over on the Home Depot blog with detailed pictures and instructions for making your own masterpiece! Below are the complete steps for creating the specific macrame knots I used and also the knots that you will most often find in a macrame patterns. Go forth my friends, and tie yourself something gorgeous!

The Lark's Head Knot is probably your most common tie-on knot. It is not precisely a knot, but still, it happens to be a great way to get your cord onto your rod, dowel, or ring.

// The steps above are fairly straightforward and this baby involves nothing more than doubling up your rope by folding it in half, then folding that loop in your mid-section over your rod or ring by bringing it up from behind.

// Once you fold it over you simply pull the loose ends up and through your loop. Easy Peasy, no?

Once you have all of your material looped onto your rod or ring, you will likely begin with one or more of the knots below! For those of you who like to work with your hands in some way, macrame is simply divine. Just so completely gratifying if you know what I mean. Plus you can pull up a folding table in front of the tv and watch The Knick or one of the meellions of Housewives franchises while you loop and tie your way to perfection!

The other knot you will run across, often, along your macrame journey is the square knot. You might need to tie a series of alternating square knots or even a half square knot, but it is very likely you will do something involving this fabulous basic at some point. Since a square knot is actually made up of two halves (duh, right?), the image above shows you how to tie one of these possible halves or a left facing half square knot. To tie a right facing, you will simply do the opposite of these steps and work from the right outside cord, or cord 4, and tie the knot as you see in the next step. And since a half square knot is the first portion of a whole square knot, which I cover down below, you will need to complete these steps here before moving on to the next set below.

Something fabulous about a half square knot is that if you continue tying it over and over again it will actually make a gorgeous twist and looks absolutely amazing!

While the image above is fairly easy to follow, I will just skim over a few quick verbal instructions to help you understand what you are seeing.

// You will need to separate out your lark's head knots into groups of two. By this I mean for you group them up in pairs so there are 4 cords per group to work with.

// With your group of 4 cords, you will take the left outside cord - cord 1 and the black cord you see above - and bring it over the two cords in the center - cords 2 and 3 (white and yellow) - then under the cord on the right outside - cord 4 (beige).

// Then bring the right outside cord - beige cord 4 - under the two center cords - cords 2 and 3 (white and yellow) - and up behind and under the curved edge of your first cord or cord 1 (black) - like you see in step 3 above. Once you bring it up behind like this, you will pull it up through your opening (made by cord 1) and out to the side. This will look like a pretzel and will be a bit like the first part of tying your shoe laces. When you pull this tight a bit, it should look like the last image.

Now you can repeat this to get that twisty bit you see at the top of the image above, or move on to the step below for something that requires a whole square knot!

If you need to tie a right half square knot, this is where you will begin. It essentially mirrors the process in the previous step only it reverses it, and will be the second half of your square knot if you are continuing on from the former series of steps! What you see in the image above is a continuation from a left half square knot and does in fact form a complete square knot.

If beginning here // You will need to separate out your lark's head knots into groups of two. This means you will group them up in pairs so there are 4 cords per group to work with. If continuing on from the left half square above, simply work with the 4 cords from your previous step from their new positions (black cord 4 is now on the right and beige cord 1 is now on the left).

// With your group of 4 cords, you will take the right outside cord - cord 4 and the black cord you see above - and bring it over the two cords in the center - cords 2 and 3 (white and yellow) - then under the cord on the left outside - cord 1 (beige).

// Then bring the left outside cord - beige cord 1 - under the two center cords - cords 2 and 3 (white and yellow) - and up behind and under the curved edge of your right hand cord or cord 4 (black) - like you see in step 3 above. Once you bring it up behind like this, you will pull it up through your opening (made by cord 4) and out to the side (on the right). This will look like a pretzel and will be a bit like the first part of tying your shoe laces. When you pull this tight a bit, it should look like the last image above if you are completing a square knot!

Alternating Square Knots are a great way to create a net like pattern. The image for this shows the process from the beginning, but for the specific steps for tying a square knot, refer to the previous two steps. This image will give you an overview of how to alternate and create the pattern you see above.

// Begin with your groups of 4 cords and tie a Square Knot in each group. Do this all the way across your row until every group is tied.

// For your next row, skip the first 2 cords and set them aside,then regroup your cords into new groups of 4 from there forward. You will pair your 3rd and 4th cords together with your 5th and 6th cords (7-10 for your next group) and once again tie a complete square knot.

// For your third row you will go back to the groups as they were in your first row and include those first 2 cords once again! Continue on in this manner for as many rows as you like, alternating your groups and leaving out the first 2 cords for every other even numbered row.

The Wrap Knot or Gathering Knot is used to group your cords when you finish off a pattern and occasionally at the beginning or in the middle of a pattern like you see in my Macrame Hanging Planter. This was the trickiest knot for me somehow since the instructions I was working from left out a critical section, so I will try not to leave you hanging like that!

To work this knot you will need to have a separate cord set aside that is not part of your group of cords and is not connected to anything else. The cord you will use to wrap your group is this separate cord (the white cord running underneath my group in the 1st step above) and is the Working Cord.

// Run your Working Cord under and alongside your group.

// Create a slight loop by bringing your Working Cord around, down, then up and over your group.

// Bring it down and back behind your group, making sure to leave your loop in place from the previous step as well as your loose end as you see in the image above (steps 3 through 7).

// Bring your Working Cord (now hanging down)back up in front of your group and over the top again, then around behind and down. Continue wrapping like this until your wrap is the size you want for your particular project. The more cords you have, the more you may want to wrap your group.

// Take the end of your Working Cord and thread it through your loop.

// Pull your loose end from the beginning of this knot in steps 1 and 2 and pull it tight until your loop is pulled up into your wrap and is hidden. Now you can cut off any excess or tuck it away and into your wrap as well and secure with glue.