Jute Macrame Fashion-a-bel(t)

Nature is my biggest inspiration. Anything and everything natural always motivates me. Be it wood, metal, fabric or anything organic. I try finding every reason to make projects which are made from natural items and has to have a touch of creativity. One such idea that struck my mind is this 'Jute Macrame Fashion-a-bel(t)'. For quite some time I have been thinking and working on macrame projects, ideas and decorations at home. Jute..... ah.. its just so appealing.

To add some fashion to jute and still keep it natural, I adorned the belt with some colorful wooden beads. When I started, I did have a clear vision in my mind. However, when I completed it transcended to become a perfect gift for my niece who is just joined college this fall. This belt was then shipped over to her and she has already received a bunch of compliments on how 'cool', 'stylish', 'amazing', 'fashionable' etc etc. I'm glad she found it a unique and stunning gift.

If you have also fallen in love with this belt and would like to give it a sincere try, feel free to reach out to me anytime. Come along with me to understand all the steps such that you are not fully equipped to get started by yourself.

This project is certainly not as complex as it appears. Trust me it involves just 2 macrame knots. Join me in my long (belt length :-) journey.

1. Belt Buckle

2. Jute

3. Scissors

4. Wooden beads (Pink, Purple, Blue & Yellow) - 16 each

5. Tape or ruler

This is an important step to get started correctly. In this step, I first cut 4 jute strings 6 meters in length. Then, I folder the first string into half. Keep in mind this project needs some patience and some enthusiasm to work as it is not easy to handle 3 meters (half of 6 meters length) strings. They get entangled easily. In order to avoid that, I will share some tips to stay away from some frustration :-) Hope you like it and it works for you as well.

In order to get started, I first decided to have the clamped to a chair in order to find it easy to work on a flat table. Since this belt is a long one and would certainly be time consuming, I did not want to hook it on the wall. So with that thought, I tied some jute rope to the other end of the belt buckle and hooked it onto a chair on my study table (image 2).

To make a Lark's head Macrame knot. As shown in image 3 & 4, I took the half-folded first jute string and inserted this loop through the buckle frame. Then, I pulled the other end of the rope with 2 strings through this loop (see image 5). Pull it tight and there you go. Lark's head knot is ready with 1 string now becoming 2. Along the same steps, I managed to hook 2 Lark's head knots on the left side of the prong and 2 onto the right. Equally dividing 4 strings on each side (image 7-9)

Now I have 8 strings hooked onto the buckle frame. From now onwards, I will refer to as String 1, String 2..... String 8. This will be my naming convention to go further. Are you hooked too?

As promised, I will help you with a quick tip on how to manage the strings with comfort and confidence. As you see in image 1, 6 meters is really lengthy and these could easily get entangled. In order to carefully manage each of the 8 strings, I wrapped them around as small bundles and tied it together as shown in the image 2. Depending on the needs, I then unwrapped these bundles and open them little by little at a given time. This approach helped me work better and stay cool.

In this first square knot on the left, I started with the first 4 strings (string 1 - 4). I folded the first string (string 1) as a digit 4 (see image 2) and kept it over strings 2 & 3, but under string 4. Then, I took string 4 and pulled it under string 3, 2 and from the loop formed from string 1 (image 3). Carefully pulled strings 1 & 4 and the first half of the square knot is ready (image 4).

For the second half of this first square knot. I folded string 4 as a reversed 4 (image 5) and placed it over string 3 and string 2 and under string 1. Then, I pulled string 1 under strings 2 & 3 and over string 4. Finally, I pulled strings 1 & 4 and adjusted strings 2 & 3 as well.

This marks the completion of the first macrame knot. Does this sound simple?

In this second square knot on the right, I started with the last 4 strings (string 5 - 8). I folded the last string (string 8) as a reversed digit 4 (see image 2) and kept it over strings 7 & 6, but under string 5. Then, I took string 5 and pulled it under string 6, 7 and from the loop formed from string 5 (image 3). Carefully pulled strings 8 & 5 and the first half of the square knot is ready (image 5).

For the second half of this first square knot. I folded string 5 as in digit 4 (image 5) and placed it over string 6 and string 7 and under string 8. Then, I pulled string 8 under strings 7 & 6 and over string 5. Finally, I pulled strings 5 & 8 and adjusted strings 6 & 7 as well. This marks the completion of the second macrame knot. Great job if you are still with me!

In this final (third) square knot in the middle, I started with the 4 strings (string 3 - 6) in the middle. I folded the first string (string 3) as a digit 4 (see image 2) and kept it over strings 4 & 5, but under string 6. Then, I took string 6 and pulled it under string 5, 4 and from the loop formed from string 3 (image 3). Carefully pulled strings 3 & 6 and the first half of the square knot is ready (image 3).

For the second half of this first square knot. I folded string 6 as a reversed 4 (image 4) and placed it over string 5 and string 4 and under string 3. Then, I pulled string 3 under strings 4 & 5 and over string 6. Finally, I pulled strings 3 & 6 and adjusted strings 4 & 5 as well. This marks the completion of the middle macrame knot. Does this sound doable?

By now, I had completed all the 3 square (left, right and middle) needed for this project.

To adorn further, I decided to some colorful wooden beads and I just did that. On string 1, I fed purple and pink beads one after the other with a total of 32 (Purple - 16 + Pink 16). Similarly, I added 32 yellow and blue beads just as the left side (image 1)

Before I go over to the next round, I pulled one purple bead on string one and then followed the steps for the left square knot. Pulled the yellow on string 8 and followed the steps for the right square knot. With patience and fun, I continued until I reached 32 beads on either side (image 2-8).

In order the bring the belt to a completion stage, I continued with just the 2 square knots (left, right and middle in order) for 5 more rounds (without the beads). See images 2-5. Finally, I pulled all the 8 strings, aligned and tied a knot. Cut it into shape at the end. I did have some string leftover at the end. The belt is ready to wear (image 6). The final length is 100 cm. This marks the completion of 'Jute Macrame Fashion-a-bel(t)'. Thank you for your time and patience!