First of all I want to bust a myth. Macramé isn't some craft
that only girls do. In fact, macramé is the perfect craft for
men because you can get just about everything you need in a
hardware store. This is the first of the pages that will tell you
how to make Hemp Jewelry. We were making this stuff when I was a
kid back in the 60's, we just weren't using hemp. This page will
cover what you need to get started. There will be a page covering
items made with the half hitch and a page
for items made with square knots.
Yarn
You can actually use any kind of yarn or cord to make the jewelry
but hemp looks the best. Hemp is also expensive ($5.50 for a 100
gram ball, 425 ft., of 20lb. test polished hemp). So, before you
go out and buy a ball of hemp you might want to try a less
expensive material to practice with. Wal-Mart sells a nylon #18
Seine Twine in 225 ft. spools for less than $2.00/spool. It comes
in white and 5 assorted neon colors. #18 Seine twine, either
Nylon or cotton, is about the same size as 20lb. test polished
(waxed) hemp, so it will give you a good idea of what the
finished product will look like. There is just one word of
warning here about what to NOT use. Stay away from acrylic
knitting and crochet yarns. They have a tendency to stretch when
knotting and they don't look good
Beads
Just about any beads will work as long as the hole is at least
2mm. in dia. Here's a hint about buying beads. Don't buy them at
the same store that you buy your hemp from. Chances are, unless
you are living in New York, L.A., or any other city with a
population of over 100,000, that everyone in town bought their
stuff from the same store so every piece of jewelry will look
related. You want to be creative and unique, if you didn't you
wouldn't be here, so go to the Salvation Army Thrift Store or any
other thrift store that's close by and check out the jewelry
counter. Yard sales and garage sales are good places to go look
for different things to use on jewelry, also. If you can't find
any good beads then go to a craft store like Ben Franklin or the
craft dept. at Wally World and buy an acrylic modeling compound
called Fimo. You can make some really fantastic beads from it.
Roll it into a ball, push a finishing nail through it and bake it
in the oven for ±15 min. at 275°.
Other Equipment
And now the moment we've all been waiting for, Getting Started
Take your cup hook and screw it into something solid like a door
frame, or under the lip of a kitchen counter. If it's a nice day
and you want to work outside screw it into the side of the house,
garage, or fencepost. This is what you'll attach your cords to.
If you don't want to make a hole in your house then you can pin
the work to you pant leg, or chair or sofa arm.
We'll start with
the half hitch spiral. Cut a cord that is at least 6x the length
of the piece you want to make. Measure from end the length of the
piece plus 6". Fold the yarn back at this point so that you
are holding a loop as shown at left. Tie a knot in the loop about
1" from the end and put it on the cup hook, or pin it to
something. You should now have a loop on the hook one really long
side and one side that is the length of you piece + 6". The
short side is your Core cord and the long side is your knotting
cord. Two little hints here, 1) your core cords should
always be at least 6" longer than you need and 2)
your knotting cords should be 5 to 8 times the length that
you need.
OK. Lets get started
