DIY Beginner Macrame Garland Tutorial

I know I said I wouldn’t have any macrame tutorials, but I can’t find myself ending this macrame madness. I’m so hooked and happy knotting all the time! (Check out my macrame feathers and the DIY macrame earrings)

I recently finished today’s beginner macrame garland that I thought was perfect for sharing with you. It’s a small enough project that you can take it with you. I guess it’s just like knitting.

I’ve noticed that I have more natural and rustic elements sneaking into our home. I don’t want it to take over completely, but I can’t get enough. Natural fibers and wood is my jam right now.

It’s almost like I have Scandi glam rustic boho stuff going on right now, but I hate labeling it this way. I know that Google likes those labels because people search for them. Go figure.

So let me show you how to make this simple macrame garland for beginners which I’m planning on using in my holiday decoration for fall and Christmas decor. It is a very versatile garland and can be used for many decorating purposes.

DIY beginner macrame garland with wood beads

The products needed are pretty much the same as my last project.

Materials needed

• macrame yarn (I use this yarn and this yarn)
• sharp scissors (I like using hair-cutting scissors)
• wood beads (I used these beads and some slightly larger ones I had, I lied alternating slightly different sizes)
• hair comb (if you want to brush out the edges again)

Instructions for DIY macrame garland

I used 23 wooden beads threaded on a 10-foot piece of macrame cord for my garland. I wanted it to be long, so I could possibly use it on a Christmas tree in the near future.

I threaded the beads onto the 10-foot piece of macrame yarn ahead of time and tied that long piece of yarn between two chairs so I could work on the macramé garland.

For my length of garland, you need to knot 22 small v-shaped pieces of macrame in between the wooden beads.

And when you make one piece of macrame in-between the above wood beads, you need to cut 6 pieces of 40-inch macrame yarn, which you then have to repeat 22 times or however long you want your garland. I had to cut 132 pieces of 40-inch macrame yarn strings.

Does that make sense?

I started out my beginner macrame garland by folding 6 of the 40-inch pieces of macrame cotton cord in half and looping them onto the base string with Lark’s Head Knots. Each section between the beads needs 6 pieces of yarn, as shown below. My little video shows you how to do this too, and it might be easier to follow that than the photos and descriptions.

Make sure to pull them tight and repeat 6 times.

After that, you have to make Square Knots.

After making a row, you have to offset the simple knots so you can create a pyramid at the end.

Then it is time to make Diagonal Clove Hitch knots on each side of the little macrame triangle/pyramid. Use the outside pieces of yarn on each side as the lead string.

These types of knots are basically loops placed on the outer lead strings on each side that then meet at the center of the piece in a v-shape.

My video might help you better with this step as well.

Keep repeating the same steps for each section between the wood beads to achieve the desired length of your garland.

And then the garland is almost done. You can either choose to leave the garland open or you can tie each end off.

Photos of finished macrame garland

I love using the boho macrame garland around flower pots. Below you can see it with the strands open and not tied.

Below I have the garland tied off into tassels for a change. You can even comb out the strands all the way which I did in my macrame feather tutorial HERE:

I really like how the macramé garland looks on our fireplace mantle too. And you can see how the garland looks if you tie the ends off with a piece of string right after each v-shape.

And Willy agrees that it also makes a great cat toy. It’s a win-win for all of us, isn’t it?

Below you can see an example of how you can use the same process shown above in a different way. Just check out my metal patio table makeover.

And guess what the best thing is? At the end of this step-by-step tutorial and after repeatedly practicing with little macrame pieces, you can move on to a bigger piece because they are all very similar. You can create your own macrame creations if you know how to do different basic knots.