FAQ: How Much Rope Do I Need For My Project?

An age-old macramé dilemma: You don't want to end up with piles of excess rope when your piece is finished, but you really don't want to run out of rope a few knots shy of completion. Although neither is the end of the world, it's best to do whatever you can to prevent them.

Above all, the common wisdom is to err on the side of too much length rather than too little. This is because, while no one wants to end up with piles of excess trimmings, most scraps can be salvaged & reused. (Stay tuned for a future Video Tutorial + Blog Post with ideas on how to utilize your rope scraps!) Coming up short, on the other hand, can be a difficult (but not impossible) problem to solve, potentially creating a blemish in your knotwork.

Handmade craft is not a science, and we are not machines. Try as we might to achieve perfect uniformity, every knot we make will vary from its neighbors just a little bit. On top of that, we all use our hands a little differently. Some of us tend to work more tightly, others on the looser side.  And, unless we are the most seasoned of artisans, the knots we make today might not look exactly like those from yesterday or tomorrow. 

In one sense, this subtle variation is an asset, enriching what we make with handmade character and unique personality; however, when it comes to reliably calculating how long to cut ropes for macramé, human imperfections produce a practical challenge.  Just how much rope should we allow for each knot, if they are all slightly different?  Fortunately, it is possible to boil all of this complication down to solid number.  

Watch now: Tune in as our founder, Emily Katz, explains how you determine how much rope you'll need for your macramé project!

Photo by @nicholaspeterwilson for @thestyleline

Learn more in the Modern Macramé Book (on page 34) - it has a very clear step-by-step & precise equation to follow.

Let us know if you have any other questions in the comments below or give us a call during our Craft Help Hotline on Tuesday's from 11:00am - 1:00pm PST or email us at crafthelp@modernmacrame.com: