Macram
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Cavandoli macram
Macram or macrame is a form of textile-making using knotting rather than weaving or knitting. Its
primary knots are the square knot (a variant of the reef knot) and forms of "hitching": full hitch and
double half hitches. It was long crafted by sailors, especially in elaborate or ornamental knotting forms,
to decorate anything from knife handles to bottles to parts of ships.
Cavandoli macram is a variety of macram used to form geometric and free-form patterns like weaving.
The Cavandoli style is done mainly in a single knot, the double half-hitch knot. Reverse half hitches are
sometimes used to maintain balance when working left and right halves of a balanced piece.
Leather or fabric belts are another accessory often created via macram techniques. Most friendship
bracelets exchanged among schoolchildren and teens are created using this method. Vendors at theme
parks, malls, seasonal fairs and other public places may sell macram jewellery or decoration as well.
Contents
[hide]
1History
2Materials
3See also
4References
5External links
History[edit]
Macram comes from a 13th-century Arabic weavers word migramah meaning fringe. This refers to
the decorative fringes on camels and horses which help, amongst other things, to keep the flies off the
animal in the hot desert regions of northern Africa.
Another school of thought thinks that it comes from Turkish makrama, napkin or towel, and was a way
to secure the ends of pieces of weaving by using the excess thread and yarn along the top and bottom
edges of loomed fabrics.
One of the earliest recorded uses of macram style knots as decoration appeared in the carvings of
the Babylonians and Assyrians. Fringe-like plaiting and braiding adorned the costumes of the time and
were captured in their stone statuary. Macram traveled from north Africa to Spain with the Moors, and
as a result of this conquest it spread, firstly to France, and then throughout Europe.
Decorative macram owls
Necklaces from Tobati (Paraguay)
In the Western Hemisphere, macram is believed to have originated with 13th-century Arab weavers.
These artisans knotted the excess thread and yarn along the edges of hand-loomed fabrics into
decorative fringes on bath towels, shawls, and veils. The Spanish word macram is derived from the
Arabic migramah (), believed to mean "striped towel", "ornamental fringe" or "embroidered veil."
After the Moorish conquest, the art was taken to Spain, then to Italy, especially in the region of Liguria,
and then spread through Europe. It was introduced into England at the court of Mary II in the late 17th
century. Queen Mary taught the art of macram to her ladies-in-waiting.[1]
Sailors made macram objects in off hours while at sea, and sold or bartered them when they landed,
thus spreading the art to places like China and the New World. Nineteenth-century British and American
sailors made hammocks, bell fringes, and belts from macram. They called the process "square
knotting" after the knot they used most frequently. Sailors also called macram "McNamara's lace".[1]
Macram was most popular in the Victorian era. Sylvia's Book of Macram Lace (1882), a favorite,
showed readers how "to work rich trimmings for black and coloured costumes, both for home wear,
garden parties, seaside ramblings, and ballsfairylike adornments for household and underlinens ..."
Most Victorian homes were adorned by this craft. Macram was used to make household items such as
tablecloths, bedspreads and curtains.[1]
Though the craze for macram faded, it regained popularity during the 1970s as a means to make wall
hangings, articles of clothing, bedspreads, small jean shorts, tablecloths, draperies, plant hangers and
other furnishings. By the early 1980s macram had again begun to fall out of fashion as a decoration
trend.[2]
Macram jewelry has become popular among the American neo-hippie and grunge crowd, starting in
the early 1970s. Using mainly square knots and granny knots, this jewelry often features handmade
glass beads and natural elements such as bone and shell. Necklaces, anklets and bracelets have
become popular forms of macram jewelry.
Materials[edit]
A large macram project in progress, using rope as cord, tied to a wooden dowel
Materials used in macram include cords made of cotton twine, linen, hemp, jute, leather or yarn. Cords
are identified by construction, such as a 3-ply cord, made of three lengths of fibre twisted together.
[1]
Jewelry is often made in combination of both the knots and various beads (glass, wooden, and so on),
pendants or shells. Sometimes 'found' focal points are used for necklaces, such as rings or gemstones,
either wire-wrapped to allow for securing or captured in a net-like array of intertwining overhand knots. A
knotting board is often used to mount the cords for macram work. Cords may be held in place using
a C-clamp, straight pins, T-pins, U-pins, or upholstery pins.[1]
For larger decorative pieces, such as wall hangings or window coverings, a work of macram might be
started out on a wooden or metal dowel, allowing for a spread of dozens of cords that are easy to
manipulate. For smaller projects, push-pin boards are available specifically for macram, although a
simple corkboard works adequately. Many craft stores offer beginners' kits, work boards, beads and
materials ranging in price for the casual hobbyist or ambitious craftsperson.
See also[edit]
Chinese knotting
Sennit
References[edit]
1.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e Virginia Colton, ed. (1979). Complete Guide to Needlework.
Montreal: The Reader's Digest Association Canada. p. 445. ISBN 0888500858.
2.
Jump up^ Chace, Susan; Pennant, Lilla; Warde, John Maury; Wright, David
(1981), Crafts & Hobbies, Reader's Digest, p. 28, ISBN 0-89577-063-6, retrieved 200909-20
External links[edit]
WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoMacrame.
[Link]
Sylvia's Book of Macram Lace by Sylvia (pseudonym), 1882.
Macrame Instructions
How To Macram using Hemp
General Macrame Information
