Create Your Own Macramé Keyrings

1. Cut two lengths of cord, roughly 90cm in length each.

2. One at a time fold each cord in half, so there is a loop at one end.

3. Using the loop as a centre point make one side of each folded cord significantly shorter than the other (but make sure it is at least as long as you want your keyring).

4. Place the cords next to each other so that the two shorter lengths are next to each other, in the middle, and the two longer ones are on the outside.

5. Put the hole of your keychain over the top of the looped end of your first cord, and bend the loop over the keychain and pull the two loose ends through the loop (lark’s head knot).

6. Repeat step 5 with your second cord, making sure that both knots are the same way round, and both of the shorter strands of cord are on the same side.

7. Lay your keychain and cord on a flat surface, or hang your keychain from above so that when you look at it you have from left to right:

Long cord (1), Short cord (2), Short cord (3), Long cord (4).

8. Take cord 1, and make an L shape before tucking the cord under the middle 2 cords (2&3) and over the outer cord (4). It should resemble the number 4.

9. Take cord 4 and pull it through the L shape/hole in the 4, and pull both cords 1 & 4, trying to keep cords 2&3 straight. Tighten the knot so it is firm and not too loose.

10. Repeat steps 8&9 but going from right to left this time. Steps 8-10 together make up a backward square knot.

11. Repeat steps 8-10 down the keyring until you reached your desired length.

12. Once you reach the end you can either fasten off by just firmly securing your last backward square knot, or you can do a gathering knot to secure further your previous knots.

a. To do a gathering knot take your longest remaining cord and make an u shape over the bottom of the keychain, below your last knot. Then wrap the same cord around the u shape until you just have enough cord left as you want as fringe on the bottom of your keyring. Tuck the remaining cord through the bottom of the U and pull tight so that the knot is secured.

13. If you prefer to make the remaining cord into a fringy tassel rather than just hanging lose you can do this by grabbing a pair of scissors and separating them, using one end to pull through the cord so that it separates it out. Alternatively, if you have a wire pet brush this works a treat to make single cord macrame into tassel.

14. Cut the ends of your cord so that they are in your desired shape, either straight across or at a point.

15. Attach your keychain to your bag or keys and enjoy 😊