Easy Macrame Plant Hanger

A dear friend of mine has a huge spider plant that often has plantlets (the ones that look like spiders.) He named his original plant Bill, and all subsequent babies are also named Bill. My Bill was one of the plants that really got me into horticulture not so long ago.

I may be alone in thinking this, but I feel that if a friend gives you a plant, whether it be a housewarming gift or propagation from a plant that they take care of, I feel so much more obligated to take special care of it. In a way, their gift is a symbol of our friendship, which in turn should be nourished and loved.

I was so excited about how easy it was to care for and appreciate my Bill, that I asked this same friend for another of his baby Bills for my mother. Her thumb isn't super green but isn't brown either. More than anything, finding a place in my home to keep my mom's Bill in enough light while also giving her easy access to water him occasionally was important, and I did an immense amount of research about hanging plant holders to find that you often need specific kinds of cord or skill.

I'm no expert in macrame, however, that simply proves that you too, even if you are not remotely crafty, can make this plant hanger. Your plants will thank you.

The lengths of twine you'll need are completely adjustable, and will definitely depend on how high or low you want your plant to hang. If it's a heavier plant, you may want to use a heavier cord, or maybe some rope, or you can distribute the weight more by using more of the same twine. I adore this project for that reason - creativity is endless and the flexibility is completely up to you.

What You'll Need:

• household twine
• sharp scissors
• a ruler, or measuring tape
• the pot you're planning to hang

This pot is a 3 in. pot, and it's not a very big plant yet. My overall length of each piece of twine was 85". Add excess inches if your pot is bigger than three inches across. This means that if you have a 4 in. pot, you'll add an inch per piece of twine. Six-inch pot, add three inches. Et cetera. 

Cut three pieces of twine to the length you've decided. (or more for a heavy plant)

Join them together and fold them in half.

Tie a knot about 12 inches from the folded end of the twine. 

About another 12 in. down, or however low you want your plant to hang, tie a knot using two strands at a time. You want all knots to be at the same distance from your previous knot so your plant does not hang crookedly. 

The next distance really depends on the size of your pot. You could make your next knots sit at the bottom edge of your pot, or slightly above. I chose my knots to be above the bottom edge, about 3 in. from my previous knot. 

Choose two adjacent knots and tie the right strand below the left knot and the left strand below the right knot together. Continue all the way around, making sure that they are all evenly spaced from their knots above. 

Using the same distance you chose between your previous two knots, tie all of the strands together in one final knot. So again, my big final knot was three inches away from my knots that joined the pairs of strands together. 

Trim the bottom strands so they are all even at the bottom. I decided to do this after taking this picture. 

And there you have it! Making sure that everything is even is really the most important thing. Now my mom's Bill can get some nice sun in the morning without having to balance on a windowsill that is just barely too small for his pot. Welcome home, little friend.