Trending: Mod Macramé

By Kate Riley July 2, 2013

Isn’t it true that everything that was once in style will come back again? (Say it ain’t so for avocado colored appliances). I’ve been noticing a trend lately and that’s the comeback of macramé. I remember going into my parents’ friends’ houses as a young girl and seeing macramé everywhere, those hanging pots with braided and beaded jute with knotted fringe, that look that was all the rage in the seventies.

The design and DIY community has been in a “cover everything with rope” phase over the last few years (me too!) since rope, jute, and twine add desirable texture to home accessories and now macramé is trendy yet again.   

roost macrame hanging planters

via

I like the repetitive knots and texture of macramé and the way it’s been reinterpreted with brighter twines like some of these DIY versions. 

diy macrame planters

how to: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

 

Macramé is trending in home decor as well, from lighting to accessories, I’m spying it everywhere on Etsy and Pinterest.

macrame home decor

buy:  1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

 

What do you think of macramé trend?  Did you make jewelry or wall decorations with this technique as a kid? Would you decorate with newer mod interpretations, or do you think the look is still totally bohemian 70s?

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38 comments

  1. I love it. Still have patterns that date back about 30 years! Maybe that’s my next project.

  2. I think it’s hip and cool and would love to have some in my home. I think the difference with the macrame’ nowadays is the type of rope they use – more rough and rustic than the white ropes of old.

  3. Sometimes you just can’t go back. It was fun to do macrame back in the 70s but I’m going to leave it back there. For those who have never done it before, however, definitely go for it. It’s fun.

  4. Please NO! Hopefully the “fill the room up with hundreds of houseplants” trend will not make be making a comback.

  5. I was married in 1972 and our first apartment had avocado green appliances and carpet! We bought our first house in 1975 when macrame was popular “the first time around.” I took a macrame class and made several plant hangers. I clearly remember one particular one I made with many different fancy knots that hung in my living room. I thoroughly enjoyed it as a hobby then but DEFINITELY not interested in having anything macrame in my home now. No. No. Heck no! :)

  6. I used to do macrame ~ forgot all about it ~ using the “T” pins, learning the knotting, the different patterns. I’d rather hot glue some rope or jute to a project now and yes, those Avocado kitchen appliances belong buried in the past!

  7. I agree, Peggy and Denise! It reminds me of Girl Scout projects and still seems too 70’s for me. Maybe the only people who like the 70’s are those who didn’t live through it???

  8. Nooooo … definitely can’t go there. I have too many memories of trying to water the hanging plants (as a child’s chore) around my parent’s living room…pulling the plants in and out of those things. UGH! But if you don’t have a memory of this, go for it!!

  9. I guess that macramé owl I made in the 70s is back in style. My mother hasn’t moved it off her wall since then…now she’s trending!! Lol

  10. It’s so interesting how you can identify trends from the past that make a reappearance. I specifically remember a sea shell macrame plant hanger in my house. Also, PLEASE don’t let avocado anything come back into popularity!

  11. Oh my gosh, I remember having so much fun making all the plant hangers & I remember a macrame owl wall hanging!! Owls are definitely popular again!!! Hmmmm……………. But definitely never again with blue–mauve–and geese!!

  12. Um….NO! But I would definitely consider it for out side on my patio!

  13. I never did macrame, but remember the plant hangers in my childhood home. I occasionally come across some macrame art piece in thrift stores and wonder, “What were they thinking??” I might use a neutral-colored plant holder on a porch (and only if it did not have a hanging tassel), but it wouldn’t get any farther into the house than that. I’ll stick to knitting.

  14. I have to say, macrame just doesn’t do it for me. It always looks a bit cheap and cheesy to me, particularly with tassels. Some trends should just stay in the past. Avocado colored appliances, on the other hand…;-)

  15. Hi, I agree with Peggy. If you were there the first time around, then it’s hard to look at it quite the same way again. If it’s new to you then away you go, knot yourself silly. Me, I still think it just looks old. Much like me…..

  16. Totally agreeing with Jennifer: it seems that if you lived through the 70’s, you’re bound to hate macrame. I was born at the beginning if the 80’s and I HATE everything related to that period. Gray and peach ? No way ! If the 80’s are ever going to make a comeback, I’ll be leading the resistance movement.

    However, done in a bright, neon color, I kinda love macrame. I’ll try to find a type of rope I can use outside and hang two flower pots in my weirdly shaped garden to create some symmetry.

    On a side note, I have an embroidery book that dates all the way back to 1890, which mentions macrame. The technique was used to create pompons, curtains or resistant imitations of lace. No mention of this creative use of macrame as a support for flowerpots.

  17. Perhaps in the Draper’s apartment but not in in real world room! Will plastic couch covers, fake fruit bowls, velvet Elvis rugs, and LOUD ugly chairs make the comeback as well.
    Love ropes in tiny shocking places and love plants in unexpected gorgeous pots, but not the two of them mixed together.

    What was my vote……????

  18. Well I guess that’s why things come back in fashion again – so it can be NEW for the generation that will love it again. My sister and I often speak of the “gorgeous” antique furniture that my parents considered junk and only fit to be at the cottage. My parents replaced it with the newest, most modern furniture of their time – arborite. In their day it was all about the latest which was Formica counter tops, covering hardwood floors with Linoleum, arborite bedroom “sets” (every room was a “set”) and Blue Mountain Pottery. OM, I’ve seen tons of that stuff around again too. Personally I just like what I like. Trend doesn’t really play a roll in my decor.

  19. In my mom’s day it was frowned upon to have a tan because it meant you had to labour outdoors. In my day it was desirable to have a tan because it meant you had leisure time to work on it. My point is, some trends have a reason behind them and some don’t. A new trend I see is re-purposing items of all kinds and some from most unlikely places into the most interesting uses. In the not so distant past this would not be considered fashionable at all. People everywhere are becoming aware of the planet around them – a very good trend that I hope will last.

  20. I was just noticing this trend too and I have to say, I kinda like it. I’m certainly a child of the 70’s so maybe it just reminds me of my childhood too. I definitely like the look in moderation though.

  21. I was just looking for some macramé patterns. I like the natural jute ones. Plants indoors will never go out, they serve a purpose of purifying the air. My mom was never one for following trends and I have never either, I go with what I love. Don’t you think future generations are going to look back at the over abundance of burlap used in décor now and say “what were they thinking?”…but so many enjoy it now and isn’t that the point. Go with what you love and phooey on what others think.

  22. just told my girlfriend that avocado green & orange Italian decorative decanters were back just like the ones we bought for our moms when we were kids. also said that i embraced many of the reruns but drew the line at macrame’…HA! i fondly remember my mother in law paying for us to go to macrame’ classes once a week together. we learned EVERYTHING & had porches full of really big, thick corded pot hangers as well as sleek & shiny rattail cord. but personally, today i am not a fan. my mom always told me nothing is new under the sun…

  23. I LOVE THEM! I always knew they’d come back. For a while, maybe it was too close to the 70’s, I didn’t like them – but I appreciated them, if that makes sense? Now I’m ready to love them again, we just needed a break.

    Especially all these fun colors! I love to see old crafts coming back in new ways.

  24. Egads. We certainly did have natural jute macrame in the 70s and it was just as dusty looking and unattractive then as it is now. I agree with Peggy and Thomas Wolfe, you can’t go home again. And while we are talking trends, if I never see a granite counter top and stainless steel appliance again, I will be very happy. I’m sick and tired of it all. (Carrara marble, now that’s different!!! That’s beautiful!)

  25. No no no no no. It is just so WRONG. I like the cover everything with rope but macramé had its time and that was then, never to reappear in my house. Ever. No!

  26. Everything in moderation — those simple, natural fiber ones with glass bowls that you have pictured are stunning! The brightly colored ones, too! The theme I’m seeing here is that the thinner the string, the more current it looks.

    Let’s all agree that we’ll NEVER bring back the 8′ x 4′ dark brown macrame wall hanging that my parents had over their fireplace, though, OK? Any chunky dark brown macrame, really, especially involving chunky orange beads…

  27. Hey Nancy, I’m glad to hear someone else is soooo done with granite and stainless steel in the kitchen. I’m loving the timeless all white kitchen to accessorize in whatever colour makes me happy at any given point in time.

  28. I am definitely a child of the 70’s and totally (80’s too! haha) remember macrame plant hangers! This is funny…about 4 or so years ago I was looking for a few of these old 70’s plant hangers so that I could hang a few plants in my home. I was able to find one on Freecycle and currently have a plant in it. Just recently again I started thinking I should try to find a couple more and even looked online for how to macrame, thinking I’d just make my own. I had no idea it was making a come back until I read this mornings post! I also figured there’d be new color choices instead of just plain ol brown. Add some beads…ceramic, glass, etc doesn’t have to be the old wooden beads from 40 yrs ago. Add jewels into it. They’d be fabulous! It’s true that old becomes new again. I don’t want a house full of macrame hangers, but when you run out of shelf space, using a FEW hangers for your plants has its place. Even outside!

  29. I love the bowls and ceiling fixture pictured. I am of the “age” of macrame’ and loved it back when. I had alot of plant hangers etc; I was never much for the jewelry, but I really was into my “inner hippie” back then. I had inflatable furniture and beads in the doorways of my first apartment. I wore mocassins for shoes even in the dead of winter!!

  30. I think macrame needs to high tail it back to the 70s. Everything does not have to be new again, nor should it :) I went macrame crazy making hanging plant holders at one time. The only think good about my mum passing away was throwing them all away!

  31. I’m thinking that even though it’s coming back in, I STILL don’t like them… Too busy looking.

  32. Love the glass ones! Did some macrame when I was a kid. Plant hangers and bracelets mostly. Great portable project! I think there could be a spot for these new updated versions in my house for sure!

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