Craft workshops bring me so much joy, so when I heard that there would be an opportunity for a macrame feather workshop in my town, I was thrilled! My only exposure to macrame has been making the hemp bracelets from the early 2000s, so it was great to see what other designs can be made with the simple knot patterns. This particular workshop was hosted by Rhian from Dreamers.
- 1.5 – 2.7m of 3mm macrame cord (colours L to R: Almond, Eggplant, Marsala, Wheat, Freckleberry, Rust)
- 1 piece of driftwood
- Metal pet comb
Rhian had prepped for this workshop by doing all the legwork and cutting all of the short and long strands of cording. By looking at the finished project and working backwards, I would guess that the vertical strands were about 100cm, and I would guess that the horizontal strands are about 16cm long. Unlike the tutorial I linked, we just used the same length strands for the whole feather, and then trimmed them at the end, so we didn’t have to worry about laying out the shorter strands for the end and the longer strands for the top. I counted that there were 45, 59, 67, 81, 43, and 63 pairs of knots in each feather, if you look at it from left to right. If my math is correct, I think that would bring us to 2700m of cord for the largest feather, and 1500m for the smallest. If you’re curious, I believe that Rhian buys her cord from Unfettered Art and Supply.
It turns out the entire feather is simply made with a square knot, so it’s not exactly a hard project, just time-consuming. Some of the participants decided against finishing all six feathers in class, but I wanted to push through and take advantage of the opportunity. I think that it took me pretty close to three hours to finish though, so it is a lot of knotting that can be hard on the hands if you have arthritis or are prone to soreness.
At this stage of the workshop, I was a little suspicious, as I didn’t think these floppy strands looked anything like a feather. If I was being honest, they actually looked a little sad. It turns out that the real secret to these macrame feathers is brushing. By brushing, the cotton strands in the cord unravel, creating that feathery look. I ended up using a metal pet comb because I felt that gave me better control, but Rhian also brought pet brushes for people to use.
Isn’t it crazy what a difference the brushing makes? Rhian had us brush from the middle outward, and we had to brush both sides of the feather in order to make sure the cord was fully fluffed. It was about at this point with the fluffed strands that I finally started to feel more confident about my colour choices. I normally stick to a blue and grey kind of palette, but I wanted to push myself to try something new this workshop, so I picked these purples and reddish browns! I really like how they looked together, and will probably keep this combination in mind for the future.
The final step to the workshop was trimming the feathers so they actually have the right shape. Rhian was kind of enough to touch up my feathers after I gave it a go, and I am thankful that she did! Despite being a fairly crafty kind of person, I am still surprised when such seemingly intricate projects turn out to be super simple in execution. Rhian offers mobile craft workshops where she will come to you and bring all the supplies, so if you live in the Peace River region of Alberta or B.C., I would definitely suggest checking her out!
Now that I’ve completed my first macrame project, I kind of want to go out and buy more cord, but I also remind myself that I already have way too much crafting material that I haven’t used yet. Still, I’m going to keep this in the back of my mind for a girls night or something, as it is mindless enough that you could have a conversation, but rewarding enough that you will actually like the finished project. Have you tried any craft workshops lately? What did you think, would you share it with others?
Until next time, happy crafting!