Free DIY Guide to Make a Macramé Plant Hanger

Use this step-by-step pattern to create a simple plant holder with yarn, and decorate your home with a botanical twist

Having spent more time than usual indoors over the last couple of years, so many of us have felt a call back to nature. The color green actually boosts feelings of relaxation, so integrating plants into your home is the perfect way to build a welcoming space.

But it’s not just about placing a potted plant in the corner: you can experiment with hanging plants to create “an urban jungle”. Here’s how to make your own plant hangers and uplift your interior design.

Igor Josifovic-Kemper and Judith de Graaff are known as the Urban Jungle Bloggers (@urbanjungleblog). With an online plant community of over a million followers, they have also published two books, Plant Tribe and Urban Jungle, and worked with brands like Pinterest and IKEA.

“Even if you don't have any space left on your shelves or the window sill,” they tell us, “there's always room for a hanging plant. You can hang these plant hangers from the ceiling, a wall, a window handle, or a doorknob.”

But before you download your free guide and start knotting your own hanger, here’s a quick primer on the technique known as macramé, and why plant hangers are the perfect botanical addition to any home.

What is macramé?

Macramé is a knotting technique for textiles that has had various uses throughout history. From its inception in Babylonian times, it has been used for practicality (keeping away flies, even in sailing knots) as well as decoration. The word is thought to come from the Arabic migramah or fringe, as it became popular with weavers in the thirteenth century. Nowadays you’ll find it just about everywhere, perhaps without realizing. Friendship bracelets, tasseled clothing, woven belts—all can be made with macramé techniques.

The DIY guide below uses a type of knot we’re all familiar with: the overhand knot. The simple, step-by-step pattern involves working with four strands of yarn, which you fold in half, tie, and start knotting. The end result is a diamond shape pattern that forms a hammock for your plant pot to rest in. You’ll tie the base with a final large knot.

“Once you understand this simple plant hanger technique,” Igor and Judith note, “you can make them as fancy as you wish, or try more advanced macramé hangers!”

By learning different knot types, and even more dense weaving methods like crochet, you can create a variety of plant hangers that support your botanical additions, while also making a visual statement of their own. And the best part is that you don’t have to buy yarn if you don’t want to: cut strips from old cotton clothing can be used instead.

Why add hanging plant holders to your home?

In their course on decoration with plants, Igor and Judith share an overview of interior styling with plants, and explain how to find your own signature style. Students learn about the foundations of "happy plants" and how to keep them healthy in the long run, then take a room-by-room guide to the different ways you can incorporate plants into any room of your home.

In the lesson on hanging plants, they share several ideas of how to fill vertical space: creating a hanging plant area, styling a green window sill, creating a green living plant curtain, and more.

Vertical spaces in our homes often don’t get used: especially spaces above furniture, and corners. But these could be just the right home for a hanging plant. Judith advises checking that your ceiling can support the weight of hanging plants first. If not, you can also hang plants from nails and shelves on the wall—just make sure to find places that don’t interfere with any movement around the room.

Hanging plants are great additions to a home because they don’t take up floor space, which is especially useful if your space is small. Adding an abundance of plants can help to freshen your air and, as mentioned earlier, create a feeling of serenity.

Download the free plant holder DIY guide

If you’re ready to start making your own macramé plant hangers, click the link below. You’ll find a PDF file called Plant Hanger DIY Guide by Urban Jungle Bloggers in your Downloads folder. Inside, you'll find the full, easy-to-follow instructions with images to demonstrate each step.

If you're interested in this subject, you can sign up for Igor and Judith’s course, Home Styling and Decoration with Plants. You’ll learn how to decorate your home or office with plants with professional styling techniques, transforming interior spaces into your own urban jungle.

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- Interior Design Tutorial: Learn How to Decorate a Room with Plants
- How to Decorate Your Home in 2022 with 9 Free Tutorials
- 3 Free Tutorials for Learning How to Tie Basic Macramé Knots
- Designing Gardens and Green Spaces for Your Home, course by Kathrin Grimm