The 1970s have called and they want to congratulate you on reviving one of their most iconic crafts, macrame.

Once the rage for wall hangings, planter hangers, keychains and the ubiquitous owl hanging, the once-fad has made a return and has been trending throughout 2021 and 2022.

Avery Reekstin wrote for The Keene Sentinel that Boho style is returning and with it the popularity of macrame has surged. “Not only has macrame come back,” she wrote, “but it has come back with a vengeance and with more spark and spunk than way back when.”

What is macrame? It is a form of textile art made by knotting cord, rope or thick yarn to create a shape, design or pattern. While many today associate it with the 1970s, it’s actually an ancient art. According to the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, macrame can be traced to at least the 13th century Arabic decorative weavers who used the knots on such things as towels or shawls. In the 1700s, European sailors started spreading the knowledge of knot-tying, using their knowledge as barter for goods.

The Moors introduced macrame to Spain in the 15th century and it would then travel around Europe. Queen Mary II taught it to her ladies-in-waiting and women throughout the Victorian Age would add macrame details to almost everything.

But in the U.S., it was the 1970s where macrame went wild. People tried making everything you could think of from macrame using jute and cotton twine. Then in the 1980s, it practically disappeared. It stayed mostly missing in action until just before the pandemic when a minimalist version of it started showing up in people’s social media, particularly Pinterest and Instagram.

We have all sorts of ways of tracking trends. Lifestyle writer Marisa Casciano at Elite Daily reported that “Google’s search data saw a 3,200% increase in the term ‘macrame knot guide’ in (2021) in the United States and notes that ‘macrame plant hanger tutorial’ is considered a breakout term, since it’s been so popular.”

The Stylemongers of Bristol posit that it is the “Bohemian 1970s associations that are driving its renaissance today — the non-traditional, nature-loving, simple living creativity, the artisanal. Climate change anxiety is undoubtedly a factor in the popularity of houseplants and by extension macrame planters.”

So what are today’s macrame artists making? Sydney Meister at PureWow listed some “Gen Z-approved” macrame projects:

Sites like Spruce Crafts offers instructions for such projects as earrings, bracelets, chairs, table runners and curtains.

Compared to many crafts, you don’t need a lot of equipment. Lauren Thomann recommends using supplies that you already have. You can start, she says, with something as simple as one type of thread and one mounting ring.

Find something around your house that can be your work surface board. For your first project, use safety pins rather than specialized macrame pins. Then if you like it, you can buy more supplies.

• Jute, twine, yarn, hemp or leather.

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