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Boho DIY Macrame Chandelier (Free Pattern & Video!)

Learn how to make your own beautiful macrame chandelier in this step by step pattern and video tutorial!

Want to remember this? Post this DIY Macrame Chandelier tutorial to your favorite DIY Pinterest board!

Pinterest pin for macrame chandelier post

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Several months ago I picked up this IKEA pendant light fixture with the intention of making a macrame lampshade to go along with it. I finally sat down and figured it out and I just love how it turned out!

This is a great way to add some boho decor to your home and it looks like something you’d get at a high end store but without the high price tag.

All you’ll need for this macrame project are:

  • some 3 mm single strand macrame cord
  • a few metal rings in various sizes (or you can use a wooden hoop or an embroidery hoop as long as it’s the same size)
  • a 14″ wreath ring for the bottom ring that you can pick up at Dollar Tree or most craft stores.

Pair that with a “light bulb on a wire” like the one I found at IKEA and you’re all set!

Another alternative idea is to use fairy lights inside. That would look super cute too!

I didn’t tie knots along the cord to make a chandelier chain, but you could do that too if you want. That’s a great way to use up scrap cord!

Macrame Knots for Beginners

If you’re new to macrame, you’ll want to start off with my Basic Macrame Knots for Beginners post which you can find by clicking right here.

basic macrame knots for beginners icon showing a woman tying a square knot on a macrame wall hanging

You’ll learn all the basic knots used in this project, plus several others, and there’s a free printable guide for the 5 most important simple knots!

Get your copy of 60 Macrame Knots & Knot Patterns eBook today!

Click here to find out more about this helpful macrame knot book that features step by step photo tutorials for 60 different macrame knots and knot patterns!

It’s a perfect resource to help you take your macrame creations to the next level.

60 macrame knots and knot patterns ebook is available in my shop!

Supplies You’ll Need

  • 3 mm single strand cotton macrame string in the following lengths:
    • 6 pieces @ 120″ long (starting cords)
    • 1 piece @ 18″ long (to tie the wrapping knot at the beginning)
    • 6 pieces @ 100″ long (1st cord addition)
    • 24 pieces @ 80″ long (2nd cord addition)
    • 72 pieces @ 30″ long (pieces added to outer ring)
    • 72 pieces @ 28″ long (pieces added to inner ring for last fringe layer)
  • metal or wooden rings in the following sizes:
  • scissors
  • tape measure
  • IKEA light bulb kit or any LED light bulb on a wire setup with a long enough cord

DIY Macrame Chandelier Tutorial

Check out the video tutorial over on my YouTube channel, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss any new videos!

Step 1: Making the Hanging Loop

First we’re going to make the hanging loop for the base of your chandelier.

Take the 6 pieces of cord that are 120″ long, hold them all together with the ends lined up and find the center of the cords by folding them in half evenly.

Bring your hands out 3 inches from the center on both sides so you have a 6″ section marked with your hands right in the center of the cords.

Find the center of the first 6 cords

Flip the cords around so the right side is at the top and your left hand at the bottom, and tape them down to your work surface where your right hand was.

tape the cords down and we'll make a braid that's 6 inches long

Now you’re going to braid the cords with a basic 3 strand braid (hold 2 cords together for each section) until it’s 6″ long.

6 inch braid completed

Carefully untape the cords and fold the hanging loop so the bottoms of the braids are matched up.

fold the braided loop in half

Now grab your 18″ long piece of cord and use it to tie a wrapping knot at the base of the braids. You’ll make 5 wraps all together.

(See a tutorial for the wrapping knot here if you’re not sure how to do that knot.)

Trim off the short excess cord from the wrapping knot, but be careful not to cut the 12 long cords.

finish the hanging loop with a wrapping knot

Step 2: Attaching the 1st Ring

Thread all the cords through the 2″ ring and bring it up about 2 inches or so away from the wrapping knot.

You want to leave enough space that you can fit the plug from your light up through the ring without too much trouble.

Attach each cord to the ring with a double half hitch knot.

attach the cords to the first smallest wooden ring with double half hitch knots

At this point I recommend hanging your work up on a macrame rack or a hook so it’s easier to knot.

all the cords attached to the first wooden ring

It’s a good idea to thread the cord of the light up through the ring at this point so you don’t have to try and do it later when it’ll be more difficult.

thread the light bulb cord up through the wooden ring

Grab your next 6 pieces of 100″ long cord and use a cow hitch knot (reverse lark’s head) to attach one piece in between every 2 double half hitch knots on the 2″ ring.

how the ring will look after you attach all the 6 cords

Step 3: 1st Knotted Section

Grab two cords from one of the cow hitch knots you just made, and then grab one cord to the left and one cord to the right of that pair.

tie a sennit of 7 square knots using 4 of the cords

Use these 4 cords to tie 7 square knots stacked on top of each other in a sennit.

Repeat that around with the rest of the cords until you have 6 square knot sennits all together.

all the square knots sennits finished

Step 4: Attaching the 2nd Ring

Take your 6″ ring and thread all the cord ends through the center.

Attach all of the cords to the ring with double half hitch knots and space the 6 spokes from the previous section evenly around.

continue attaching all the cords to the next ring

Grab your 24 pieces of 80″ long cord and attach 4 pieces using a cow hitch knot in each gap between the spokes.

attach 4 cords in between each segment with cow hitch knots

Step 5: 2nd Knotted Section

Starting with 4 cords under one of the spokes, tie 3 square knots stacked on top of each other.

tie 3 square knots in a sennit

Repeat that around for this first row.

repeat that around for the first row

For the second row, tie 3 square knots between two of the square knot sections from the previous row.

It’s alternating square knots, but each section has 3 instead of just one.

tie the next row of 3 square knot sennits in between the sennits of the first row

Repeat that until you have 4 rows of alternating 3 square knot sections.

tie 4 rows of alternating 3 square knots sennits

Step 6: Attaching the 3rd Ring

Attach the 7.25″ ring right under the last row of square knots using double half hitch knots.

attach the 7 and a quarter inch ring under the last row of square knots using double half hitch knots

Step 7: Braided Section

Take 6 strands (it doesn’t really matter which 6 you start with) and use the left and right cord to tie a square knot around the inner 4 cords.

grab 6 cords and use the two outer cords to tie a square knot around the 4 inner cords

Separate the cords out into 3 sections with 2 cords each.

Make a 3 strand braid, going back and forth 20 times. This will make sure all your braids are the same length.

make a 3 strand braid

Tie one last square knot at the bottom of the braid using the left and right outer cord and tying it around the inner 4 cords again.

tie one last square knot at the base of the braid

Repeat that around for 12 braids all together.

repeat that around until you have 12 braids

Step 8: Attaching the Last Ring

Now it’s time to attach the wreath ring at the bottom. Make sure you have it flipped so the rounded side is facing down and thread all the cords through the center of the ring.

attach the wreath ring under the last square knots

Bring one of the braided sections down through the first outer metal section, and then attach the left cord of the braided section with a double half hitch knot.

only attach the cords to the outer ring of the wreath ring

Attach the next 4 cords with a half hitch (half of a double half hitch), and then attach the right most cord with a regular double half hitch.

tie a double half hitch knot with the left most cord, then 4 half hitch knots with the next 4 cords, and a regular double half hitch knot with the last cord for each section

Repeat that with each braided section. You might have to adjust the placement as you go because of the dividers in the wreath base, but do the best you can.

Attach 6 pieces of the 30″ long cords in between each braid with a cow hitch knot. You’ll attach 72 pieces of cord all together.

add 6 pieces of cord in between each section using cow hitch knots

Step 9: Outer Bottom Knotted Section

This part looks complicated, but it’s actually really simple.

Start with the 4 cords under one of the braided sections and tie a square knot.

Grab the next cord to the right and the next cord to the left. Bring them under the 2 working cords you used to tie the first square knot.

Now drop the first working cords and use the two cords you just picked up to tie the next square knot under the first.

tie 8 square knots in a fishbone sennit under each branch of the chandelier

Repeat that over again moving over one more cord on each side until you have 8 square knots all together.

This will make a fishbone pattern. Repeat that around under each braided section.

finished fishbone square knot sennit

For the second row, grab the top 2 working cords between two of the sections on the right and the left, and use them to tie a square knot that comes about halfway up the first row of square knots.

for the second row tie another fishbone sennit of 8 knots about halfway down the first

Continue tying square knots in the sennit with the next pair of cords going down, dropping the previous pair. This time instead of bringing the next cords under the previous pair of cords, you’ll bring them over.

Repeat that until you have 8 knots in the sennit, and repeat around making sure to keep the knots at the same level for each section.

how the second row of fishbone square knots will look

Once you get those two rows done, you’ll notice 2 cords hanging down from each of the centers of the first row.

You’ll take one cord from either side of the sections we just tied and use them to tie a square knot around all the cords to form sort of a tassel.

use the two remaining cords hanging down from the first rows to tie a square knot around the bottom of the second rows making a tassel

Repeat that around for each section.

Trim the tassels evenly however long you like.

trim the tassels to your desired length

Step 10: Inner Fringe Section

For the last fringe section, take the 72 pieces of 28″ long cord, fold them in half and attach them to the inner ring of the wreath ring using cow hitch knots.

finished inner ring with all the fringe attached

Space them out evenly, and then trim the bottoms so they’re nice and even.

I barely trimmed any off of mine because I wanted it to hang down a lot further than the outer layer.

DONE!

I hope you enjoyed this free macrame chandelier pattern!

If you wanted to add some wooden beads or pony beads to this macrame lamp you could thread them onto the longer fringe section.

Or you could add some fun gems or beads using jump rings or a key chain ring to some of the sections.

If you use different colors you could get a totally different look, or you could dip dye the fringe, there are so many options!

I know some of you will want to know if you can make this with different sizes of macramé cords, and basically you’ll want to cut the cords longer if you use thicker cord and shorter if you use thinner cord.

But if you used thicker cords it’ll take less of them to fill up the rings, and if you use thinner cords it’ll take more of them to fill in the rings, so it’s kind of tricky to say.

When you’re working on round macrame projects like this, the best way to figure out how many cords you’ll need is to figure out one section that fills in, say, 1/6th of the ring, and then just repeat that around 6 times.

I hope that makes sense!

More Free Macrame Projects & Ideas!

Boho DIY Macrame Chandelier (Free Pattern & Video Tutorial!)

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One Comment

  1. Love this! What’s the finished length of this chandelier? I need one that’s 36” and wondering if I need to add or decrease the length of each rope in the pattern. Thanks so much.

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