ArtsThe BestieBeginner
Macrame by Hand, a free arts course on Tomo

Macrame by Hand

Transform simple spools of cotton cord into textured wall art and plant hangers. Learn the core knots, control your tension, and finish polished fiber projects from scratch.

Like Duolingo, but for Macrame by Hand. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.

A short one: 10 levels across 2 sections, about 20 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Knots That Build Everything and Crafting and Finishing Real Pieces. It starts from scratch.

10 bite-size levelsAbout 5 minutes each

Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Knox the Koala, the guide who teaches the Macrame by Hand course
Macrame by Hand
with Knox the Koala
10
Levels
2
Sections
5
Min/day
What you'll learn

Key ideas in Macrame by Hand

  • A Lark's head knot begins by folding a macrame cord in half so two equal working strands hang down
  • The folded loop drops over or behind the dowel or ring
  • Pulling the free cord tails through the loop tightens the knot firmly against the dowel
  • A flat square knot requires two halves tied in alternating directions: a left half followed by a right half
  • Tying half-knots repeatedly from the exact same side creates a spiral stitch rather than a flat knot
  • The inner filler cords must remain straight and static in the middle while the outer cords cross over them
  • The outer two working cords travel back and forth over the knot, eating up cord length very fast
  • The inner filler cords stay passive and straight inside the knot, barely losing any length
  • Macrame makers cut working cords much longer than filler cords to prevent running out mid-project
  • Taking two cords from one group and two from the neighbor to tie the next row creates alternating square knots
  • Alternating square knots form a flexible, open net or mesh pattern
  • Stacking knots repeatedly in the same cord group builds a solid, straight column
  • A sinnet is a dense, straight column formed by stacking identical square knots
  • Sinnets provide strong, non-stretching structural support, making them ideal for plant hanger legs and hanging straps
  • Flexible, wide panels like hammocks or bag bodies require alternating knots to create expandable mesh rather than rigid bars
  • A square knot lies flat because it alternates tying left-over-right and right-over-left
Why not just Google it

You've tried the other tabs

Wikipedia

Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.

YouTube

You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.

ChatGPT

One answer, then back to scrolling.

Online courses

Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.

Tomo gives Macrame by Hand the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.

Try a question

Here's what playing it feels like

A real question from this course. Take your best guess.

Starting Cords and Square Knots

After folding your cord in half, where does the folded loop go?

Get it right to open this lesson and 9 more in the app.

Course map

Where Macrame by Hand takes you

  1. 1

    The Knots That Build Everything

    • Mounting and the Square Knot
    • Lines, Angles, and Spirals
  2. 2

    Crafting and Finishing Real Pieces

    • Cord Planning and Tension Control
    • Clean Finishes, Fringes, and Mounts

2 sections · 4 units · 10 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.

New

Tomo is in ChatGPT

Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.

Add Tomo to ChatGPT
How it's taught

You pick the voice

This course
The Bestie

Macrame by Hand is taught in the Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.

Start free

Start Macrame by Hand today.

Download Tomo, search Macrame by Hand, and play your first lesson in under a minute.