There’s a fairly steep learning curve as a beginner in macrame. It’s usually in the first few projects you complete that you’ll make the most mistakes…and then after that it’s a lot smoother sailing.
One piece of information most beginners learn fairly early on is that it’s important to use the correct cord size stated in a pattern. If a different thickness is used without making any changes to the length, you’ll either run out of cord before the design is finished or end up with metres of unused cord.
Why change cord thickness?
Cord thickness is measured by the diameter (a straight line passing through the centre) of the cord. Macrame cords range from about 1.5mm up to 9mm and beyond.
You may wish to change the thickness of the cord used if you find a pattern you like and don’t have the correct-sized cord on hand. Or perhaps you want to make a smaller or larger version of the design shown?
If you’re struggling with how to convert the lengths given in a pattern to suit one macrame cord thickness to another, you’ve come to the right place!
How cord thickness impacts length when knotting
As you can see in the photos below, the thickness of the cord greatly impacts the length of the completed work. The cords used from left to right are: 1.5mm 1-ply purple, 3mm 3-ply pink, 5mm 1-ply white, and 5mm 3-ply brown.
Each set of cords started off at 1.2m in length. The cords were attached using Lark’s Head knots and then had 10 rows of alternating square knots tied. While there wasn’t much difference in the end result of the 5mm 1-ply and 5mm 3-ply, the difference in the smaller cord sizes is obvious.
The knotted pattern section of each cord size measures:
- 1.5mm 1-ply purple: 77mm in length
- 3mm 3-ply pink: 102mm in length
- 5mm 1-ply white & 3-ply brown: 142mm in length
Length required for knots
Once again, as you can see from the photos above, the smaller cord sizes require much less cord to tie the 10 alternating knot design. On the other hand, if you’re wanting to change from using a 3mm cord in a pattern to using a 5mm cord to complete the same pattern, you’ll need a lot more cord.
The actual lengths of each cord thickness needed to attach the cord to a 16mm dowel using a Lark’s Head knot and tie 10 rows of alternating square knots are:
- 1.5mm 1-ply purple: 600mm
- 3mm 3-ply pink: 820mm
- 5mm 1-ply white & 3-ply brown: 1040mm
Macrame Cord Size Conversion Chart
Use this chart as a rough guide to work out the lengths of cord needed when changing the cord thickness in projects.
First locate the existing cord thickness specified along the top (pink) row, then find the new cord thickness you want to change the pattern to down the left (purple) column. Trace your fingers down the column and across the row until they meet at an intersecting box.
This box contains the number you need to multiply the existing cord lengths given in the pattern to work out the new cord lengths required for the different-sized cord.
For example, if the existing pattern calls for 8x 4m lengths of 5mm cord and you want to use 3mm cord instead, you simply multiply 4m x 0.6 = 2.4m. Therefore, the new lengths required would be 8x 2.4m of 3mm cord.
Remember that this is just a rough guide and the actual length of cord needed may vary depending on how tightly the knots are tied and the quality of the cord. It’s a good idea to add on an extra 10% the first time you complete a pattern to ensure you don’t run out of cord before the end!
When you’ve completed the pattern once in the new cord size, measure the length of the shortest section of unused cord at the end and you can work out the exact cord length you need.
Conclusion
Different cord sizes can be used from what is specified in patterns as long as a simple change is made to the lengths of the cord using the Macrame Cord Size Conversion Chart above. I hope this helps you create your favourite patterns using a range of different cord sizes!
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