The macrame vine and leaf pattern is made using a single type of knot, and looks stunning in natural shades and tones of muted green. This pattern is commonly used in macrame curtains and wall hangings as it can be extended to cover a large expanse. Creating this vine and leaf pattern is relatively simple once you get the hang of tying this one knot. The challenge is developing the skill to tie the knots at the correct angles.
How to create the vine and leaf pattern
The vine and leaf pattern is created by repeatedly tying clove hitch knots at different angles. I’ve written this tutorial with the assumption you already know how to tie clove hitch knots. If you need step-by-step instructions on how to tie diagonal clove hitch knots, you can find them in the blog post Basic Macrame Knots: The 5 Knots Beginners Need to Know.
Materials Needed
I haven’t listed specific numbers and lengths of macrame cord in this tutorial. These figures depend on the project you plan on adding the vine and leaf pattern into. However, I will let you know exactly what I used in this tutorial to help work out how much you will need for your project.
In this tutorial I used 5 sections of 5mm, 3-ply recycled macrame cord in 1.2m lengths. Folded in half, this amount of cord will allow for at least a long section of vine with a leaf on each side.
I did end up with a little cord left hanging at the bottom, but not enough to repeat the macrame vine and leaf pattern again.
Section 1: Vine and leaf on left side
Step 1:
Begin with 10 cords hanging down. In this case I used 5 cords folded in half and attached using Lark’s Head knots.
Step 2:
Holding the 5th cord from the left in your right hand, tie 5 diagonal clove hitch knots down towards the right-hand side.
Step 3:
Take the new 6th cord in your left hand and tie 3 clove hitch knots across towards the left-hand side.
Step 4:
Now angle the filler (middle) cord downwards and tie 2 more clove hitch knots down towards the left-hand side.
View the YouTube Short Part 1 to see the steps so far.
Step 5:
Once again, take the new 6th cord across and use it as the filler cord to tie 3 clove hitch knots down towards the left.
Step 6:
Angle the filler cord upwards and tie another 2 clove hitch knots to finish off the leaf shape.
Section 2: Vine and leaf on right side
Step 7:
Continue on the vine from Section 1 to create the leaf on the right hand side.
Holding the filler (middle) cord of the “vine” in your left hand, tie 9 diagonal clove hitch knots down towards the left-hand side.
View the YouTube Short Part 2 to see the steps so far.
Step 8:
Take the new 5th cord in your right hand and tie 3 clove hitch knots across towards the right-hand side.
Step 9:
Now angle the filler (middle) cord downwards and tie 2 more clove hitch knots down towards the right-hand side.
Step 10:
Once again, take the new 5th cord across and use it as the filler cord to tie 3 clove hitch knots down towards the right.
Step 11:
Angle the filler cord upwards and tie another 2 clove hitch knots to finish off the leaf shape.
View the YouTube Short Part 3 to see the steps so far.
Step 12:
Gently massage the vine and leaf pattern until the knots are sitting correctly and there are no unusual bumps or waves in the design.
Once you are happy with the pattern, apply a small amount of hot glue or fabric glue. This should be applied to the back of the final clove hitch knot on each side (the vine and the point of the leaf) to ensure the knots stay secure.
Tips for extending the macrame vine and leaf pattern
The vine and leaf pattern can be extended both further down the column (vertically) and also across (horizontally).
Extending the pattern vertically
Extending the pattern further down the column simply requires more cord to be measured and cut at the beginning. Keep in mind that 1.2m lengths will enable 2 lengths of vine and 2 leaves to be tied. Decide how many leaves and vines you want in your pattern and work out the length of cord you will need. This can be done by dividing the number by 2, then multiplying by the base length of cord (1.2m).
For instance, if you desire 6 lengths of vine and 6 leaves to be tied, the left and right pattern is repeated 3 times. So you would need 3 x 1.2m or 3.6m for each cord (i.e. 5 lengths of 3.6m).
Extending the pattern horizontally
Alternatively, to extend the pattern across horizontally, a larger number of 1.2m lengths of cords need to be cut at the beginning. In this case, decide how many times you want to repeat the pattern across and multiply it by 5.
For instance, if you desire 3 columns of the leaf and vine pattern to be tied, the pattern is repeated 3 times. So you would need 3 x 5 cords or 15 cords cut to 1.2m lengths.
Extending the pattern both vertically and horizontally
The final option is to extend the pattern both further down the columns and across horizontally. Follow the instructions above to work out how much cord you will need for this option.
In this case the pattern can be adapted so that the vine branches off to the side to create a sprawling vine, rather than individual columns of the pattern. To do this you will require a little knowledge and experimentation to figure out the locations the vine can branch off organically.
Conclusion
Now it’s time to practise the technique of angling clove hitch knots to create this versatile pattern.
Want more step-by-step tutorials on how to tie macrame knots and create knot patterns? Join the waitlist for the Macrame Knot Guide and Macrame Knot Patterns that are due to be released soon – the first 50 purchasers will get a special discount!
