Hi Everyone!

It’s that time of the month again,  Create and Share Challenge time!  This month Stephanie at Casa Watkins Living challenged us to use boring old rope and bring it to life in a fun new way.   So for my fun new rope challenge I decided to give Macrame a try.

 Twelve on Main – DIY Rope Plate Charger
My Life From Home – DIY Sisal Rope Tassel Basket
Green with Decor – DIY Christmas Joy Sign
Our House Now A Home – Storage Box Using Rope and a Cardboard Box
A Shade of Teal – How to Make a Rope Lamp
Pocketful of Posies – DIY Boho Macrame Play Tent
Iris Nacole – Bohemian Wall Hanging
Kim Six Fix – Rope Wrapped Dollar Store Pumpkin
Vintage Romance Style – Easy Barn Wood Child’s Rope Name Sign
DIY Beautify – How to Make Pedestal Rope Bowl
Farmhouse 40 – DIY Upcycled Bar Stool
Knock It Off Kim – Fall Braided Rope and Burlap Wreath
C’Mon Get Crafty – DIY Rope Wire Basket
Casa Watikins Living – DIY African Inspired Jute Planter

Now I should preface this project by telling you, I have never in my life attempted macrame before this and to be fair this probably isn’t true Macrame.  That being said, it is super cute and as long as you learn from my mistakes it’s a relatively easy and inexpensive project to complete.

• 2 Twin flat sheets
• Hula hoop
• Steel craft ring
• 22 Sets of grommets22 Sets of bronze grommets
• Grommet tool
• Hot Glue Gun
• Hot Glue Sticks
• 2 Spools of Macrame Rope
• 1-2 Spool of cotton crafting twine (depending on how many tassels you make)
• Scissors
• Needle and thread or sewing machine (optional)

To start making my Boho Macrame Play Tent I started by hot gluing the Macrame Rope all the way around the hula hoop.  This not only strengthened the hula hoop, because they are apparently made of paper now (?!?!?) but it also hid the ulgy purple and sparkle stripes.  Not that there is anything wrong with purple and sparkles but, for this project I really didn’t want to see it.

To make sure the rope was securely in place I would add a bead of hot glue 1-2 inches long then quickly wrap the rope around the hoop pushing it into the glue.

Next I cut 10 strands of the macrame rope 110 inches each and 10 strands of the cotton twine 110 inches each.  Mistake #1 I know this seems like a lot of rope but trust me you’ll need it and if you don’t do this the first time like me, you’ll find yourself very frustrated and annoyed when you have to untie everything and start over.

I attached the rope to the ring by folding the rope in half and looping it over the ring then pulling the ends of the rope back through the loop.

After hanging my steel loop on a hook so I could clearly see all the rope I began tying my knots.  To do this I first worked with the macrame rope and ignored the cotton twine.   I started by grabbing one piece of rope from each strand and tying it to it closest neighboring strand with a simple knot.  To complete the circle I then tied one strand from each of the end sections to each other behind all the other pieces.  This is imperative to creating a circle of rope.   Also you will want all the knots as close to even as possible when looking across the rope.    My first row of knots was approximately 3inches from the steel ring.

To form  the next row of knots I completed the same steps approximately 3 inches down from the first row of knots, except this time I tied each section of rope together with it’s original mate.  Again tying the two end pieces together behind the design.  This will give the rope the back and forth diamond pattern when opened.

Mistake #2  Each row of knots needs to increase in distance from each other at each junction or every other junction depending on how long or short you want the upper macrame area to be.  If you tie them all at the same distance apart each time.  Your design will be more intricate but, you will also find yourself with a really long upper macrame area that doesn’t open big enough to allow the hula hoop to fit.  Leaving you once again frustrated and fingers hurting when you have to untie the entire thing and start over.    To circumvent this this it the pattern I ultimately ended up using.

Row 1  –   3″ from steel ring.
Row 2   –  3″ from previous row
Row 3   –  3.5″ from previous row
Row 4   –  4″ from previous row
Row 5   –  5″ from previous row
Row 6   – 6″ from previous row

After all of my macrame rope was tied I opened the design and tied it around the perimeter of the hula hoop taking the time to evenly space each section.  Next it was time to tie the cotton twine.  I used the same process for this layer except I tied each knot equal distance between the two macrame knots.  This way the design would lay on top of the rope design without impeding the previous layer.    It is very important to remember to connect the two end sections of twin around the back of the rope layer.

Once all my cotton twine was knotted I tied it to the hula hoop and spent a few minutes figuring out where the back of my tent would be.  You will want the back of the hoop to be slightly higher then the front.  This way when you add the sheets the hoop will hang level since the back will be supporting slightly more weight then the front to allow for the opening.

To add the draping panels I first folded over the hem that would normally sit at the top of the bed and sewed.  Creating a layer small area of fabric that was four levels thick.  While this step is optional I do find that that grommets hold better in thicker fabric or multiple layers of fabric.

Then I measured and marked off every 6.5″  starting with a mark approximately 1″ from the edge of each sheet.  Then using my scissors I cut a small hole through the layers at each mark.  Next using my Grommet Tool I applied a grommet at each hole.  With a total of 11 grommets per sheet.

Once this process was complete on both flat sheets I added tied my sheet to my hoop over lapping the last two grommets on each sheet at the back.  This over lap will help to prevent gaping when the tent is hung.

To create my tassels I wrapped the white cotton cord around the back of my dining chair 15 times.  For the macrame rope tassels 6 times.  Then I gently slid the rope off, tied it in the center with a short section of twine and the wrapped around the top of the tassel with opposite rope/twine as the tassel and secured it with hot glue.   Once it was securely tied I cut open all of the loops at the bottom then used my scissors to even out the ragged edges for an even finish.

When it came time to attach my  tassels to my tent I removed the small piece of twine at the top and threaded the section of rope/twine from the tent through.  This helped to cut down on the bulk of rope.  I attached a tassel at every other grommet for a total of 10 tassels, 5 cotton twine and 5 macrame rope.

Now my Boho Macrame Play Tent was finally done and ready to be hung!   I will say the results are beautiful!  Who would know I haven’t been macrameing since 1970?  Well except maybe for the fact that I wasn’t alive in 1970!

I truly love the way my Boho Macrame Play Tent turned out.  I was more then I expected and it will make the perfect gift to welcome my friend’s special little one into this world.

Don’t have time to make your own Boho Macrame Tent?  Here are few really cute options that fit the bill!

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