Sunkissed DIY: Macrame Herb or Plant Hanger

Apparently macrame is making a come back, or has been for a while and I just recently noticed it....

My parents used to have macrame hangers with fake plants in the living room when I was younger- yes back in the 80's. I never knew what they were called, and when I saw this diy on Pinterest a few months back, I immediately remembered those beaded hangers from when I was 4! 

Reading the instructions to make one, I was very confused and thought no way...then when I decided to try it and had all the supplies in front of me, it was actually so easy! I was doing them on my own after following the instructions just once.

I've been growing a lot of different herbs this spring and LOVE having them right there for when I need to add some to our meals or desserts! Fresh herbs are so much better than the dried ones you buy in the spice aisle at Safeway...obviously. Anyways, I figured this would be a fun way to show off the beauty of my herbs and add a little more of "me" to our rental house...plus we have a huge pile of sticks behind our shed that I thought could be put to good use.

|| SUPPLIES |

• Jersey knit fabric or a T-shirt of stretchy-ish material that you don't mind cutting up. (I didn't have an old shirt of this material, so I got some from a local fabric store. It was fun being able to pick out bright & cheery designs!) I got one yard each of three different fabrics.
• 3 Terracotta pots, like this, or any other smaller pot you'd like to use, I got mine for really cheap at Walmart.
• Strong twine or cotton rope- like the kind used for clotheslines- something not too flimsy! You could also use wire.
• A stick. Make sure it is thick enough to screw into and sturdy enough to hold up the weight of a few pots full of soil. You could also use a piece of thick scrap wood. My stick is about 3 feet long and an inch around.
• Screw eye hooks like these. You should get larger ones if you're using a larger piece of wood or bigger pots.
• Long screw driver of any kind
• Hammer & nails

Now you can get to work on your macrame! I followed this DIY on Brit + Co, but if you're up for it, you could make something fancier or more detailed. There's A TON of instructions for beautiful macrames on the web and Pinterest! I made all three of mine different lengths to add more dimension to my hanger.

Once you have your lovely fabric hangers complete, I'd suggest filling up your pots with soil and whatever plants or herbs you are going to fill them with first. Mine has basil, rosemary and dill...mmmm. I kept putting the macrame on the pot and taking it off to make sure it fit- but the great part is, since the fabric is stretchy, you can adjust it once it's on the pot- so just try and put it on once, when you're ready to adjust and hang them.

|| STICK TIME |

• You'll want to insert the first screw eye in the middle of the stick so you have a good starting point for the other two (unless you're only doing one or two pots).
• Grab a nail that is about the same width as the screw eye and hammer it in about 1/4" to 1/2" where you are going to insert the screw eye in the stick. This gives you a hole to start with in order to get the hook into the wood. Now pull the nail out and start screwing the hook into that same hole, you'll have to put a little muscle behind it! 
• Once I got my hook in far enough to stand on its own, I inserted a long screw driver sideways into the circular hook part and used it as a kind of lever to screw the hook all the way down. Just spin the screw driver (horizontally) around and around until the hook is nice and secure in your stick. 

• Do the same with the next two hooks, you want them spaced far enough apart that all the weight isn't in the middle of your stick and so the pots have space to breathe! I spaced mine about 9" apart, which left a nice amount of room at each end of my stick.
• Depending on where you are hanging this planter, you'll want to measure out your twine, rope, or wire for the length that you need it. I used twine and knotted it a few different times on all 3 attachments so I could change the hanging length if I needed to. Again, make sure it is strong enough to hold up your hanger, I wove my twine together a few times to make sure it wasn't going to rip!
  
• Now you'll want to set up the nails or hooks that you're using to hang the planter. Make sure you hammer them in at the same distance apart that your hooks are so you can easily hang the twine or rope.
• Once you have those in and your rope or twine attached, it's time to add your hanging plants! Place one in the middle on one side of the middle hook. The other two can be placed next to each of the other hooks, I put one on the inside and one on the outside. The stick is strong enough and if your hooks are spaced apart equally it shouldn't slope to one side or the other.
• Holding your stick in the middle, so the pots don't slide off, hang the middle rope first, then each side- if it's too heavy, ask someone to hold it while you hang it! Its kind of an awkward piece of decor to hold....:)

Voila! You're done! Now stand back and enjoy your creation! Looks great in a patio, living room or kitchen if you have enough space! Just make sure it is somewhere that gets a good amount of sunlight so your herbs can grow big and strong!

Until next time. xoxo