ORC Week 5 | DIY Macrame Pendant

Hey friends!  Today is week 4 of the One Room Challenge for guest participants, and I am very close to being finished in this room!  Last weekend, I got my artsy fartsy on and made this DIY macrame pendant for our downstairs bathroom makeover, and I am actually kind of amazed at how well it turned out.  I am smiling from ear to ear that I completed this and I love the way it turned out!

Since we are on week 4 of this challenge, you might want to catch up with my progress on this downstairs bathroom makeover from the beginning.  You can click the links provided to take you back to each of the first three weeks:  Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and Week 4.

If you don’t know what the ORC is, The One Room Challenge™, currently in its eleventh season, is a widely anticipated biannual event every April and October. Each round, twenty design bloggers take the challenge and transform a space.  It is hosted by Calling It Home and House Beautiful.  Wednesdays is the day for the design bloggers to go live with their progress, and Thursdays is the day for all the guest participants to go live.

I knew I wanted to replace the ceiling light in this space.  The old light was just a florescent ceiling light with the tube shaped bulbs.  So ugly, and so cold and stark looking!  We removed it, and we are actually going to repurpose it elsewhere, probably our garage.  I found this cage light on clearance at Target for less than $9, and it wasn’t really what I had in mind for the makeover.  But for some reason I was drawn to it, and decided to go ahead and buy it in case I could use it.

I had this feeling I could transform it into something special, but I didn’t know at the time how I would do that.  And then I cam across a DIY macrame pendant photo in a magazine, and it hit me!  I could use this light to make one for myself!  I had some doubts as to whether I could pull this off, but it was much easier than I thought it would be!  It took me the longest to figure out how I was going to attach the cord at the top.  I would say that overall, it took me three hours from start to end to make this, and I think it was closer to two hours.

DIY Macrame Pendant- Supplies

• Macrame cord
• Cage Light
• Scissors
• Heavy Duty wire to place at top (if needed, see below)

In order to get started with your macrame light, it needs to have a horizontal bar going across the top so that you can start tying your first knots.  Unfortunately, mine didn’t have this, so I had to get creative.  I used a picture hanging wire that I had, and wrapped it around the very top with pliers.  I wrapped it at the ends so it would stay.

DIY Macrame Pendant- How To

1.  Find something tall to place your cage on so that you can rotate it easily.
2.   Cut your cords and attach them to the cage,  measure the height of your light, and then multiply that number by 9.  Cut the cord this length.

3.  Attach the cord all around the top of the pendant by folding it in half, and then wrapping the looped end around the top bar, and pulling the loose ends through the loop.  You can see this in the picture below.  Make sure you have an even number of cords wrapped around the top, until it is full.  But it needs to be an even number.  These are called larks head knots.

4.   The knot you will be making over and over again is called a square knot, and the pattern will be an alternating square knot.  Start with a pair of larks head knots.

5.  Bring far left cord over two middle cords, and under cord on the far right.  Bring the far right cord under the two middle and over the cord on the far left.

6.  Pull tight, don’t let the cords twist.

7.  Bring  far left cord under two middle cords, and over cord on the far right.  Bring the far right cord over the two middle and under the cord on the far left.  Below is what your knot will look like when it is finished.

8.  Keep repeating this all around the cage to form a row of square knots.

After you have the first row of square knots complete, you will work your way down the cage making alternating square knots.  I made this graphic to show you how to alternate the knots.  I have black arrows pointing to which cords to pick up to start the next row of square knots. This was the part that initially stumped me when I was getting started, but once you figure it out, you are golden!

9.  Once you have reached the bottom of the cage, you will take the cords and intertwine them with the cage, and make the knot as tight as possible.

10.  Cut off excess cord.

I made a short video of myself tying a square knot, and you can watch it by clicking the link below.  For the life of me I could not get this video embedded into this post!  But all you have to do is click this link!

https://www.youtube.com/edit?0=U&video_id=r4FO9ZWYNxA

I love the way this light makes the room look!  I haven’t taken the stickers off it yet, but I will before the room reveal next week.  I used a vintage looking Edison bulb in my light, but I may switch it out to a brighter lightbulb.

I have also painted the mirror over my sink white, but I need to go back and scrape the paint off of the mirror with a razor blade.

Another thing on my list of things to o in this room was to paint this small bamboo shelf.  This shelf is where I put toilet paper, tissues, and wipes.  It was white and starting to look worn, so I decided to paint it grey.  I just put it in my small spray paint shelter and spray painted it. And isn’t the tissue box that looks like a house the cutest?  I had to have it when I saw it!

Tissue box cover

If You Like It, Then You Wanna Put a Pin On It!

What do you think of my DIY macrame pendant light?  I have less than $20 in it total, and I think it adds so much to the space!  I still have some trim work and caulking to do around the sink, and I have to clean up the mirror and style everything, but I am right on track for the big reveal that will take place in just one week!  And wow, this room has come a long way!  The macrame wall weave I had made for this space is finished, and on the way to me.  I will have it by this weekend so that I can finish up this room.  I am dying to see it!  I really am loving the way this room is coming together, and I hope you have enjoyed following along with me on this journey!  Don’t forget to come back next week for the full reveal!

Before I go, let’s review my list for the downstairs bathroom makeover.

TO DO LIST

• Replace sink and vanity
• Install light over sink
• DIY wall shelves
• Replace shower curtain
• Replace shower head
• Replace accessories and hardware
• Have a Wall Weave made for the space
• Replace bathroom rug
• Replace ceiling light
• Paint bamboo shelves for space
• Install glass subway tile backsplash
• Paint walls

SOURCE LIST

Glass tiles

Urban Barn Wall Light

Galvanized metal bin

Hand Towel Ring

Toilet paper holder

Glacier Bay Vanity Cabinet

Quartz vanity top- Craigslist

Undermount sink

Striped Shower Curtain

Metal shelf brackets

French cleat

Tissue box cover