Macrame

Most beginners start with 3mm to 5mm cotton cord, either 3-ply (holds structure well) or single-twist (fringes out beautifully). Thicker 5mm cord is easier on the hands for a first project like a plant hanger because the knots are larger and more forgiving.

Four knots cover most projects: the lark's head knot for mounting cords to a dowel, the square knot for the main body of patterns, the half-hitch (often worked in repeating spirals), and the gathering knot for finishing tassels. Nearly every wall hanging you see online is built almost entirely from square knots and half-hitches.

It is generally traced to 13th-century Arabic weavers who knotted decorative fringe on handmade fabrics — the Arabic term miqramah is a common origin cited for the word. Sailors later spread the craft worldwide, knotting hammocks and bell pulls at sea, and it boomed into a mainstream craft in the 1970s before its current revival.

A plant hanger is the classic starter project because it needs only about a dozen cords and relies almost entirely on square knots and gathering knots. A small wall hanging on a wooden dowel is the other popular first make, since mistakes just become 'texture' in the finished piece.