DIY Silk Floral Macramé Backdrop

diy silk flower macrame backdrop

Macramé is coming back into vogue and in a BIG way! We’re sure you’ve seen many creative designs, from plant hangers and table runners, to wall hangs, and more… We certainly have + each time we find ourselves oohing + awwing, and wistfully wishing we could create something like that. Well today, we’re doing just that! We teamed up with crafty gal + macramé guru, Ashliiz Marie, for this fun DIY macramé backdrop, using florals from our pals over at Afloral!

Now depending on how large of a space you’re thinking for this — the macramé design can be scaled down or up — you just need more or less rope. While the knots may look tricky, don’t be fooled — Ashley had us knotting away in no time (and they’re really more complicated than they look, so don’t worry!). Whether it’s for a boho bridal shower, an adventurous outdoor ceremony, or even for your bedroom — we think this floral macramé backdrop (or wall hang) is fitting for all seasons + styles!

What You’ll Need:

  •  Silk flowers + preserved flowers from AFloral. We went with a few greens + grasses for fillers and then more late summer/early autumn wildflower tones.
  • Rope (we used 3/16 in. packets of 100 feet and for this DIY used 5 packets — this can be purchased at Home Depot or here. For larger backdrops you can use thicker rope, but we liked the look of the 3/16 in.)
  • Wooden dowel
  • Scissors
  • Hot glue gun

Step 1: Cut your rope into 10 foot long stretches (cut longer pieces if you want the macramé pattern to have more length). *We cut about twenty 10 foot stretches, and added a few longer ones on the sides later to highlight the U-shape bell curve.* Even out your rope and place under dowel.

Step 2: Pull the rope through the loop.

Step 3: Pull rope tight to affix to dowel and repeat.

Step 4: Focusing on two rope loops at a time, take the farthest piece of rope on the right side and move it over the two pieces in the center. Then have it go underneath the strand farthest to the left. *For help — this is a really good video that breaks it down!

Step 5: Repeat Step 4, but starting with the left side. Take the left rope and weave it under the two middle pieces and pull through the loop on the right.

Step 6: Pull taught and you’ve created your first base knot! This is called a square knot. Repeat this across the dowel, using pairs of two.

Step 7: Fear not — we are using the same square knot as above! So once you’ve mastered that, this part isn’t all that tricky. Gather groups of three knots on the dowel — it helps to isolate them, so you don’t get confused. On the left side, separate the two outer most strands, and then on the furthest right, separate those two strands as well. You won’t be using them for a little bit and this helps to hone your focal point. Repeat the square knot here, twice.

Step 8: Then moving to the middle, create just one square knot.

Step 9: The first section of the pattern is virtually done! Now you’re going to do a row of 3 again — just as you had done when affixing the rope to the dowel.

Step 10: Continue the pattern. Our pattern went like this: row of 3 knots, 2 knots, 1 knot, 2 knots, 3 knots, half hitch spiral. Then the pattern continued again. We extended the pattern on the outside just a tad to create more of a curved U-shape to the overall formation.

To mix up the knots a bit, we added in this “half hitch spiral” knot. Don’t let the name get you down — it’s virtually the same knot that we did for the rest of the piece, however this one is not alternating sides, rather you keep knotting from the same side (sort of like in French braiding — if you were to stop picking up new hair from the left side and just continuing the braid using hair from the right).

For the final step: Attach all the florals to your backdrop with a hot glue gun!

If you’re wanting more of a clean + simple piece with just a touch of florals — we love the look of this with just the asymmetrical florals + grasses!

You can then hang this on the wall by tying more rope to each end point on the dowel and hanging it from a nail, or if you’re going the backdrop route for an outdoor event — you can create a wooden frame to have it hang in between!

A huge thank you to Ashliiz Marie for sharing her macramé skills — make sure to pop on over to her site to see all of her other crafty DIYs!

And we can’t wait to see what macramé backdrops you create with florals from Afloral! So many different options… Perhaps you’re feeling more of the peachy pink tones for a bridal shower? We think that’d be so cute! Or maybe red, white + pine to give it a festive feel for the holidays.

If you create your own version of this DIY, please share on Instagram along with the hashtag #GreenWeddingShoesDIY. We’ll regram our faves! Now, go get crafty!!

*This post is sponsored by Afloral.com. All content, ideas, and words are by Green Wedding Shoes. Thanks for supporting our sponsors!

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