5 Boho DIY Macrame Christmas Ornaments
Add some boho style to your holiday decor with these fun DIY macrame ornaments!
In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make a DIY gnome ornament, a minimalist macrame ring ornament, a cute Christmas tree, a pretty semi-circle ornament, and a star made with wood beads.
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Below you’ll find the video tutorial and a written step-by-step tutorial for each ornament. All of these macrame projects use simple knots and you could easily use scrap cord for most of them. That’s what I used!
Also, be sure to check out my other post with 7 more DIY macrame Christmas ornaments, including a mini wall hanging on a cinnamon stick, a macrame wreath ornament, a macrame feather ornament, an angel, and a fun tassel ornament with dried orange slices!
Related: Easy Boho Macrame Christmas Tree (Free Pattern & Video!)
Supplies You’ll Need to Make Macrame Ornaments
All of these macrame ornaments were made using either cotton macrame string or rope.
Honestly, most of it was from my scrap pile (which has gotten WAY out of control) and a few of these ornaments are pretty flexible about what size rope you can use.
Mostly, you’ll need 3 mm single strand macrame string or rope.
For the gnome ornament, you can use any size string for the beard, as long as the bundle ends up about 1″ thick.
You could even use rope if you want, he’ll just have a wavy beard instead of a straight one!
My favorite places to get macrame cord are Niroma Studio and Ganxxet. They both have awesome sales periodically and the cord they sell is very good quality.
If you want to jazz things up a bit and add a pop of color, you could use different colored cords and make red ornaments or green ones, or even metallic gold or silver. That would be really pretty!
Feel free to add extra bells or ribbons to these easy macrame Christmas decorations to customize them even more.
5 DIY Boho Macrame Ornaments
Check out the video tutorial for these ornaments over on my YouTube channel, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss any new videos!
DIY Gnome Ornament
Supplies You’ll Need
- 12″ long pieces of scrap cotton macrame string (enough to make a 1″ thick bundle)
- 20″ piece of rope for hanging cord (I used 3 mm twisted cotton)
- 5″ piece of rope to attach bead/nose (3 mm twisted cotton)
- 15″ pieces of scrap rope (enough pieces to cover the cardboard tube)
- jute twine (6″ or so)
- toilet paper roll
- 3/4″ wooden bead
- scissors
- comb
Step 1: Make the beard and nose of your gnome
Take your bundle of 12″ long pieces of string and lay them out on your work surface.
Tie the 20″ long piece of rope around the bundle in the middle, making sure the ends of the rope are pretty even. This will be your hanging cord for the ornament as well.
Pick up the bundle by the hanging cord and smooth the beard section down.
Take the wooden bead and your 5″ piece of rope. Thread the rope through the bead so the bead is right in the center.
Decide which part of the beard you want to be the front, and tie the bead onto a small section of the beard at the top center.
The rope you use to tie the bead on will be hidden inside the beard.
Set the hatless gnome aside and now we’re going to make him a head covering.
Step 2: Make the hat
Grab your toilet paper roll and a pair of paper-safe scissors.
Cut 1/2″ of one end of the roll off to make a cardboard ring.
Attach the 15″ long pieces of macrame cord to the cardboard ring using a lark’s head knot. Continue attaching cords until the ring is completely full with no gaps.
Push the ends of the cords through the center of the cardboard ring.
Step 3: Put the hat on the gnome
Make an overhand knot in the end of your hanging cord.
Pull the hanging cord through the hat and pull it down onto his head.
Gather up the pieces of cord on the top of the hat and tie a piece of jute around them to secure. Tie a little bow if you want or just tie a knot if you want a more rustic look.
Making sure not to cut the hanging cord, trim down the hat fringe, leaving about an inch or two.
Step 4: Brush his beard
Use your comb to brush out the beard of your gnome.
Trim it down as long as you like and your gnome ornament is ready to hang on the tree!
Minimalist Macrame Ring Ornament
Supplies You’ll Need
- 2″ wooden ring
- 3 mm single strand cotton string in the following length:
- 1 piece @ 67″ long (one arm-span)
- scissors
- tape
- 3/4″ wooden bead
Step 1: Attach the cord to the ring
Fold the 67″ long piece of cord in half, and attach it to the wooden ring with a lark’s head knot.
Step 2: Tie some vertical lark’s head knots
Now you’re going to use the left cord to tie 6 vertical lark’s head knots going up the left side of the ring.
(If you don’t know how to tie a vertical lark’s head knot, check out this post with tutorials for all the basic macrame knots!)
Repeat that process on the right side with the right cord.
Step 3: Add a bead
Wrap a piece of tape around each of the cord ends. Then pull both cords through the wooden bead one at a time.
Slide the wooden bead down onto the top of the ornament.
Tie an overhand knot at the top of the bead, leave a space of about 3 or 4 inches and tie one more overhand knot.
Trim the excess cord and you’re done!
Macrame Christmas Tree Ornament
Supplies You’ll Need
- 3 mm single strand cotton string in the following lengths:
- 1 piece @ 20″ long
- 1 piece @ 67″ long (one arm-span)
- jute twine (6″ or so)
- small jingle bell (optional)
- scissors
- tape (to hold your work)
- ruler
- comb
Step 1: Tie the square knots and slide them up
Fold the 20″ long piece of cord in half, and tape it down to your work surface on the folded end with the ends of the cord facing you.
Find the center of the long piece of cord and slide it under the first piece, making sure you have an even amount of cord on the left and the right.
Tie a square knot about 3 down from the top of the shorter cord. (That loop at the top will be your ornament hanger.)
Measure down 1/2″ inch and tie another square knot.
Then measure 1″ down from that square knot and tie another one.
Push the square knots up to the top one and straighten out the loops on the sides.
Continue making square knots, leaving an extra 1/2″ between each one until you have 7 square knots all together.
Push them up after each one and straighten out the loops.
Step 2: Add a bow and a bell
Tie a jingle bell onto the top of the tree with a piece of jute twine. Tie the jute into a cute bow and trim the excess cord.
Step 3: Brush and finish
Brush out the bottom fringe of your tree ornament and trim it down to your desired length. Done!
Macrame Semi-Circle Ornament
Supplies You’ll Need
- 3 mm single strand cotton string in the following lengths:
- 4 pieces @ 20″ long
- 1 piece @ 10″ long
- 4″ long wooden dowel (3/16″ in diameter)
- jute twine for hanging cord (about 7″ or so)
- scissors
- tape (to hold your work)
- comb
Note: This ornament uses the double half hitch knot. If you’re not familiar with this knot, check out my article with all the basic knots right here.
Step 1: Make the 1st row
Fold 2 pieces of 20″ long cord in half, and attach them to the dowel with a lark’s head knot.
Adjust the ends of the left cord so the left side is 4″ shorter than the right side.
Tape the dowel to your work surface. Move the left cord off to the side, then use the next cord over as the filler cord for 2 double half hitch knots going to the right.
Attach the filler cord to the dowel by making a one sided lark’s head knot.
Bring the cord in front of the dowel, wrap it around and thread the end through the loop that is formed. Pull tight.
Bring the cord behind the dowel, wrap it around and thread it through the loop that is formed. Pull tight again.
Step 2: Make the 2nd row
Attach the next 20″ piece of cord to the right side of the dowel with a lark’s head knot. Adjust the ends of that cord so the right side is 5″ shorter than the left side.
Move the right cord off to the side, then use the next cord over as the filler cord and tie 2 double half hitch knots going to the left.
Grab the 10″ piece of cord, fold it in half, and attach it to the filler cord using a cow hitch knot. (Reverse lark’s head)
Continue tying the next 2 double half hitch knots, and the attach the filler cord to the dowel the same way we did for row 1.
Step 3: Make the 3rd row
Attach the last 20″ piece of cord to the left side of the dowel with a lark’s head knot.
Adjust the ends so the left side is 6″ shorter than the right side.
Move the left cord off to the side, then use the next cord over as the filler cord for a row of double half hitch knots going all the way to the right.
Attach the filler cord to the dowel the same as we did before.
Step 4: Finishing up
Flip your ornament to the back and tie your jute hanging cord onto both sides.
Trim the ends, leaving about 1/2″ of jute. Secure the ends to the back of the ornament with some craft glue or hot glue.
Brush out the fringe and give it a trim and you’re done!
Wooden Star Ornament
Supplies You’ll Need
- 25 wooden beads (3/4″ size)
- jute twine (I used about one arm-span, or 67″)
- large eye blunt needle
Step 1: Thread on the first beads
Thread the jute onto the large eye needle, then thread 10 beads onto the piece of jute.
Pull the beads down all the way to the end of the cord, leaving a few inches sticking out.
Tie a knot in the jute, pulling it nice and tie to form a circle with the wooden beads.
Feed the short end of the jute under a couple beads and cut off the excess. Don’t cut the long end of the cord and leave the needle threaded on.
Step 2: Stitching the 1st row
Thread 2 more beads onto the jute.
Now you’re going to thread the needle through the 2nd bead from where the cord is coming out.
Skip the bead just to the left of the cord, and thread the needle through the next bead.
Pull it really good and tight.
Repeat that around, threading on 2 beads, skipping one bead and threading the needle under the next until you’ve sewn on 10 beads.
Once you get your last 2 beads on, go ahead and skip a bead and sew through the next one, and also sew through the next bead going up and to the left.
Step 3: Stitching the 2nd row
Thread 1 bead on, then sew through the next 3 beads going to the left.
Repeat that until you have 5 beads sewn on.
When you sew on the last bead, thread the needle through one bead, and then tie a knot around the inner cord just past the bead the jute is coming out of.
Thread the needle through a couple beads and pull tight so the knot is hidden inside the bead. Cut the excess cord.
Step 4: Finishing up
You should have enough cord on your needle to make a hanging cord (if not, cut another piece of twine about 8″ long).
Thread the needle through one of the points of the star, even up the ends and tie an overhand knot to finish the hanger.
Cut the excess cord from the top and your star ornament is complete!
In Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed these boho DIY macrame Christmas ornament patterns!
If you make some of these, please share a pic over on Instagram and tag me @marchingnorth so I can take a look. I love seeing all of your awesome creations!
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