Make a macramé watch strap with easy, basic knots—see step-by-step instructions
This DIY macramé strap pairs beautifully with a vintage watch face. With these instructions, you can also tie a bracelet or a friendship band without a watch. You can easily change the length by adjusting the number of pattern repeats!
Macramé watch strap—materials:
- A watch face
- 1 mm thick nylon cord (6–7 m, depending on the desired strap length)
- A transparent silicone hair tie
- Transparent tape
- A wooden bead with a hole
- Scissors
- A clipboard with a clip
Macramé watch strap—instructions:
These instructions are for a wrist circumference of around 15 cm. You can make the watch strap longer by tying more pattern repeats, for instance four instead of three on the lower strap.
1. Cut eight cords, each about 70 cm long. Take four of them and fold them in half. Tie them side by side with lark’s head knots on one side of the watch face by sliding the loop of the folded cord under the watch lug and pulling both ends through the loop.
2. Attach the remaining four cords the same way on the opposite side of the watch face. You now have eight working cords on each side of the watch.
3. Clip the watch in place by its top cords with the clipboard. Then start by tying the lower strap.
4. Count from the left and take the fourth cord as your holding cord. Tie double half hitch knots around it with each of the four cords to its right, working from left to right so they form a diagonal line slanting to the right.
5. After you finish the first row of double half hitch knots on the right side, make a similar row slanting from the center to the left. Count from the left and take the fourth cord as your new holding cord, then tie double half hitch knots diagonally from right to left with the three leftmost cords. The knots will form a shape resembling the tip of a triangle.
6. Continue tying double half hitch knots around the rightmost holding cord (the outermost cord on the right), forming a diagonal row from right to left. This time, begin with the cord that is fourth from the right by taking it over the two cords to its right. Then tie the next knots in sequence with the remaining cords on the right side, passing each cord over the one next to it. Repeat the same process on the left side so the knots eventually form a diamond shape.
Work symmetrically so you get a diamond-like pattern in the center.
Keep repeating this knotting technique to create the full pattern.
7. Continue knotting in the same manner until you have made three (or four, if you want a longer strap) repeats of the pattern. Then take the transparent hair tie and slide it halfway through the bottom tip of the lowest diamond. Fold the hair tie in half against the nylon cord to form two loops. Pull the lower loop through the upper loop and tighten. Your watch strap’s fastening loop is now in place.
8. Cut about 20 cm of nylon cord and gather all the loose ends into a tight bundle. Tie a wrapping knot around that bundle. Then trim the cord ends to your desired length.
9. Tie the other side in the same way, but make four pattern repeats. After completing the fourth diamond, gather the loose ends and wrap them with a few rounds of transparent tape (you can trim the tape to a narrower strip). The taped portion should be about the same diameter as the bead’s hole.
Then thread the ends one by one through the hole in the wooden bead. You can use a tapestry needle for the last few cords. Twist the bead so it sits snugly. If you’d like, tie an overhand knot with a couple of the free cords inside the bead to secure it. Once you’re sure the bead is firmly in place, trim the remaining cords.
