My macramé journey started how all my journeys start — with me thinking, “I could probably do that”, during a period of EXTREME excitement and hyperfocus.

Sometimes, I’m right. I taught myself illustration, realism art, learned macramé, and even dabbled in physics – I currently LOVE Loop Quantum Gravity. Other times… well, there was that time I tried to become an ethical hacker and got completely LOST in the jargon of computer languages before the first video was even over. I should have known too, I glaze over when anyone even mentions cryptocurrency.

The truth is, I have had just as many fails as I do successes. But the fun is in the trying. And this time? It worked so well, it ended up with me covering my ENTIRE flat in macramé — and even all of our plushies.

Flashback to 2022 – From House Flipper to Reality.

I had a period of hypomania in 2022, which meant I spent a RIDICULOUS amount of money, time, and effort on suddenly redecorating my entire flat at a moment’s notice. The idea came to me at 4 am after playing House Flipper, and it just wasn’t cutting it anymore — I wanted to make it a reality.

I went with millennial grey, and I absolutely LOVE grey with dark wood and white matt furniture. As soon as I used this combination in House Flipper, I fell in love. I collect all manner of memorabilia from video games, movies, and, well, a load of plushies, and I find grey is brilliant for still being cosy despite all the colour clashes of Cyberpunk 2077 yellow, Mass Effect red, white, and black and Eternal Sunshine orange. Nothing clashes with dark grey and dark wood brown.

After finishing the painting — and then the other rooms, too, because let’s face it, self-control goes out the window during hypomania — and also Fabloning EVERY single piece of furniture I owned in dark oak and white matt, I was on the come down and wanted everything to look finished. So I headed to Etsy to cheer me up.

I saw some really lovely macramé wall hangings, and the modern one I wanted was £75. After spending money on paint and MANY rolls of Fablon, £75 was completely out of my price range – I no longer had the spending habits of hypomania, so money had returned to being a real thing that exists and has consequences if you spend all of it.

So I thought, “I could probably make that”. Straight to Amazon I went, as FAST as my fingers could click, spent £12 on thread, and researched YouTube tutorials while I waited for it to arrive.

I had to make quite a few leaves, because the first ones were all wonky, but after a day, I had the macramé wall hanging I wanted, in the colours I wanted. And all it cost was £12. Actually, it cost me a lot less, because I still had rolls of thread left. And that’s when The Great Macraméing of 2022 began. More wall hangings, Christmas tree decorations, plant hangers, coasters — you name it, I macraméd it.

My son, coming home from school to another new macramé creation, joked: ‘You know, I keep thinking I’m going to come home, and we’ll have no furniture one day — everything will just be macramé.”

Macramé Hits Different

I’ve always been a creative person — it’s how I make sense of the world. Over the years, I’ve done all sorts of creative activities. One of those was realism art, using both coloured pencils and graphite.

Realism takes years of work. It’s detailed, precise, and requires hours of concentration to get anywhere close to realistic.

Macramé, though? It’s a completely different story. Once you’ve learned a few basic knots and practiced enough to build muscle memory, you can make pretty much anything in a matter of weeks and then all you have to do is perfect it.

It’s also mindless in the best way. There’s no counting stitches, no need to follow endless tutorials, and anything you can picture, you can create. You can even make your own patterns by thinking on the spot — or making it up as you go along (which also happens to be my life philosophy). No painstaking planning required.

I love it because I can watch gaming videos, physics lectures, or — let’s be real — rewatch Better Call Saul for the FIFTEENTH time. And macramé keeps my hands busy enough that I don’t feel restless and squirmy from sitting still.

And the best part? I was in my late 30s when I started learning macramé. You can pick it up at any time. Actually, I was in my early 30s when I taught myself realism, too, so maybe age isn’t much of a barrier. Unless, of course, you’ve got joint issues like me.

Realism has been off the table for two years now. My joints just won’t allow it anymore. But macramé hits different, literally. The movements are bigger, less fiddly so it’s less pressure on my joints. And while it still hurts — A LOT (let’s not pretend it doesn’t) — I can do it. It keeps me creative in a way that feels somewhat manageable. And that means everything to me and helps my mental health so much.

Macramé is also great in that it’s unforgettable — it’s kind of like Brexit. I haven’t been able to forget about that no matter how much I’ve tried. At least macramé has less lies on buses. After The Great Macraméing of 2022, I didn’t pick it up again until 2024. Like David Cameron — once I’d caused chaos, I left it alone.

2023 was the year of mine and my sons joint Animal Crossing hyperfixation. It was also the year I hyperfocused on Cyberpunk 2077 again (because, let’s be honest, Phantom Liberty came out, and I couldn’t help myself). And for a while, I convinced myself I was a journalling person. I bought all the notebooks, pens, washi tape, and stickers after seeing some aesthetic spreads on Pinterest. You know how it is.

Macramé took a backseat while I bounced between islands, Night City, and aesthetic journal spreads. But here’s the thing — when I picked it back up in 2024, I didn’t need to relearn anything. The muscle memory was still there. The knots came back instantly. It was like no time had passed at all.

And this time? I had a new creative project in mind: plushie bags.

Frankie Says “Relax (and Make Me Macramé)”

In January 2024, my son bought a Build-A-Bear frog called Frankie.

My son is the most stylish person I’ve ever met, and naturally, his frog is another expression of his style and personality. When we go anywhere, I have to wait for him to get ready — and then wait for him to dress his frog, too. Adorable.

My son really balances whimsy and stylishness, when usually people tend to be one or the other, it’s something I’ve always really admired about him. His frogs are the same. But Build-A-Bear gets expensive fast if you want your frog to be a whimsy style icon. So I had a sudden idea:

“I could probably make my son macramé bags and accessories to go with Frankie’s outfits.”

Of course, they had to be modern, because macramé can feel very millennial — and let’s face it, Gen Z need it to be a lot more modern and a lot more froggy.

I decided to make a frog bag, so I headed to Amazon and got some brown thread and a really beautiful green. I tested the pattern by making a bear prototype bag in brown, just to see if the shape worked. And once I was happy with it, I started working on Frankie’s froggy bag making the bear ears the froggy eyes.

I made it up as I went along — and thankfully, it all worked out how I imagined.

My son loved it so much that I’ve been making more bags, bows, and headbands ever since. Frankie’s got a whole wardrobe now. And, it’s been one of my favourite projects yet.

Favourite Plushie Bags

Since that first froggy bag, I’ve made a whole range of macramé accessories. Some for Frankie, some for my plushies, and a few just for fun.

I have quite a few favourites — aside from the ones I’ve already shared in this post.

The Cream and Brown Bags & Bows

I absolutely love these. They look amazing on my Jellycat Bartholomew Bears, and the colour combination just speaks to me. I even used Mother of Pearl star charms on these bags to show my love for space at the same time.

The Strawberry Bag (and Mini Bag)

I adore this little strawberry bag! I made it to match my Strawberry Bartholomew Bear and, of course, had to make a matching mini bag for my tiny Jellycats. I even made separate macramé leaves and sewed them on. I think it turned out great — and my son will definitely be using these for his now ENTIRE army of Build-A-Bear frogs and bears.

Anything Mini

The mini bags are so adorable because anything mini is ADORABLE — but they take just as much time to make as the larger bags. In fact, they wouldn’t exist if I ran a macramé business. They cost the same to make in thread and hours, and no one would pay what they’re actually worth for such a tiny bag.

But that’s the beauty of creating for the sake of it.

There’s a kind of freedom in making things that don’t have to be profitable or practical. The mini bags wouldn’t make sense in a business context — but I make them because I love them. And sometimes, that’s reason enough.

The Fancy Bow Tie Penguins

Of course, I didn’t leave out my special penguins. I adore blush pink with grey, and I think they look like the fanciest penguins that ever existed. They’re not tuxedo penguins — they’re fancy macrame bow tie penguins.

The Macramé Jumper

My longest project was a macramé jumper for my medium Bart. It took so long and required so much work, which is probably why I haven’t made another one since. But I love it so much. I couldn’t believe it actually worked! I just put thread on the bear and started knotting, tailoring it to him as I went along. And the best thing about it is that It fits all my medium Jellycats perfectly.

Everything knotted together perfectly

After making so many macramé creations for my son (and our plushies), I started thinking about how much joy these projects have brought me. And I realised that I wanted to share that joy with the people I love.

Now, I’ve started making macramé gifts for my friends. Whether it’s a bear bag for my friend Amanda (cosymoth on Instagram), a keychain, or a little wall hanging, it’s a way for me to create something personal and meaningful — because, for me, macramé isn’t just about making things. It’s about showing love.

I hope you enjoyed my macramé journey as much as I enjoyed knotting everything together.

And if you ever get a hyperfocus or a sudden idea at 4 am? Don’t let age, nervousness, or a lack of confidence get in your way. I’ve had just as many failures as I have successes. But those successes? They’ve given me such a gift and they’re definitely things I think of when my mental health is all black hole-esque.

I love how much I can still do. It makes me feel better when — due to my joints — there are things I can’t.

I leave you with this song. It’s how I do anything – you just keep on trying while you’re still alive.

Here’s my altered lyrics:-
“But there’s no sense crying
Over every mistake
You just keep on tying
’til you run out of thread
And the macrame gets done
And you make a neat bag
For the plushies who are
Not alive”