DIY Macramé Anklet Tutorial with Beads

Cut 3 lengths of 0.5 mm nylon cord—one one-yard length, one three-yard length, and one ten-inch length.

Using the cord cutter or lighter, melt the ends of the cords so they don’t fray. If you are using a lighter, you don’t want them to fatten out as they melt, so quickly run your fingertips over the ends after you remove the flame. Be careful not to burn yourself!

Find the midpoint of the one-yard length and tie a surgeon’s knot (wrap the cord through twice instead of once). Using a big eye needle, slide a bead on to both sides of the cord. (This part can be tricky. Definitely do it one side at a time. I catch just the tip of the cord in the needle and pull it through with pliers if it’s being stubborn.)

Tie an overhand knot about three to four inches down from the bead, and then tie another one about an inch or so from the loose ends.

Your one-yard length now looks like this:

Use a piece of scrap cord to attach this base cord to a base. You can use a macramé board if you have one, a picture frame that’s nine or ten inches on one side, or a clipboard. It’s much easier to tie the knots if you have both ends of the cord secured, so if you use a clipboard, you might want to secure the bottom end of the cord with some strong tape.

[See the video at the end of this post for steps 6–9.] Take the three-yard length of the cord and find the midpoint. Place the midpoint directly below the overhand knot and hold it there with a finger. Now tie your first macramé knot, the square knot. I’ve made a video to show you the rest of the anklet because it’s a little tricky to explain. You are going to tie three square knots before the next step, alternating sides as you tie them.

String 40 beads onto the right-side cord. (I average about 5 beads per inch, and I want 8 inches of macramé when I’m done. You may need more or less depending on the size you are making.) Slide one bead up so it’s next to the last square knot, then tie another square knot. Then tie three more, alternating sides. Every fourth square knot, you are going to slide another bead up.

Continue adding beads and tieing knots until the anklet is your desired length. I make the knotted part of mine 8 inches and my ankle is 10 inches in diameter where the bones stick out. When it’s finished the whole anklet is 15 inches around. I would make it a little smaller for my daughter since she’s a little more petite than me, say 7 inches of knotting.

After you slide your last bead up, tie three or four more knots. Then cut the outside cords with a cord cutter, or with scissors. Carefully melt the ends with a lighter if you use scissors.

Using the big eye needle again, slide another bead on to both sides of the cord. Tie an overhand knot about three to four inches from where your macramé/knotting ends. Cut the cord lengths just after this knot. Seal the ends with the lighter if you use scissors.

Using two shortish (4-6 inches) pieces of scrap cord or string, overlap the two ends and tie them together.

Find the midpoint of the 10-inch piece of cord and place it behind the overlapped pieces. Tie about 10 square knots, or until the clasp measures about 3/8 inch. (It’s really up to you how long you make it, so do whatever looks good to you!) Then cut the outside cords with a cord cutter, or with scissors. Again melt the ends with a lighter if you use scissors.

Show off your gorgeous new anklet!