Free Crochet Plant Hanger Pattern: Macrame Style Tutorial

okay so you want to make a plant hanger

Right so I made my first one back in spring 2022 when I was super into hanging plants everywhere and honestly didn’t want to spend like $30 on those fancy macrame ones at the store. I had some leftover cotton yarn from this blanket I never finished and just kind of figured it out as I went.

The thing about calling it “crochet” is kinda misleading because you’re mostly doing macrame knots, not actual crochet stitches. Like you’ll use a crochet hook maybe at the beginning to make a ring or whatever, but most of it is literally just knotting. Which is way easier than it sounds but also more annoying than you’d think.

what you actually need

So for materials you’re gonna want a sturdy cotton yarn or cord. I used Lily Sugar’n Cream in that natural beige color the first time because I had it lying around. It worked fine but it’s a bit thin so I had to use like 8 strands together which was… a choice. Later I tried Bernat Handicrafter Cotton which is thicker and honestly way better for this. You can also use actual macrame cord from the craft store but that’s not really crochet yarn so whatever.

You need scissors obviously. A crochet hook if you’re doing the ring start method, maybe a 5mm or 6mm. A metal ring or a wooden ring, about 2 inches diameter works good. Some people skip the ring entirely and just tie everything together at the top but I like the ring because it looks more finished.

Oh and you need a plant pot to test it with while you’re working. Don’t try to guess the measurements because I did that once and the pot fell right through the bottom. Not great.

measuring your cord pieces

This is the part that annoyed me SO MUCH because every pattern online gives you different measurements and none of them account for different pot sizes or how tight you tie your knots. Like some people tie loose and flowy, I tie everything really tight because I’m paranoid about my plants falling.

For a basic hanger you need 8 pieces of cord. Each piece should be about 4 times the length you want your finished hanger to be. So if you want a hanger that’s 3 feet long from top to bottom, cut pieces that are 12 feet long. Yeah it seems like a lot but you lose so much length in the knots.

I usually cut mine around 10-12 feet each because my ceilings aren’t super high and I was watching Selling Sunset while doing this the first time and got distracted and cut one piece way too short and had to start over with that one strand.

actually starting the thing

Take all 8 pieces and fold them in half. Thread the folded midpoint through your ring. Pull the loose ends through the loop you just made. This is called a lark’s head knot and it’s literally the only knot name I remember. Now you have 16 strands hanging down from your ring.

Some people crochet a ring instead of using a metal or wood one. You just chain like 10 stitches and slip stitch to connect it into a circle. Then you attach your cords to that. I’ve done both and honestly the metal ring feels sturdier but the crocheted ring looks more… cohesive? Like it’s all the same material. Your call.

the actual knotting part

Okay so now you have 16 strands. You’re gonna work with them in groups of 4. So divide them into 4 groups of 4 strands each.

The main knot you need is a square knot. Take your group of 4 strands. The two middle strands are your anchor strands, they just hang there. The two outer strands do all the work. Take the left outer strand, cross it over the two middle strands and under the right outer strand. Then take the right strand, go under the middle strands and up through the loop on the left side. Pull tight. That’s half a square knot.

Now do it reversed – right strand over the middle and under the left, then left strand under the middle and up through the right loop. Pull tight. That’s one complete square knot.

Do like 4-6 square knots on each group of 4 strands. This creates the top section of your hanger. I usually do 5 because I like how it looks but honestly it doesn’t matter that much.

making the net part that holds the pot

This is where it gets a bit confusing but also kinda fun. You need to create a net pattern that’ll cradle your pot.

After you finish your square knot section on all four groups, measure down about 4-5 inches from the bottom of those knots. At that point, you’re gonna start connecting the groups together.

Take 2 strands from one group and 2 strands from the group next to it. Tie them together with a square knot. Do this all the way around so you’re creating a new row of knots using strands from adjacent groups. You’ll have 4 knots in this row.

Then measure down another 4-5 inches and do it again – take 2 strands from each knot you just made and combine them with strands from the adjacent knot. Another 4 knots. This creates the diamond net pattern.

I usually do like 2-3 rows of this depending on how deep my pot is. For a standard 6 inch pot, 2 rows is plenty. My cat knocked over one of my hangers while I was working on row 3 once and I just… left it at 2 rows because I was over it.

the bottom gathering knot

Once your net is deep enough to hold your pot securely, gather ALL 16 strands together. You’re gonna tie them all in one big knot at the bottom.

Some people do a wrapped knot which looks really professional. You take one extra long piece of cord, make a loop pointing up against all the gathered strands, then wrap the long end around and around all the strands and the loop really tightly for like 2 inches. Then thread the end through the bottom of that loop and pull the top of the loop up so it pulls the end up inside the wrapped section. It’s hard to explain but there’s definitely videos… anyway I can never get this to look good so I usually just tie a really fat overhand knot with all the strands together and call it done.

Trim the ends to whatever length you want. Some people leave them long and fray them out for a tassel effect. I usually cut mine pretty short because the long ends get tangled when I’m watering plants.

testing and adjusting

Put your pot in the hanger before you hang it up. Make sure it sits securely in the net part and doesn’t slip through. If it’s too loose, you gotta untie some knots and retie them higher up or tighter. If it’s too tight… well that’s not really a problem unless you can’t get the pot in at all.

The first one I made the spacing was all uneven because I wasn’t measuring consistently between knots and it looked kinda wonky but it worked fine. Nobody looks that closely at these things anyway.

variations and different styles

You can make these as simple or complicated as you want. The basic version I just described is like the easiest possible plant hanger.

If you want to get fancier, you can add more rows of square knots at the top before you start the net section. Or do spiral knots instead of square knots – you just keep doing the first half of the square knot over and over and it creates this twisted spiral effect. Looks cool but takes forever.

Some patterns have you do alternating square knots all the way down instead of the simple net pattern. That’s when you do a row of square knots on your 4 groups, then in the next row you take 2 strands from one knot and 2 from the adjacent one and make new square knots, then keep alternating like that. It’s pretty but uses way more cord and takes way longer.

I made one in summer 2024 with three tiers – like three separate net sections at different heights so you could put three small pots in one hanger. That was actually really cool but I used Red Heart With Love yarn because it was on sale and honestly it was too soft and stretchy for this. The whole thing sagged after a few weeks. Stick with cotton or actual cord.

color stuff

Natural colored cotton looks the most macrame-ish and goes with everything. But you can obviously use any color. I did one in a dark gray that looked really modern. Tried to do one with multiple colors once, alternating strands of cream and terracotta, but keeping track of which strand was which color while knotting made me want to scream so I gave up halfway through and just mixed them randomly.

If you want an ombre effect you could probably dye the bottom portions of your cords before you start knotting but I haven’t tried that.

common problems I’ve had

Running out of cord length is the worst because you’re already like halfway done and then you realize one strand is way shorter than the others and you either have to add more cord (which looks bad at the join) or start completely over. Always cut longer than you think you need.

Uneven tension makes the whole thing look messy. Try to pull each knot the same tightness. I’m really bad at this and my hangers always look a bit irregular but they function fine so… whatever.

The pot falling through means your net section wasn’t tight enough or you needed more rows. Just untie the bottom gathering knot and add another row of net knots.

Strands getting tangled while you work is inevitable. I usually work on a table and spread everything out as much as possible but they still tangle. Just be patient and untangle as you go or you’ll end up with a nightmare situation.

how long does this take

The first one took me like 3 hours because I kept messing up and redoing sections. Now I can make a basic one in maybe an hour if I’m focused. The spiral ones or ones with more elaborate knotting patterns can take way longer.

It’s good to do while watching TV or listening to podcasts because it’s pretty mindless once you get the rhythm of the knots down. Just don’t get too distracted or you’ll lose count of your knot rows.

hanging the actual hanger

You need a ceiling hook that can support the weight of your plant plus soil plus water. Those little plastic adhesive hooks are NOT strong enough. Get a proper screw-in hook rated for at least 10-15 pounds.

I hung mine from curtain rod brackets once because I was renting and didn’t want to put holes in the ceiling and it actually worked fine for smaller plants.

Make sure you hang it where it’ll get enough light for whatever plant you’re putting in it. I know that’s obvious but I definitely hung one in a dark corner because it looked good there aesthetically and then my pothos got all sad and leggy.

The thing about these hangers is they’re really forgiving. Like you can mess up the pattern or make the knots uneven or whatever and they’ll still work. Plants don’t care if your macrame is perfect. The main thing is just making sure the structure is sound enough that your pot won’t fall and smash on the floor.

Oh and cotton cord will get dirty over time especially if you’re watering plants and getting drips on it. You can hand wash them but I usually just make new ones because by the time they’re dirty enough to bother me I’m ready for a different style anyway.