Introduction: Colorful Rope Macrame Knot Necklace With Tassel

By amandacilek.com
About: I'm a product designer passionate about creating meaningful user experiences. Outside of my day job I love drawing, illustration, printmaking, data visualization, maps, plastic-free living, vegan food, and hik…

Here's another easy rope necklace. The end result is a chunky statement necklace that can be dressed up or down. Are you only wearing sweatshirts these days? No worries, this rope necklace pairs well with casual wear and can instantly spice up your Zoom look. Lots of opportunity to make this your own by trying out different colors or a different length.

Step 1: Gather Materials


  • 80-100 inches cotton rope of 3-10mm thickness
    Look for braided variety as opposed to twisted - the braided variety will have a smoother texture. Note: The exact rope I used for the necklace in the photos is 1/4 inch or 6.3 mm braided cotton rope.
  • Cotton embroidery floss in assorted colors
  • Ruler
  • Masking tape
  • Scissors

Step 2: Measure & Cut Rope

Decide how long you want the necklace to be. The rope will be doubled, and you’ll also need extra length to make sure it can fit comfortably over your head without a clasp. I wanted this necklace to hang down nice and long so I went with a length of 32 inches when doubled (64 inches total).

Double the rope, align the two loose ends, and wrap them tightly with tape.

You can also measure and cut the smaller rope pieces for the tassel. You’ll need two pieces of equal length, anywhere from 10-13 inches or so (you can vary the length depending on how long you want your tassel strands to be.) I went with about 11 inches.

Step 3: Wrap the Main Rope

Time to get started. We’re going to wrap the main longer rope piece with embroidery floss using gathering knots. The rope is doubled so you’re wrapping around two pieces of rope. I’m alternating between colored wrapped sections and bare rope, doing about an inch of wrapping, then leaving an inch of rope, then wrapping a new section in a different color.

To make a gathering knot, start with the tail end of the floss pointing upwards and make a loop at the bottom, parallel to your rope. The loop should be longer than the area that you want to wrap. Then wrap the floss tightly around the two pieces of rope and the floss loop, moving from top to bottom. Make sure to leave part of the top tail and bottom loop exposed.

When you’ve finished wrapping a section, thread your working end of the floss through the bottom floss loop, then pull on the top tail. The bottom loop and working end should pull up underneath the wrapped section. Pull until the knot is about in the center of your wrapped section, then pull on the top and bottom ends of the floss at the same time to tighten it up.

Finally, trim the ends of the floss and tuck them under the wrapped area for a seamless look (I use the tip of my scissors for this).

Step 4: Connect the Two Ends

Because this necklace is plenty long to fit over my head without a clasp, I decided to opt for a permanent seamless closure.

Align the two ends of the necklace together as well as you can so that the ends are just touching and wrap around them tightly with tape. Make sure you are equally covering part of both ends, and that the tape is securely holding the rope. Then, wrap embroidery floss over the entire taped section to cover it up. Wrap a bit tighter than normal to ensure a strong and long-lasting closure.

Note: The way I did my tape I ended up having a slightly longer wrapped section for the closure. If you want it to truly blend in to the rest of the necklace, you can try to ensure that your taped section is just as wide as your other wrapped sections.

Step 5: Wrap the Tassel Rope

Now we’re going to wrap two smaller pieces of rope that will become the tassel at the bottom. Start with two additional pieces of rope about 10-12 inches long (depending on how long you want your tassel to be).

Align the two pieces together and wrap the center portion (about 4-5 inches) with embroidery floss. I just made one big gathering knot.

Step 6: Knot Tassel Piece to Main Necklace

Now we’re going to attach the tassel piece we just made to the main necklace. I’ve seen this knot called a few different names, either square or reef knot. Just follow along with my pictures step by step and you’ll see how easy it is.

Lay out the main necklace and find the center that you want hanging down. Then place the smaller tassel piece perpendicularly on top. Next, curve the the two ends of the tassel pieces under the main necklace and back up through the bottom loop.

Ensuring both sections of rope are centered, tighten the knot a bit and straighten the tassel rope pieces so they aren’t twisted. The four tassel rope ends should now be hanging down in the same direction.

Step 7: Wrap Gathering Knot to Secure Tassel

Next, wrap one more gathering knot around all four pieces of the tassel rope that are hanging down. I wrapped about an inch and decided to go with a contrasting color.

Step 8: Finish the Tassel

To finish the tassel, use a sharp tool like the end of your scissors or a fine comb to unravel the rope ends of the tassel. It’s easiest to start at the bottom and work your way up.

Once you have the ends of all four pieces unraveled, comb the strings straight as best you can and give the ends a clean trim.

That's it, you've completed the necklace. Marvel in your coolness. Flaunt your style on Zoom.