Set up your macrame work space

There is no professional equipment or tools you'll need for your projects. I will share what type of office/household items I have found helpful when knotting. I took some time to create a collection of those items, all of which are available on Amazon. The categorized collection is available at my Amazone aStore. The aStore is also available at the bottom of this page.

* Foam message board -- I have a black one that I really like using, because I can use push pins to keep my macrame in place while knotting and easily take it off or adjust as I go. I found that having a sharp contrast between the materials I use and the board helps me focus on the knots and see them clearly. Any foam or cork message board would do the job and the necessary size would depend on the project you are working on. For jewelry, even a small piece of foam would be sufficient. If you don't have a message board, you can pin your macrame to a pillow. However, in that case you'd have to use long pins instead of the tiny office pins, as they won't hold the macrame down to the soft pillow.

* Push pins -- I use mine all the time to keep the floss stretched when needed or keep my macrame in place while working on it. Whether I need to use tight or loose knots, keeping my work from moving is very important for many projects.

* Scotch tape -- Sometimes taping a piece of string to the board is easier than wrapping it around a pin to keep it from moving. That's mostly in cases when I only need to keep the thread separated from the rest for a moment as I am going along. However, tape can't replace the need for pins because it doesn't make a strong connection and wouldn't prevent the macrame from moving when pulling the strings to make the knots.

* A pair of scissors and a nail clipper -- Scissors can't always cut excess threads as closely to the finished macrame as nail clippers could. I like using sharp clippers in the end of my projects when I want to cut all hanging threads closely to the final knots. Remember, however, that before cutting strings off, you should ensure that the knots won't open. One way to do that is using clear liquid glue on the back side of the project and let it dry, especially on the outside knots.

* Clear liquid glue -- Spread glue on the back of the finished macrame piece to ensure that knots will stay as they are and the project will be strong. Only after gluing the outside knots will you be able to safely cut off excess pieces of thread. If you don't have glue on hand, you can use clear nail polish.