Friday, August 23, 2019

The "Pod" in Micro-macrame Cord

An interesting local bead shop had a supply of S-Lon nylon micro-macrame cord in many appealing colors, so I couldn't resist buying a collection! I've always thought of tatting as a version of macrame anyway, since it is made of knots.

 The cord I used is .5mm thickness, comparable to a size 10 thread. It's slippery and stiff, so takes a bit of experience to get used to.

It takes a firm hand to get the knots tight. Occasionally I had trouble closing a ring because of the cord twisting and kinking. Being able to re-open a ring is a skill worth knowing!

Really nice how the 3-dimensional pod shape formed naturally with no blocking required.

 For the "fluff" inside the pod, I used white cord with large picots and 6 mm beads for the "seeds". Although I followed my original pattern for the pod, I made up a distinct filler variation.

 The finished object is waterproof. I sewed in tail ends and secured them with glue. I did try a "thread zapper" with a hot tip that melts the nylon, but that tool can instantly cut a project to ruin, and leaves a dark residue. I prefer sewing in ends and although I don't use glue on cotton, the slippery nylon does need glue to keep the ends from popping out.


 The finished pod strung onto a leather cord makes an "art to wear" necklace. Definitely different!