Lots of posts today...

This time, macramé.

Crocheted and knotted items are fashionable now, but the fashion bloggers couldn't tell the difference of one technique from the other. *sigh*
(Yeah, really awesome, but not macramé.  "Read on to learn the difference..." the Emilio Pucci dress  is not crocheted. It's knitted. So is the Julien MacDonald dress in the last picture. "Spring trend we are loving" is macramé, macramé (not crochet, even though Jameela, who ever she is, wears the dress nicely); macramé, I suppose; not sure about Lanvin's wedges, but they don't look macramé to me; Beauclerk shopper is definitely crochet; the only piece of the swimmingsuit that could fit the trend looks like a Battenburg lace applique; macramé, crochet...)

Some guy decided to make a chair of macramé, and now everyone is praising him and saying how he single-handedly rescues the technique. *sigh*

"The rope made of an aramide braid and carbon centre is knotted into the shape of a chair. The slack texture is then impregnated with epoxy and hung in a frame to harden."

"Moreover he (Marcel Wanders) rescues the traditionally pure, practical and constructive macramé technique from stuffy image that it has had since the sixties by linking it up with the latest technology".

Well... it's a nice chair.  And...? I don't see people knotting away.
Now, the macramé owl trend might be what saves macramé. I suppose macramé is supposed to be hippie.
(Want to make your own owl?  I, II, here are several among other things, III)

This is part of the "stuffy" image of macramé... I kind of like it. It's inspiring :-)

and someone was posting about how they found these objects from flea market or so, and were so happy... and some part of me understands.  They are really well made.

I really like this top...

Uniqua Studio's wonderful macramé clothes

I really want that dress...

birdsofohio: macramé

I like Olga's Macramé pages. On "Patterns" page she tells how to make several knots, on "Projects" page are the patterns.

Now, then there's micro macramé...

Jean Wertman's zebra necklace. Jean was 80 when she did this...

micro macramé earrings. Here's how to make your own.

very simple and pretty bracelet

And I have to agree with knotgypsy, that Isha Elafi makes the most amazing macramé jewelry...

Then at last, Knotty notions - do something knotty every day :-)

Knots

I was moderately interested in macrame, because everything I ever saw was made of string, cords and rope and thus pretty rough and coarse and rude and plain.

Then I saw some Margarethe lace. Margarethe lace is named after Margarethe Neumann in Germany in the beginning of 20th century, and they are very nice.
(The picture is a scanning from a book depicting Margarethe lace. I haven't managed to find any more information about it.)


Here's some Transylvanian macrame lace tablecloths and doilies. Look at the details.

I haven't thought of that the roughness and plainness is due to the thickness of strings, not due to the technique... One can knot just as intrigate and beautiful fine laces with lace thread in macrame technique as in any other technique. It really isn't only boring belts, bags, chairs and flower pot hangers.



Another style of knotting, similar to macrame is the Chinese knotting.
Here's a couple of sites about that:
http://www.chineseknotting.org/
http://co.middlesex.nj.us/culturalheritage/chineseknotting/index.html
http://photo.163.com/photos/jiaqyz/72883709/
http://photo.163.com/photos/cwj3348/43425628/
http://photo.163.com/photos/qiuhong558.com/104764627
They use silky cords and make all kinds of forms and tassels. Really fascinating :-)



The there's the Japanese Mizuhiki, which is also similar, but there the cord is paper, which gives a totally different air to the knottings. Mizuhiki artists are equally skillful and can create all kinds of forms with simple knots on a cord.
http://www.026.co.jp/mizuhiki/englishindex.html

Hamamusubi, the flower knotting, is another Japanese cord knotting, this time with silk cords.

Then there's braiding, platting, cordmaking, kumihimo; making cords, plaids, twines, lucet braiding...

Passementerie; the art of cording, knotting and tasseling.