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How much cord macramé actually eats
Knots are cord-hungry. A finished piece is much shorter than the cord that went into it, because every square knot, spiral and clove hitch swallows length as it wraps. Guess low and you cannot fix it — macramé cord cannot be joined invisibly mid-piece, so running out three quarters of the way down a plant hanger means cutting a fresh cord and starting that strand again.
The formula this calculator uses:
cut length = finished length × knot density × thickness factor × (2 if folded) × 1.10, rounded up to the nearest 5"
- Knot density is the classic rule of thumb: ×4 for loose, airy work, ×5 for average knotting, ×7 for a densely knotted piece.
- Thickness factor is 1.00 at 3 mm, 1.05 at 4 mm, 1.10 at 5 mm and 1.15 at 6 mm — fatter cord takes a longer path through the same knot.
- The fold doubles it. Cords larks-headed onto a ring or dowel have to be twice as long, because one cut cord gives two working ends.
- The buffer is a flat 10%, then rounded up. Leftover cord becomes fringe; running short does not become anything.
A worked example
A 36" plant hanger, 4 cords, 5 mm cord, folded over the ring:
- Loose & airy (×4): 36 × 4 × 1.10 = 158.4" per working end → ×2 for the fold = 316.8" → +10% = 348.5" → rounded up = 350", or 29.2 ft per cord
- Densely knotted (×7): 36 × 7 × 1.10 = 277.2" → ×2 = 554.4" → +10% = 609.8" → rounded up = 610", or 50.9 ft per cord
- Same hanger, same cord — the knot density alone nearly doubles the cord bill, from about 39 yards to about 68 yards.
- Turn the fold toggle off and every one of those numbers halves: the dense version drops from 610" to 305" per cord.
That is the number worth knowing before you buy: density and fold, not finished length, are what move the total.
Selling what you make?
Cord is the raw-material half of a price. The pricing calculator takes it from there — materials, hours, overhead and platform fees.
Cord Length FAQ
How much cord do I need for a plant hanger?
For a 36" plant hanger in 5 mm cord with loose, airy knotting, cut 4 cords at about 350" (29.2 ft) each: 36 × 4 × 1.10 = 158" per working end, doubled to 317" because the cords fold in half over the ring, plus a 10% buffer and rounded up. That is about 39 yards in total, so one 50 m spool covers it.
How much cord do I need for a wall hanging?
For a 24" wall hanging in 3 mm cord at average knot density, cut each cord at about 265" (22.1 ft): 24 × 5 = 120" per working end, doubled to 240" because the cords are larks-headed onto the dowel, plus the 10% buffer. Multiply by however many cords fit across your dowel.
Why do you multiply the finished length by 4 to 7?
Every knot consumes cord. A square knot uses roughly four times the length of finished braid it produces, and dense patterns of repeated knots use more. Loose, airy designs sit near ×4, average work near ×5, and heavily knotted pieces near ×7. The multiplier is applied to the finished length before the fold is doubled.
Does cord thickness change how much I need?
Yes. Thicker cord takes a longer path through each knot, so the same design in 6 mm cord eats about 15% more than in 3 mm. This calculator applies a factor of 1.00 at 3 mm, 1.05 at 4 mm, 1.10 at 5 mm and 1.15 at 6 mm.
What if my cords do not fold in half?
Turn the fold toggle off and every cut length halves, because a folded cord has to be twice as long to give one working end of the needed length. Folding is standard for plant hangers, where the cords pass through a ring, and for wall hangings mounted with lark’s head knots onto a dowel.