Hope you lovies had a great long weekend! So this tutorial could not be more simple. I am telling you guys, these giant macramé rope lights will change.your.life. they are that good.
So when I say giant, I mean HA-UUGE.. Not just the rope, the light bulbs too.
The knot for this project is as easy as can be. Its a great way to be productive AND watch Netflix because once your hands get the memory down you can sort of go on autopilot.
You’ll need:
Rope or Cording (make sure you use a coupon!)*
Lamp Cord
Socket Kit
Small Vessel (that can be drilled into)
Glue
*So don’t throw things at me, but I’m not sure how much cording to tell you to buy. Let me explain. For the huge rope, I bought 35 yards ($1.49/yd) and it easily covered 15 feet of lamp cord. For the smaller one I bought 40 yards ($.59/yd) and it covered 8 feet. Obviously the thickness plays a massive factor in how far it goes. The good news is that you can use clear tape to connect the ends together if you need to add more and you’ll never see them (also make sure that you use at least a 40% off coupon at JoAnn when you are buying it.)
Start by securing your lamp wire. For pictures I have it taped to a wall, in real life you’ll want to tie it around something like a chair back or doorknob to keep it stable.
Find the center of your cording and place it behind the lamp wire.
Take the left side and put it over the front of the lamp wire.
And under the right side of the cord creating a small loop on the left side of your lamp wire.
Then take the right cord and place it behind the lamp wire.
Pull the entire length of it through the small loop that you created on the left side of the lamp wire.
Repeat your little heart out. As you are creating more and more knots the design will start to spiral. As long as you are starting with the left side and taking it over the top of the lamp wire the spiral will go in the same direction. If you take the right side over, or put the left side under the spiral will switch directions and you’ll have to undo the knots.
Pretty soon it’ll start to look like this:
Once all of my knots were done it was time to wire the socket. You can do this before you start knotting if you want, its completely up to you.
For your socket cover you’ll need some sort of cup or planter. For my lights I used a thrifted copper cup and a clearance plastic cup from Target that I spray painted white. But you can use anything! A wooden bowl, a ceramic planter, really the sky is the limit!
Start by drilling a hole into the bottom of your cup.
Then attach the treaded nipple to the socket base (make sure that you tighten the little screw on the side so that your socket doesn’t unscrew when you are twisting the light bulb!)
Put the washer, then the cup, then the socket base onto your lamp wire.
Attach the socket according to the instructions provided.
Then screw the washer onto the threaded nipple.
Slide your rope up (this the the only adjustment that you wont have to do if you wire your socket before you start on your knots) and around the end of the threaded nipple. Glue in place.
Ta Da!!
Now for the details on the giant light bulbs. Man oh man are they the stuff of legend.
I found them at a light bulb store when we were in LA but after some internet sleuthing, I found the best prices at School House Electric (way better than what we got them for)
Did I mention that they are massive?
So here is the thing. A light blub that big, its not just a bulb. Its the entire light. So while they aren’t cheap (around $40.00) they are freaking showstoppers.
Seriously though, can you imagine how fantastic 3 or 4 grouped together would be? I might just have to make that happen….
now we are talkin’!!!
Wow! I really like this. Love the big lamp and the knots. Nice!
AMAZING! I love a craft I can do while binge watching tv.
That copper against the rope is gorgeous! What a great DIY
Hi Mandy, this may sound odd but I bought a couple of wall sconces that are meant to be screwed onto the wall and plugged into an outlet. BUT… the cord is too short to reach my outlets. Do you have a tutorial somewhere on your page to re-wire the lamp and plug-in with a longer piece of cord? Thanks a bunch in advance!
You are knocking my socks off with this one!!! That’s some serious rope and cording to macrame but wow does it look stunning. Pinned this for sure.
I am in love and totally doing this!! I was wondering for the large rope … what is the size? I was going to head over to Jo Ann Fabric and sometimes there are just so many options, and it is a bit overwhelming! Do you have a link to the product at JoAnn’s?
A few of these puppies will definitely be in my new living room! Thanks!
Exactly which rope is the larger one from Jo-Anns? Is this cording from upholstery by chance? It looks soft.
They are both upholstery cording, or piping. You can find it by the other upholstery supplies!
xo
m
These look amazing! And those light bulbs — I just can’t even. One day when I have a place to live that I can call my own, I’m going to make one of these!
Love these, you made it seem so simple. Thanks! Have you ever seen colored macrame??? I’m typically big neutral fan, but thinking I may want to incorporate some color into the master bedroom this way. We’ll see!
I mean, this might be like the best DIY project I’ve ever seen. It’s that good. I want to make a thousand of these and light my whole town with them. Well done!
xx Hannah // http://www.HomemadeBanana.com
Love love love these!!
Oh my goodness. Those light bulbs are amazing! I love School House Electric. My absolute favorite place to go to for light fixture inspiration 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
These are AMAZING! I want one (or three) so, so bad. Thank you for the excellent tutorial and info and idea and general awesome.
Hello Mandy, I stumbled across your blog about 2 weeks ago and let me just say, I love it. Quick question, I am doing a happy camper theme for our nursery (due in January!) and I think this would look great somewhere in the room. Do you think that I could use a fixture that some sort of a sconce (or a drum on the end )or do you think it would interfere with the macrame?
Much Love,
KP
I have no words. So good.
I adore this so stinkin much! This is a must try when I have a house of my own.
I adore this so much! One day when I have a house of my own, I will try this.
These look so cool! Inspiring as usual ^_^
Omg! I love these and your tutorial is fantastic, thanks so much for sharing! I’m so happy macrame is back “in” for awhile!
Tania
These are pretty epic! Your creativity is never ending!!
Amazing! I just slaved away at wrapping 15 feet of cord with jute (the thin kind… ugh!) Using square knots. That was more than 100 feet of jute. These= way more epic & way easier.
Shut the front door…..freaking fabulous idea!
Hallelujah!!!! Thank you, saving and making x
THIS IS GORGEOUS!!!! The rope, the copper, the way it hangs….love!!!
Hi Mandi,
Can you tell us the diameters of the piping you used? I’m having a hard time finding a larger piping.
Thanks!
Love this! Just a question, I hope you haven’t answered it already… Where is that copper cup from? Thanks!
Love this craft– so excited to do it!
Wanted to write, though, to offer an opinion on Schoolhouse Electric. I used your tip, Mandy, and was so excited to receive my lightbulbs. When the order finally arrived (after about 3 weeks), the largest bulb was broken. I immediately sent an email to customer service (accidents happen, especially with giant glass objects) and was told a replacement would be shipped soon. After 6 days of no follow up, I emailed again and asked if it could be shipped express; I was told it would be shipped “as soon as possible.” It’s now been another week. Two weeks after I received a busted lightbulb and five weeks since I ordered and I don’t even have a shipping code!
Will absolutely never order from Schoolhouse again. For those considering it, look elsewhere for your Edison bulbs; it’s really worth the extra few dollars if you hope to receive them on a reasonable timeline. Here’s hoping I receive the $48 bulb I ordered or, if not, a refund.
This is a really fabulous DIY! You are extremely unique and creative. I’m impressed with the originality you brought to the contemporary take on the swag light.
How awesome! I see the ends of the lamp cord in your pictures are unfinished and I’m so curious how you finished that aspect.
Wow, so good!
Could you tell me the diameters of the piping?
HI! I just stumbled across your blog and I love it! This light is beautiful, one thing I’m curious about is, is this light intended to plug in or be wired in? I’m a renter so my problem is finding awesome lighting that i can plug in, I have a couple fixtures that have the long cords and I just play it into my decorating, was just wondering if a plug would be or is the case with these.
These are plug ins!
xo
m
Awesome thank you!
Hi, the DIY looks so pretty. I’m about to do the same thing for the black cord of my lamp. Could you tell me the size of this rope? I found a lot of different sizes, could not figure out which size is suitable? Looks like 11/16″
Hi Mandi,
I LOVE this and I have been searching for that particular rope and haven’t been able to find it. And I feel like I have searched EVERYWHERE. Any leads??
Thanks!