Boho Macramé Christmas Trees – Beginner Tutorial
For the longest time, I’ve wanted to make a macramé “something”. I don’t know about you, but I’m so glad it’s a trend again. It speaks to my boho soul 😉 When we were small, my Mom used to make the most amazing things. I could spend hours just watching her knot and turn and twist and pull that yarn until she had another masterpiece to add to her collection. I can do the basic knots, but that’s about it. Fortunately, that’s all you need to know to make these macramé Christmas trees.
They really are SO easy to make, and it’s a great way to get hooked on macramé. Plus, you can use any scraps of wool, cord or yarn to make them.
Macramé comes from a 13th-century Arabic word migramah meaning fringe
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What You Need
- A few straight-ish twigs or small branches from the garden
- Macramé cord, wool or yarn
- Jewelry wire or other decorative bits
- Fishing line to hang
You’ll also need some cornstarch, vodka, and water I know it probably sounds ridiculous, but the vodka is a key ingredient to the whole look, and no you don’t drink it. Okay, you can if you want to, but I can’t guarantee how your macramé Christmas trees will turn out 😀
You can watch the video below to see how easy it is to make the boho macramé Christmas trees.
Or, if you prefer, you can follow the step-by-step tutorial below.
How to Make Boho Macramé Christmas Trees
Start by cutting the macramé yarn or wool into 7- 8 inch pieces.
Take two strands and fold them both in half to form a loop. Place one of the loops under the twig.
Take the looped end of the other strand, and push the ends of the strand that’s under the twig through the loop. Now thread the ends of that strand through the loop that’s under the twig.
Pull both strands tight. Easy right?
Repeat until the strands cover about ¾ of the twig.
Use a brush or comb to brush out the yarn or wool and separate the strands.
The macramé Christmas trees will be a little bit soft and floppy, so we need to stiffen them up a bit. You can either use store-bought starch for the next step or make your own, using my gran’s homemade vodka starch recipe. We make a batch whenever we need to, and it lasts about 2-3 months if you store it in a cool, dark spot.
How to Make Granny’s Homemade Vodka Starch
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tsp of cornstarch or maizena
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vodka
- Essential oils (optional).
I love adding lavender or something citrusy. It always smells so fresh and clean.
Here’s an interesting fact. I always thought that vodka was made from potatoes. Apparently not. Most vodkas are made from barley or wheat. Go figure. So you’re basically drinking fermented bread. 😀 Anyhows, here’s how to make some homemade vodka starch:
- Mix the cornstarch with the water and whisk until smooth and lump-free.
- Place the mixture on a stovetop and bring it to a boil while stirring continuously. Cook until the mixture turns cloudy and opaque (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool. You can skip this step if you don’t mind shaking the mixture before you use it
- Pour a few drops of essential oils into the vodka and then add it to the water-cornstarch mixture. The essential oils aren’t really necessary, but it does make the starch smell so divine. You can also use a fabric softener instead of oils.
- Carefully pour the mixture into a spray bottle, and it’s ready to use.
Spray both sides of the little macrame trees with starch. Wait a couple of seconds for it to sink into the fibers and then press lightly using an iron until dry to the touch.
Finishing Off and Decorating
Trim the edges to form a tree shape and decorate to suit your decor. For these, I made some starry flowers with jewelry wire and wrapped them around the top of the twig. You can also make a WhoVille-inspired topping if you prefer.
Aren’t they cute? I love simple, handmade crafts like this.
And since they’re so easy to do, you can make a whole bunch and use them as ornaments. Or hang a few from some driftwood to create a lovely, boho styled bit of wall décor. They look so good with the geometric Christmas trees we made a few weeks ago.
How would you use them? I would love to know.
If you like the idea, don’t forget to pin it for later
Oh and if you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more amazing craft ideas to share with you 😉
Until next time, hope you have a beautiful, creative week.
What a fun craft. I love all our your projects and this one is right near the top of my list. Your’e so creative and take excellent photos which is so helpful. Have a very Merry Christmas
Awwwwww Brooke, thank you and a very Merry Christmas to you too.
These are adorable Michelle, I love everything about them. Macrame is on my list of projects to try, but I have never got there yet. You have inspired me.
I bet you’ll take macrame to a whole new level, Anita
So dang cute, Michelle! I love that macramé has come back, as well. Using a rustic stick is so perfect to go with the soft yarn. The contrast is perfection!
Thanks so much, Meegan. I’m really glad it’s a thing again too 😉
These are so cute! I bet they would look great in any color
They definitely would 😉
Michelle, these are adorable and I loved listening to the song while I watched the tutorial. Thank you and Merry Christmas ♥️?♥️
And Merry Christmas to all of you too Deana ❤
Hey, Michelle, this is a fab craft to do with older kids. It looks simple enough that I could try it, too. I’d likely use store-made starch, though 😀
This one is definitely super easy and the results are so pretty even if you use store-bought starch 😉 😀
These are ADORABLE! And love the info on the Vodka starch, who knew?!?!?
🙂 Pinned.
😉 Grans know all these secret recipes that still work like a charm.
These are super cute. I haven’t dipped my toe into the macrame pool yet. By the time I do, it will probably be passed – lol! I’d love a tutorial on how you bent your wire stars 🙂
The little macrame trees are a great way to dip those toes of your Sara 😉 and I’ll make a plan to share a tutorial on the wire star toppers. We do have one for a BIG wire star, which might help. You can find that one here – https://acraftymix.com/blog/diy-star-wreath-frame-any-size/
Can I somehow skip the vodka from the recipe? What is the use of vodka if I may ask? Sorry this is an honest question. Can i just use starch and water alone?
Of course you can Riinoa, normal store-bought starch will work perfectly. You could also use rubbing alcohol instead of the vodka, but it tends to smell very “medical” even if you add essential oils. The medicinal smell is quite overpowering and vodka doesn’t really have a smell. The vodka helps thin the mixture down and depending on the type you use it’s a natural starch too. The vodka also acts as a preservative so the homemade starch doesn’t get all moldy and gunky if you don’t use it all.
I love the ornament. It is so cute and looks easy to do. Totally adorable.
Thanks so much Debra
Nice idea for Christmas tree ornament! Thank you!
❣ noooooooooo, you just made my day. I love watching your macrame videos, thank you so much
Well Michelle, I can’t promise not to take a little nip here and there. Never heard of using vodka for starch. Great video tutorial – love the music! It’s been a long time since I did macrame but I think I could make these adorable trees.
A little nip or two never hurt anyone 😀 and yes, you can so make these little trees
Oh my Goodness Michelle, I can’t get over these adorable, beautiful little trees!! What a great idea, I must try! I don’t have vodka at hand, but Maizena 😉 Thank you for the beautiful craft idea!!!
Yay, so happy you like them Katrin and you’re going to have loads of fun making them too. If you don’t have vodka and clear spirits will probably work, since most of them are either made from sugar or wheat ?
They are so cute and beautiful! Well done! Many thanks for the Homemade Vodka Starch recipe. It would make a huge difference to my crochet ornaments!
So happy you like them Katerina and the vodka starch will work like a charm on those beautiful crochet ornaments of yours
I thought vodka was made from potatoes as well. I also have a recipe for sugar starch but not vodka starch. Good to know.
I did lots of macrame years ago, really super large projects, but haven’t been able to get into again other than for plant hangers. The tassels look messy to me. Weird eh? But these little trees are perfect with their fringe. Very cute DIY ornament.
Oh I’d love to see some of the things you made Leanna if you still have them
Michelle this is such a great video! The instructions are concise and easy to understand. I love how your little trees turned out. I can just imagine a bunch of them on a big tree like ornaments. That would be a boho’s dream come true!
Thanks so much Mary and all the credit for the video goes to Talea. She was my camera woman and did a great job❣
She certainly did!! <3
😀
Your macramé Christmas trees are adorable! I remember years ago I use to make those macrame plant hangers and had thought of trying to make something again.
My mom also made those plant hangers, I wonder where they are ? I hope you do make some more stuff Linda. I would love to see it
What a creative idea. I love these little Christmas trees. I’ve only ever drunk Vodka before not used it for crafting!
Thanks so much Claire
Thanks so much for for stopping by and for your Congrats for my son and daughter-in-law!!
Hugs,
Debbie
It’s a pleasure Debbie and I’m so happy for you all. They make such a lovely couple
I’ve seen people make macrame feathers in a similar way, but never thought of changing the shape to make trees. What a lovely idea
Thanks so much Noleen. I love those macrame feathers, they’re beautiful and you’re right the Christmas trees are a variation
These are fabulous, Michelle! I’ll definitely make some today to add them to the Christmas package for my SIL and I’ll as well make some for myself. Thank you so much for this great idea!
PS: Unfortunaltely your blogposts haven’t shown up on Bloglovin for some weeks now.
Thanks so much Julia ❣ I’m sure your SIL is going to love getting them in her package.
WRT Bloglovin I have no idea why that happens, I’ll have to see if any of my settings have changed. Thanks for letting me know