I was in need of a belt to match some interesting fabric in some muted colors. After finding no ribbon in a coordinating pink (all the pink ribbons were too purple or too peachy) I went to the yarn department and finally found something new to me: recycled cotton Macrame by Lion Brand yarn. Macrame was big in the 70s and I have some books and patterns, so home I went with one spool of the thick and soft cord in the perfect pale pink.
My practice with any new fiber product is to play around with it and find out what the yarn or fabric wants to be. I braided a few strands, knotted a bit, and then tried crochet hooks in various sizes. I got best results with a size P (11.5mm) crochet hook. I ended up with 4 belts from that one spool.
From left to right I have:
- Braided belt for a child;
- Belt made in slip stitch crochet;
- Belt in slip stitch crochet around top and bottom of foundation chain; and
- Belt made with double crochet.
I think someone more experienced with knotting could make a nice macrame belt with this cord, but I found crochet with the big hook gave me similar results more quickly.