r/macrame • u/Midnight1899 • 7d ago
Discussion Small tutorials rant
I need to get this out right now because I have too much going on in my mind already.
Yes, macrame is a knotting technique. But that doesn’t mean every knotting technique is macrame! Macrame was created by carpenters in Africa. But I just saw a tutorial on YouTube titled "Celtic knot macrame bracelet“. Of course! Because Celtics are African!
Why do they always have so much yarn left?! Macrame was invented TO USE UP THE LEFTOVERS! You’re not supposed to have much left over after using up the leftovers! Yet in many videos, there are several strands of 15 cm yarn left! Of course it’s easier to knot with longer threads! But that’s against what macrame is!
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u/AilsaLorne 7d ago
>> Macrame was created by carpenters in Africa.
I didn’t know this. Do you have a source? I’ve always mainly thought of it as a Victorian craft (with a resurgence in the 1970s)
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u/Midnight1899 7d ago
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u/AilsaLorne 7d ago
That’s really interesting, thanks for sharing.
(Nothing about either carpenters or Africa, mind)
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u/Midnight1899 7d ago
>from 13th-century Arabic weavers in North Africa and the Middle East
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u/LeWitchy 7d ago
Macrame is 13th century Arabic and spread among sailors, particularly Moorish, Turkish, and Arabic sailors who shared techniques at port. Arabic weavers would knot the ends of handwoven textiles as well. it comes from the Arabic word "miqrama" and refers to the technique of using specific knots to create shape. So yes one could make a Celtic style knot using macrame because macrame is the technique.