I realized that I had a free substitute for the thin dowel I tried to use for a large macrame hanging: a branch from the yard. Not only do we have copious available branches, naturally shaped wood looks really nice with macrame. I even had a nice long cedar branch that I had cut a few months ago that didn’t work for the project at the time, that had been sitting out and curing. I stripped off the bark, which is much easier after the rain when the bark is wet, then let the wood dry. I used an oscillating spindle sander to get the remaining traces of bark removed, then sealed it with several applications of Howard’s Feed-n-Wax.

Transferring the cotton cord from the dowel to the branch wasn’t difficult once I used some spare cord to tie it up above the dowel. Larks head knots are very stable, but very easy to remove.

I left the old thin dowel hanging as a pattern line, and added a couple more guide lines to the wall using washi tape.

Now I have to settle on my macrame pattern. I initially intended a simple all-over grid, but my ideas keep getting fancier and I’m thinking of pockets and loops. Hm.