The New Macrame: Contemporary Knotted Jewelry & Accessories
The 1960s hippies have returned, adapting their wares to the millennium. Last year's fashions with beribboned jeans and Indian inspirations presaged the re-emergence of macrame, as documented in DuMont's book. Here, 15 artists from the U.S. and Australia contribute to the making of knots for the twenty-first century, using new materials with old techniques to create eminently practical and stylish objects. The author begins with a historical overview, pointing out the craft's origins in thirteenth-century Turkey and its popularity among Victorian England households. With an emphasis on macrame's simplicity, she then turns to explaining basic knots (and their variations) in illustrations, color photographs, and words. At least half of the nearly 30 projects, with comprehensive directions, ensure that rank novices won't get tied up.Barbara Jacobs