Whether you’re a fellow macrame artist wanting to switch to a natural fibre or you’re shopping The Ai & The Fly online, I’m here to help you figure out which macrame string is the best choice for you.
I’ll start with the one I began my macrame journey with…
Macrame string 1: Linhasita Waxed Polyester
Who would wanna wear/use it?
– Anyone who’s rough on their jewellery and wants to be able to put it on and leave it on.
– Beginner macrame-ers
Pros
– Strong
– Durable
– Waterproof
– Easy for beginners to create with
Cons
– Synthetic, plastic based fibre
Needs maintenance/specific care instructions?
No
Ask any macrame jewellery artist which macrame string they use and chances are that Linhasita waxed polyester will be at the top of the list. It’s designed specifically as micro macrame string for jewellery making and its strong, durable and waterproof. It’s so durable that you can pretty much put it on and leave it on while swimming, showering etc with no worries about harming it’s longevity.
If you’re pretty rough on your jewellery and don’t like to take it off, this might be the best choice for you. It’s also the macrame string I’d recommend for anyone new to making as it’s significantly easier than the natural fibres to undo knots if you make a mistake, and also much easier to finish off as, being a synthetic (ie. plastic based) string, it melts.
If such a user friendly, high quality, long lasting macrame string exists in such a stunning array of earthy tones, why on earth would you bother with anything else?
Well, does anyone else feel a little uncomfortable about binding beautiful, earth-made stones oozing with natural healing powers with a plastic based string? It certainly didn’t feel right to me to create jewellery pieces with the intention of honouring our connection with Mother Earth, all the while using copious amounts of plastic based synthetic string.
So, my search for the ideal natural macrame string for my jewellery began. First stop was hemp.
Macrame String 2: Hemptique Hemp String
Who would wanna wear/use it?
– Anyone looking for the most eco-sustainable jewellery option
Pros
– Eco sustainable and natural (even more so when it’s eco dyed with natural dyes and mordants)
– Hypoallergenic
Cons
– Delicate – not to be worn in water
– If you’re a maker, the finishing process is more involved, as natural fibres don’t melt
Needs maintenance/specific care instructions?
Yes, care instructions provided
What’s not to love about hemp? It’s incredibly eco-sustainable, hypoallergenic and one of the strongest natural fibres. While Hemptique is great string, I didn’t love the choice of colours it came in. It seemed like a bit of a catch: I could use polyester string and get beautiful earthy tones, or use beautiful earthy hemp string and get a basic set of fairly bright, saturated colours. Going from about 5 or 6 choices of brown to 2 – this struggle was real for me!
This led me to rediscover my passion for eco-dyeing. I bought a batch of natural un-dyed Hemptique string and dyed it myself using all manner of locally foraged plant materials and kitchen scraps (a post topic for another time perhaps). The result was a stunningly earthy palette of string that was not only kind to the earth, but also created a really strong bond between myself as the artist, the natural fibre and the natural landscape in which it came to life – and all before I even started creating any jewellery with it. I couldn’t have been happier.
However, over time and trial and error I realised that, while hemp might be the strongest natural fibre, it wasn’t when it was 0.5mm thick macrame string. It’s delicate, especially when it’s been eco dyed. It’s not to be worn in water, it’s not to be shoved in the bottom of your handbag. It demands to be honoured and treated with the utmost respect. If you’re rough on your jewellery or like to wear it in water/forget to take it off, I don’t recommend hemp for you. If you’re happy to treat it like a prized new linen dress with very specific care instructions, then I’m confident it’ll be among the most eco sustainable and love infused macrame jewellery you could own.
All in all, I love the eco dyed hemp, but it’s not for everyone. I wanted an option that you could be a little more carefree with. Enter,
Macrame String 3: Crawford’s Waxed Irish Linen
Who would want to wear/use it?
– Anyone who believes it’s important to buy natural fibres over synthetic ones
Pros
– Eco sustainable and natural
– Strong and durable when treated correctly
– Many designs can be worn in water with proper maintenance
Cons
– Wearing in water will shorten its lifespan and may cause fading
– Not quite as strong as polyester
– If you’re a maker, the finishing process is more involved, as natural fibres don’t melt
– It’s the more expensive option for macrame string. (As a maker I have increased my prices across the board: the price of my polyester pieces subsidises the cost of my linen pieces. I chose to do this rather than make linen the more expensive option as I’d prefer to discourage the sale of polyester and encourage people to try linen instead)
Needs maintenance/specific care instructions?
Yes, care instructions provided
Linen is a natural fibre from the flax plant. Crawford’s waxed Irish Linen is 100% natural fibre, sealed with wax to aid durability. It’s designed as a bookbinding thread but it comes in a pretty great variety of colours (not quite the extent of the Linhasita palette, but that’s a hard one to beat). I’ve found this linen string to be strong, durable and have a great finish (albeit without the ease of melting string).
Durability wise it sits somewhere between the polyester and hemp. Depending on the design, some pieces can be worn in water if desired though fading of colours may occur. Ideally, it gets taken off before you jump in, if not, no big deal. It does need occasional maintenance, and each piece of linen jewellery from The Ai & The Fly comes with care instructions and a small piece of beeswax, carefully sourced from a local, small scale beekeeper.
It’s not the throw on and go kind of jewellery that can be created with polyester, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s jewellery made to honour nature, made with natural materials that are kind to the earth. It needs to be treated with care and respect, just like our planet.
I think as a society we’ve gotten really used to being able to easily and cheaply replace things we’ve neglected to take care of properly. I know I’m definitely guilty of this. In switching to making my jewellery primarily with linen string (and eco dyed hemp) I’m casting my vote for the kind of world I wanna be a part of. Switching primarily to linen string hasn’t been without its compromises, but they’ve all been ones I’m absolutely willing to make.
I continue to use polyester for certain designs (mainly anklets and bracelets or on request) and in certain parts of my linen and hemp necklaces where needed to ensure durability.
There’s more to come on this journey…being more selective about where I source my stones and shifting my focus to Australian fossicked stones is next on my mission to be the most earth friendly macrame jewellery on offer.
I am not affiliated with any outbound links on this page. They are simply suppliers of each string that I use and trust.