Macrame belt

In each Larp be it a LAC (live Action Combat) or a Fantasy LARP like NERO there grows many customs, cultures and things that are unique to those games.

Macramé and Woven Belts

Less sturdy but often times more colorful then leather belts, macramé belts and woven belts are a common addition to any Amtgard wardrobe. This essay will compare the two methods, as well as provide instructions as to their crafting.

Macramé Cord

Macramé cord comes in a variety of styles, from braided to twisted, and in various sizes. The most ideal for Amtgard belts is probably Bonnie Braid 6mm cord, Available in 100 yard bundles for around $7.59 each. It can be found in most craft stores, although many stores carry a limited selection of colors. It is sometimes necessary to check a number of stores before finding one with a wider selection. The cord is made in solid colors in every shade you can imagine, as well as many two- and three- colored mixtures A good online resources to check availability of colors (as well as purchase cord) is www.macramesuperstore.com. A money saving tip, Hobby Lobby has a 40% off cupon on their website each week, their color selection isn't great.

Caring for Macramé Cord

Most macramé cord is washable, although if you are using a variety with metallic threads you will want to be a bit more careful: metallic fibers tend to stretch easily and will not spring back into shape. The safest method of washing a belt is by hand with a gentle detergent. Remember that colors bleed; if possible always test wash a small section of cords to check for color fastness.

Belt Rings

Belt rings can be found at most leathers stores as well as some craft stores (and many home improvement stores, look for Welded rings) Rings come in a variety of sizes and are usually found in silver or gold color, although there are also solid plastic rings in many colors that work just as well (and can add to the overall theme of the belt).

Woven Belts vs. Macramé Belts

One source defines macramé this way: “Macramé is the craft of tying or knotting cords in a geometric pattern…” Another state: “A coarse lace, made by weaving and knotting cords…to make knotted patterns”. Although both woven and knotted belts are referred to as “Macramé” belts within Amtgard, Only belts that including knotting are technically considered to be macramé.
Woven belts require no knots other then to finish the belt, are less time consuming and require less cord in their making. The drawbacks are that the finished belts are less durable and more prone to stretching and loosening of the cords as time goes by. A woven belt can be finished in a relatively quick time frame, and is very easy to learn.
Macramé Belts, by comparison represent a much larger time investment and use more than three times the cord that a woven belt does. However, macramé belts are sturdier, last longer and are less prone to loosening and stretching.

Woven Belts

There are many different patterns possible when weaving a belt; using different color combinations and patterns can produce a variety of styles. We will concentrate on the most common pattern here.
1.To begin you will need cord, a belt ring and scissors. We will assume for teaching purposes that you will be making a single colored belt in white.
2.Cut six cords of white. Each cord should be a little more than three times (3x) the length of the finished belt. It is always a good idea to cut the cords a bit longer, the ends can always be trimmed later.
3.Fold the first cord exactly in half. Tie it to the belt ring as show below. Hold the loop made when you fold the cord in half behind the ring, then pass ends through the loop.
(see fig A B C D )

This knot is called a “Lark’s head” and is the most common way to attach cord to a ring or frame to begin a project. Repeat the process to tie the other cords to the belt ring.
4.Lay out the ring on the table, or hook it over a fairly immovable object at comfortable level. (hooking the ring on something is the best way to get a tight weave as you progress.) Arrange the cords so that they lay as flat as possible, side by side.
5.Take the left most cord, and weave it under the second cord, over the third cord, under the fourth cord, and so on until it has passed over or under all the cords.
This cord now becomes the right hand cord. (See Fig A Below)


6.Take the new left most cord, and repeat the process, beginning by going under the first cord and over the second, and so on until this cord is now on the right side (see fig B below).



7.You will want to stop every few layer to tighten the weave. You can do this by taking the entire top” cords (those lying on top of the last cord that was woven through) in one hand and the “Bottom” cords (those lying underneath the last cord that was woven through) and pulling them apart to tighten the weave.
8.Finishing the belt is discussed at the end, as methods are similar for both woven and macramé belts.

Macramé Belts

Even more so than woven belts, tying knots in different directions using different colors can produce a variety of patterns. A neat feature of knotted belts is that they are reversible, but will have a slightly different pattern on each side of the belt. The following pattern will create a two colored, symmetrical pattern that is reversible.
1.To begin, you will need cord, a belt ring and scissors. We will assume for teaching purposes that you will be making a two-colored belt in black and white.
2. Cut two black cords and three white cords. Each cord should be ten times (10x) the length of the finished belt. It is always a good idea to cut the cords a bit longer; the ends can always be trimmer later.

3.Fold each cord in half. Tie the cords to the ring using the lark’s head knot as discussed in the woven belt section, in this order: Black, white, white, white, black. For ease of identification, we will number the strands from left to right (see Fig. M0)

4.Each knot uses four strands: Two outer strands, and two inner most strands that you are tying the outer strands around. Move the four left-most cords slightly to the side to separate them from the others; these will become part of your first knot. (Strands 1,2,3 & 4)
5.Take strand 1, pass it under strands 2 and 3, and over strand 4. (see Fig M1)
6.Take strand 4, pass it over strands 3 and 2 and tuck it through the loop and over strand 1. (see Fig M2) tighten the knot (not shown).
7.Take strand 4, pass it over 2 & 3 and under strand 1 (See Fig M3). Take strand 1, pass it under 2 & 3 through the loop, and over 4 (see Fig M4). Tighten knot. This completes a full knot, or a square knot.

8.Tie another square knot using strands 7 through 10, but in opposite direction. take strand 10, pass it under strands 8 & 9 and over strand 7 (see Fig M5).
9.Take strand 7; pass it over strands 8 & 9, and through the loop under strand 10(see Fig M6) Tighten.
10.Take strand 7, pass it over strands 8 & 9 and under strand 10 (see Fig M7)
11.Take strand 10, pass it under strands 8 & 9, through the loop and over strand 7 (See Fig M8). Tighten



12.You will now have two square knots, one on each side. Finish the row by tying a Knot using strands 4, 5, 6, and 7 to make a center knot. Throughout the belt, you can tie all center knots in the same direction if you prefer, or you can alternate them, first passing the strands to the left for one knot, then to the right for the next creating an alternating center knot.
13.This completes one row of the belt. You should then proceed to repeat the process for the entire length of the belt, first tying a knot on the left then the right, and finally in the center for each row. This can be a fairly long process, so be sure to always end by tying a center knot when you decide to stop, so that when you come back to it you will remember where to start again.
14.Finishing the belt is discussed next, as methods are similar for both woven and macramé belts.

Finishing the Belt

There many ways to finish the belt; you can simply take all the cords and tie them in a knot, then trim the ends. Another option is to wrap one cord around the others many times, then secure it by pulling it through the wrap and tying it off (this is called a wrap knot , See Figure W1 below); this is also a matter of taste. Experimentation will produce other methods.

Sealing the ends of the cord is a good idea, as they will fray. The easiest method is to apply heat to the ends using a lighter or matches to melt the threads together. This needs to be done carefully and with a light hand when working with lighter colored cords, as they will scorch and blacken the ends if too much heat is applied. It is a good idea to experiment with this when using white cords with some spare lengths to discover the right amount of heat. Another method is to seal the ends with hot wax, although this will eventually flake or chip off and need to be redone.

Both knotted and woven belts can be a fantastic addition to any Amtgard wardrobe, and as you can see, both can be learned in a fairly short period of time. Woven belts are much more common and there are a variety of possible patterns not covered here. Knotted belts are more rare due to the amount of work involved in creating them, and can be a truly standout piece of garb. Either is a useful skill to possess and pass on to others.

Huge Index of Friendship Bracelet Patterns

(which can be adapted to a belt)
http://www.steffe.se/fb/index.php
http://www.geocities.com/hbernb/

Macrame Terms and Slang

(as well as Knot explanation)
http://thisyearsdozen.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/how-to-macrame-a-basket/

Tutorial Links

http://www.free-macrame-patterns.com/
http://www.steffe.se/makrame/ommakrame.php?lang=Engelska
http://www.craftytips.com/macrame/
http://www.angelfire.com/ca7/sierratses/knots.html
http://www.northwestjournal.ca/sash.html
http://www.nativetech.org/finger/beltinstr.html

Alternative Macrame Belt

http://thisyearsdozen.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/how-to-macrame-a-belt/

Additional Images of Belts and Styles