DIY Macrame Ghosts (aka Rope Ghost)

This macrame ghost is a cute and simple Dollar Tree craft that can be made in minutes for less than $3, so each ghost can have a friend!

The weekend started like any other: with a list of projects 3 miles long that would take Superman and his lovely wife Superwoman half a century to finish. But my babes wouldn’t be my babes if she didn’t think Grand and try to fit eternity into a day.

Of course when it comes to Handan, there’s always room for one more.

Day booked solid from sunrise to midnight? No problem! Here’s another project to do oh and by the way I need it now and please make the TikTok so we can post it by this afternoon and then I’m going to get it on Pinterest oh and you can post it on Instagram too and then yeah can you take me to Dollar Tree in Panama City?

Such was my Saturday. I dragged my aging carcass out of bed and pondered the day ahead. Let’s see, there were projects and then a little break for some work, then more projects and a few work-related activities and then catching up on some more work.

As I pinballed my way to the coffee try to make sense of my fate, I heard the call.

“Hey Babes!” It woke me up faster than a quad-shot triple-caff X-tra-presso.

The idea factory inside my babes’ head has been stuck in overdrive for the past couple of months, and the resulting workload has left me in a perpetual fog. Most of the time, I don’t even know what day of the kneecap it is.

Well this Saturday, I had to rearrange my schedule to fit the Latest and Greatest idea to bloom inside Handan’s brain: a macrame ghost.

When I heard it, I had to agree it was a good one.

And the best part? No trip to Dollar Tree or anywhere else was needed, because we already had the supplies to make this macrame ghost!

Now before you go all Webster’s Dictionary on me and lecture me on how this isn’t macrame, I’m just gonna stop you there. I know it isn’t macrame. And you know what else it isn’t? It isn’t a ghost either. Everyone knows real ghosts live under your bed and only come out when you’re asleep to play with your toes.

So let’s all agree to call it a macrame ghost because it looks like a macrame ghost. But if you’re dead-set against that, may I suggest an alternative? Since this little rope ghost has a bohemian vibe going on, we can say he’s a booho ghost.

Enough yapping, let’s make a macrame ghost!

DIY MACRAME GHOST VIDEO Tutorial

Watch our short and fun video below for an overview of our DIY macrame ghosts before you read the detailed step-by-step tutorial.

DIY Macrame Ghost Tutorial

Step 1 – Cut foam board

I cut a half circle with an 7 1/4-inch diameter into a piece of foam board. You can also use cardboard or any other stiff, cut-able material. You may want to make yours 8 inches and trim down at the end just to be safe. I found an X-Acto knife worked better than scissors on the foam board.

Step 2 – Arrange the first rope

Make sure you’re getting the 10mm (0.4″) diameter rope from Dollar Tree – they sell different sizes.

Double the rope over twice to get 4 strands of equal length.

Arrange the rope on the foam board as shown below.

Step 3 – Arrange the second rope

Fold the second rope into 5 equal lengths.

And then nestle them inside the first rope as shown below.

Make everything tidy and even out any uneven strands.

Step 4 – Glue the rope

Starting with the innermost strand pair, peel it back, squeeze hot glue onto the foam board and then return the rope to its place.

Repeat this with all the strands, making sure to nestle them snugly against one another.

The foam was the perfect size, as the last row of rope overhangs it slightly.

If you have excess foam board, now is the time to trim it so the rope overhangs slightly.

Step 5 – Cut the loops

Next, I cut the loops at the bottom of my macrame ghost.

Step 6 – Untwist the strands

I untwisted each strand of rope to get 3 smaller strands.

Step 7 – Trim

I trimmed the bottom edge with scissors. If you’re feeling saucy, you can give him a wavy bottom.

Step 8 – Make eyes and mouth

I cut eyes and a mouth from black felt. If you don’t have felt, you can use any black fabric. If you don’t have any fabric on hand, you could always paint them on or use adhesive vinyl.

The final step was to glue the eyes and mouth in place.

Okay, let’s see these little ropey rascals on the wall!

I hung them with Command Strips.

Handan has informed me that these are the cutest ghosts ever.

Ever.

There are no ghosts cuter than these. None. This is the final word on the matter.

My babes has spoken.