How to Knot Photos into a Macrame Display Without Clips or Separate Frames

Each photo hangs from its own group of four strands. The two middle strands pass through the photo’s upper holes, continue down its back, and emerge through its lower holes. Stopper knots behind the upper holes support the print. The two outside strands remain beside the photo and form square knots below it.

The four-hole cord route comes from Homey Oh My’s original photo-hanging tutorial, which threads yarn through the front of the upper holes and through the back of the lower holes. That arrangement keeps most of the cord behind the image. DIY Modern Photo Wall Hanging

For this version, each four-strand group carries only one photo. That makes it easier to adjust the height of one print without reworking the others. Before preparing all three photos, build one complete section with a scrap-card substitute to check the hole size, knot size, and spacing.

For the suggested three-photo layout, gather:

• Three landscape prints, approximately 15 × 10 cm, preferably with blank borders.
• One smooth wooden dowel, approximately 55 cm long.
• Six lengths of approximately 1 mm cotton cord, each 1.8 m long.
• One separate length of cord for the hanging loop, approximately 80 cm long.
• A small hole punch, ruler, pencil, scissors, and scrap card.
• Adhesive hole-reinforcement rings that fit within the photo borders.

These cord lengths allow room for a short knotted header, the photo, and a fringe. Cord thickness, knot tension, and extra decoration change consumption, so complete the scrap-card trial before cutting shorter lengths for a modified design.

A useful width calculation is: combined photo widths + gaps between photos + end margins. With three 15 cm prints, two 2 cm gaps, and two 3 cm end margins, the result is 55 cm. These are illustrative dimensions; measure your actual prints before choosing the dowel.

Fine cord is the starting choice here because it must pass through small holes and form compact knots. Test the actual cord and punch together. A hole should admit the strand easily, while the finished stopper knot must remain larger than the opening.

Make a scrap-card rectangle the same size as a print. Mark four hole centers, one near each corner, initially about 10 mm in from both adjoining edges. Keep every hole entirely within a blank border where possible. If the image extends to the edges, decide where the holes will fall before punching.

Punch the template, place it over each print, and transfer the positions. Matching left and right hole heights matters more than following the suggested inset exactly. A shared template also keeps the three prints visually consistent.

Add reinforcement rings to the backs of the holes, aligning their openings with the punched holes. Persnickety Prints uses reinforcement stickers behind punched photo holes to strengthen the attachment points in its photo-banner tutorial. Tutorial: 10 Minute DIY Photo Banner

For a narrow border, reduce the image area when preparing a new print rather than squeezing a hole against the paper edge. This method makes permanent openings and leaves cord in contact with the print; use a reproduction when you want the original to remain unchanged.

Fold each of the six long cords in half and attach it to the dowel with a lark’s head knot: place the folded loop around the dowel, pass both loose ends through the loop, and draw them snug. Each folded cord produces two hanging strands. The maker’s tutorial at Macraming documents this mounting sequence. How To Tie a Macrame Lark’s Head Knot

Arrange the attachments into three pairs. Each pair now supplies four strands for one photo. Position the pairs roughly above the centers of your planned photo locations, leaving their final placement adjustable.

Working on one group, number its strands from left to right: 1, 2, 3, and 4. Strands 2 and 3 are the middle strands; strands 1 and 4 do the knotting. Make a square knot as follows:

1. Cross strand 1 over the two middle strands and under strand 4.
2. Pass strand 4 behind the middle strands and forward through the loop on the left. Tighten evenly.
3. Cross the right outside strand over the middle strands and under the left outside strand.
4. Pass the left outside strand behind the middle strands and forward through the loop on the right. Tighten evenly.

Those two mirrored halves make one complete square knot. Repeat for a short header of three complete square knots. Gathered’s illustrated instructions show the same alternating sequence. Beginner’s Guide to Basic Macrame Knots

Make the same header on the other two groups. Keep their upper knots at matching heights, but leave the cord below them loose until you fit the photos.

Lay the first photo face up below its header. Spread the two middle strands toward the upper holes: strand 2 goes to the left hole and strand 3 to the right. Move the outside strands clear of the image.

Thread each middle strand from front to back through its upper hole. Leave enough space above the print for the strands to spread naturally from the header. They should form relaxed diagonals rather than pulling the upper corners inward.

On each middle strand, tie a stopper knot immediately behind and below the upper hole. Start with a double overhand: form a loop in the strand, pass its free end through that loop twice, and tighten the knot. Keep the photo supported while positioning it.

Check each stopper against the scrap-card hole before relying on it. If it can pass through, retie it as a bulkier multiple-overhand knot by passing the end through the loop an additional time. If the enlarged knot still passes through, use a smaller punch on a fresh test card and repeat the fit check before preparing another print.

Bring the two middle strands down the back of the photo. Thread each one through its corresponding lower hole from back to front. This follows the front-to-back upper entry and back-to-front lower exit documented in the original four-hole photo hanging. DIY Modern Photo Wall Hanging

Lift the dowel slightly while supporting the print. Let the upper stopper knots take its weight, then check that the top edge is level. Adjust one stopper’s position if necessary. Leave the lower cord runs relaxed enough for the photo to lie flat.

Bring the outside strands down beside the photo’s left and right edges. Below the print, gather all four strands back into their original order and tie two complete square knots, using the outside strands around the middle pair. Leave a visible gap beneath the photo so the lower knots do not pull its corners together.

Repeat for the remaining photos. Finish fitting and leveling each print before trimming any cord.

Tie one end of the separate hanging cord around each end of the dowel with two half hitches. To make them, wrap the end around the dowel, take it around its own standing cord, and pass it through the resulting loop; repeat that hitch once more. Adjust the loop until the dowel hangs level.

Suspend the display from an existing suitable wall hook. Slide the three attachment groups along the dowel until the gaps look even. Check the print heights while the piece is hanging, because the final arrangement is easier to judge vertically than flat on a table.

Trim the four tails below each photo to a matching length, such as 8–12 cm. Straight tails keep the finish simple. Leave enough cord below the last knots to grasp when you want to untie them.

What you see	What to check	What to change
One upper corner sits lower	The two upper stopper positions	Support the print and reposition the lower stopper upward.
The photo bows inward	Tension in the lower cord runs and outside strands	Untie the lower square knots and remake them farther below the print.
A stopper enters its hole	Knot size relative to the opening	Stop fitting the photo and repeat the scrap-card test with a bulkier knot or smaller hole.
The header twists	Whether both halves of each square knot were mirrored	Undo the twisting section and alternate the starting side.
The gaps look uneven	Attachment positions on the dowel	Slide each pair of lark’s head knots together until the spacing matches.

Repeated half knots made from the same side produce a spiral; alternating the two halves produces the flat square-knot sequence used here. Gathered demonstrates both structures, which helps diagnose a header that keeps turning. Beginner’s Guide to Basic Macrame Knots

To replace a photo, support it, undo the square knots underneath, and withdraw the two middle strands from the lower holes. Untie the upper stopper knots, then pull the strands out of the upper holes. Prepare the replacement with the same template and repeat the attachment sequence.

Start with one scrap-card section, settle the fit, and then repeat it for the three prints. Level upper knots, relaxed cord runs, and consistent spacing give the finished display its shape while keeping the photographs easy to see.

• DIY Modern Photo Wall Hanging — Homey Oh My
• Tutorial: 10 Minute DIY Photo Banner — Persnickety Prints
• How To Tie a Macrame Lark’s Head Knot — Macraming
• Beginner’s Guide to Basic Macrame Knots — Gathered