Last June, I went home to France for a weekend and had an unexpected crush: a senecio radicans (or string of bananas). The crush was so hard, that I brought it back in my carry on on the plane and made a plant hanger for it. I hung it in the corner of our kitchen and sadly it didn’t like it. I guess not enough light. Sob. After trying every trick in the ‘google my string of bananas is dying help’ search, I of course came to the rather obvious decision that what was left of it had to be moved to a sunnier position.
The sunnier position is at the front of the house so I had to pick some new yarn to match the warmer decor. The True Blood Red was a perfect match with the antique Persian rug in our sitting room and a lovely pop against our beige walls.
I had 2 IKEA pots in the cupboard so I re-potted the healthy bits of the string of bananas in succulent soil and gathered what I needed to make the hangers:
- True blood red Jersey Be Good from WOOL AND THE GANG (this unique t-shirt yarn is made from recycled factory off-cuts)
- A measuring tape, scissors, sellotape and 2 brass ceiling hooks (I also used a glass which I forgot to include in the photo)
I started by cutting 8 lengths of the yarn. I cut 2m long lengths but it depends on where you’re hanging your plant from, if your yarn is stretchy or not, and if you want a long tassel at the bottom. Of course you can cut it down after but you can’t add length so if in doubt, go long.
Then knot the lengths together. I wanted quite a long tassel.
Separate the lengths into 4 and do 4 knots about 1 inch from the big knot. Make sure you pull tight throughout the process as the weight of the plant – when hanging – will pull on the hanger so it’s best to get it all tight and in the right place to avoid surprises when you hang it up. Then secure the tassel to the middle of the base of the pot or bowl you are using with sellotape. As my pots already had the plants in them, I found a glass which was a similar size and used that.
Take a length from 2 neighbouring knots and knot them together. Sellotaping as you go along makes it much easier.
Depending on the size of the pot or bowl you are using, carry on knotting lengths from neighbouring knots until you reach the edge of the container.
At this stage I had done enough knots and removed it from the glass and transferred it to the pot. If you have made it on the pot directly, just remove the sellotape. Once the hanging hooks were in the ceiling, I then took some time to get the hangers straight with equal length yarns. It takes a few minutes but you only have to do it once. Et voilà! The perfect addition to my entrance hall and hopefully – please all cross your fingers for me – a happier spot for the plants.
Small aside: I found this mirror in my local charity shop for £6. The perfect match for our Dulux European White walls (my favourite beige paint).
Doing this meant that my original plant hanger in the kitchen was left empty. So I got a lovely cascading ivy for it. Hopefully it will prefer this darker spot.
Feeling all the plant love and counting down the days until Spring.
Happy making!
