Macramé cord length & spool calculator

How to plan your cuts

1. Count whole lengths to cut. A centered folded piece gives two hanging legs.
2. Use a pattern cut length, or enter knotted length and a measured or custom consumption factor.
3. Choose a physical cutting increment; add optional identical spool length to inspect a cutting plan.

What you can calculate

• Separate working, filler and wrapping groups without assuming their consumption is the same.
• Sample-based estimates, whole-piece allowances and upward rounding for each cut.
• A feasible first-fit decreasing spool plan with individual leftovers.

Lengths, folds and sample factors

For one leg, multiply the finished knotted-section length K by factor M, then add unknotted length U, including fringe. For a centered fold, multiply this leg amount by two. Add mounting allowance A once per whole piece, apply the extra percentage once, then round that piece upward.

To measure M, mark one representative leg before knotting. Divide the cord incorporated into a finished knotted sample by that sample’s finished knotted length. Exclude loose tails and attachment. Use another sample for filler cords or a different knot pattern.

A pattern’s full known cut length is already a continuous piece length. It is rounded upward to the selected increment without applying the estimate settings again.

Worked cutting and spool examples

Eight centered folded pieces with K=50 cm, U=10 cm, M=4, A=10 cm and 10% extra produce 4.73 m cuts at a 1 cm increment: 37.84 m altogether. Four 10 m spools hold two cuts each and leave 0.54 m on each.

Three 6 m pieces need three 10 m spools, even though 18÷10 rounds to two: the 4 m remainders cannot be joined. Adding three 4 m pieces of the same material fills those three spools.

A required 10.01 m piece rounded to 1 cm cannot come from a 10 m spool. The cut list remains valid while the purchase plan is unavailable.

Limits of this estimate

A factor is an estimate, not a knot standard. Pattern instructions and a representative sample take priority; cord material, thickness and tension affect consumption.

The spool method sorts cuts longest first and puts each in the earliest spool where it fits. It gives a feasible plan, not a mathematical minimum. New identical spools and zero kerf are assumed.

This tool does not infer cord count from project width or assess load strength. Do not treat a plant hanger result as a safety rating.

How this calculation handles your data

The calculator performs its arithmetic in this browser component. It does not save labels or measurements or send them to a server. Other page services may make ordinary requests.