How To Make Macrame Earphones
The idea of wrapping earphones wire with yarn or embroidery floss isn’t new. Recently, I also found a brand called Happy Nes selling macrame earphones made with embroidery floss ranging from $25-$309. While I have always wanted to give this DIY a try, I never really had the need to. But when the wires of my earphones really began to disintegrate a few months ago, I decided to finally take action and make macrame earphones!
Although there’s a ton of DIY tutorials available online for making macrame headphones, none of them have the cute, feminine look that I like. So, I decided to give the ye olde macrame headphones a little #GwenstellaMade touch. Here’s my version of how to make macrame earphones!
How to make macrame earphones
Abbreviations
US Crochet Terminology
sl st - slip stitch
sc - single crochet
dc - double crochet
tr - treble crochet
ch - chain
Materials
- Blue yarn
- Nail polish coordinating colour
- Additional pink and green yarn for flowers + leaves
- Tapestry needle
- Crochet hook of an appropriate size
- Embroidered ribbon roses
- Needle and thread
The total yardage needed to wrap the entire length of the cord is not a lot. Anything that's about a quarter of a skein is more than enough. Obviously, this is a great stash buster project!
Steps
OPTIONAL: Remove all remaining pieces of plastic covering the earphones wire
I did this gently by hand. Since this soft, rubbery plastic was already at the end of its life, it was easy for me to peel the rest of the remaining bits off the cord.
If your earphones are completely fine and you are just looking at dressing up your earphones, then skip this step!
1: Paint hard plastic areas / ear buds with nail polish
Using masking tape, cover areas that you do not wish to paint over. For my headphones, I omitted painting the dark grey areas because my aim was to only cover the original bright green plastic.
2: Tie the simple square knot repeatedly over the entire length of the exposed wire
Here's a simple graphic I created on how to make the simple square knot. This knot is really easy to do once you get the hang of it.
In my opinion, this is the most time-consuming step. But this is also the perfect 'Netflix and Chill' or 'Sit Back and Pod' step.
3: Make crochet flowers
(Note: * denotes the start of the work)
Start with ch 20.
Then ch 1, sc in 2nd st from hook, (dc, tr, dc, sl st, sc) * rep until last st in row, sl st.
Break yarn and bind off.
Roll the strip of "petals" to create the shape of a rose and use the yarn tail to stitch the rose in place.
Repeat to make the desired number of roses. I made 4 roses.
4: Make crochet leaves
(Note: * denotes the start of the work)
Start with ch 7 (foundation chain).
Then, ch 1, make 1 sc in 2nd st from hook, 2sc, 3dc, 2sc.
Make another sc in the same st as the last sc in the previous step.
Turn work to start working on the underside of the foundation chain.
Make 2sc, 3dc, 2sc, 1sc, sl st.
Break yarn and bind off.
Repeat the same steps to make the desired number of leaves. I made 6 leaves in total.
5: Attach crocheted roses and leaves onto earphone wires
Before I started this step, I picked out the spots I wanted to attached the crocheted roses. I picked out these prominent spots: the bottom of each ear bud, the bottom of the hard plastic that splits the cord to left and right, the bottom of the volume control attached to the cord.
Using a tapestry needle, weave the long yarn tails of the crocheted roses around the cord. DO NOT INSERT NEEDLE INTO MACRAME KNOTS because you might pierce the wire by accident. Just wrap the yarn tail around the cord.
Following that, attach the crocheted leaves to the back of the roses. The earphone cord should be sandwiched between the rose and the leaf.
6: Sew embroidered ribbon rosettes as desired
Using a needle and a thread (ideally the same colour as the main colour of the yarn), sew the small embroidered roses onto the cord. For this, you will have to pierce the needle through the macrame knots. Take care to only insert the needle into the very edge so you are not piercing through the wire by mistake.
These little ribbon rosettes are purchased and not handmade. Of course, this is option but I like to be a little over the top...
And that's it!
Modifications for macrame earphones
As you can see, my version is quite different from the ones by Happy Nes. There's many different ways to customise your own macrame headphones. Here are some some suggestions for modifications to make your very own unique macrame earphones!
Happy Colours
To make macrame earphones similar to the ones by Happy Nes, use yarn of different colours OR use a variegated yarn! Personally, I hate weaving in multiple ends so I decided to just have 1 main colour for the entire length of my cord.
Classic Black
If you're into black and white with a little bit of pizazz, use a black yarn as a main colour and sew on lace ribbon and/or little faux pearl beads for a classy black and white look.
Will you try to make your own macrame earphones?
Let me know what you think about my "new" and improved earphones! I'm so happy that these earphones now look 110% cuter and are also going to last for many more good years to come. Will you try to make your own macrame earphones as well?