How to Make an Adorable Hanging Planter from a Yogurt Cup

Being a plant parent is now cool, thanks to popular Instagram accounts like PlantKween and HelloPlantLover. Not to mention, it's fun to stock up on plants like air plants and rainbow succulents! In addition to being pretty and good for your home's atmosphere, these plants are compact, economical and virtually carefree.

Economics, however, goes out the window when you buy these plants in a fancy pot or glass terrarium. There's a much cheaper way to display these cuties, and it turns out to be one of the easier DIY projects you can take on: macramé.

But wait! This isn't your parents' macramé. (If your home was anything like mine growing up, with its wall hangings and planters in every room, you know what I mean.) Today's knot-tying craft goes beyond the scratchy jute cord. For these lively little plants, you can get away with cotton twine, hemp, leather or even colorful yarn or ribbon. Whatever you use just needs to be strong enough to hold the container (we like the glass ones from Oui by Yoplait) and the plant itself. Follow these instructions.

1. Clean out your glass yogurt container (here's a handy guide on how to do it) and remove any visible labels.
2. Cut 4 equal lengths of cord, about 3 ½ to 4 feet long. Hold them together, fold in half, and knot a loop at the fold point to create a handle. It doesn't need to be a very large loop—just big enough to hang it wherever your plant's going to go.
3. If you have somewhere to hook that loop, like the spindle on the back of a chair or the top of a coat hanger hung on a doorknob, it will help with this next part. (If not, that's okay.) Divide the eight pieces of cord into four sections of two cords each. Next, you're going to tie a knot in each of those sections, each at about the same distance from the loop; depending on the length of your cord, this could be 3" to 6" from the loop. The knots mark approximately where the top of your container will be, and they don't have to be super tight.
4. Now here's where your macramé project begins to take shape. Moving left to right, take one strand from the first section and knot it with one strand from the next section, 1 ½" to 2 ½" from the first knots you made in step 3. Take the other strand from that second section and knot it with one strand from the next section on, at about the same length. Take the other strand from that third section and knot it with one strand from the last section. Take the remaining strands from the fourth and first sections, and knot them together. Again, the knots needn't be super tight and their placement doesn't have to be precise. If you want to do another round of knots, 1 ½" to 2 ½" down, go ahead, but it's not necessary for the small yogurt container.
5. Spread apart the four lower knots, and you'll see a sort of lacy circle where you can place your yogurt cup. Put the clean cup inside the cords so you can get an idea of where you want the knots to land. I think they look prettiest when the first set of knots is just below the lip of the jar and the second set is just above the base of the jar. Or, a set of knots just above the rim, then two more sets somewhere along the jar also look nice. Gather the cords below the jar and secure in a final knot. You might need to adjust the jar to have it sit flat (especially if your knots were a bit unevenly placed).
6. Depending on how much cord you have left over, you could trim the ends or leave them hang. If your material is susceptible to unraveling or fraying, consider treating the ends by dipping them in melted clear wax or singeing with a flame. Or embrace the macramé of old and pull apart the ends to create a fun fringe.
7. Place whatever your plant needs to survive—pebbles, sand, moss or other medium—in the cup, along with your plant, and hang where desired.

Tips: Hang these peewee planters in groups of three or five using different lengths of cord for each one. Vary the materials and/or colors you use for each. If you use longer cord, you could even tier two or three planters, starting again with step 3 after finishing step 5. And, if you're feeling really crafty, knot different styles of beads into the cords or hang charms off the knotted ends.