Work out the length

The rule most teachers and cord brands quote is to cut each strand about 4 times the finished length of the piece. A cord folded in half over a dowel or ring becomes two strands, so it is cut about 8 times the finished length. The cord calculator works this out for your project and prints a cut list.

The rule moves with the pattern. Open designs with long unknotted stretches use less: published plant hanger patterns cut folded cords at roughly 4 to 5 times the hanger length. Dense work, such as rows of double half hitch, uses more, around 5 to 6 times per strand, and thick cord uses more length in every knot. Sources differ, so treat every figure as a range and cut toward the long end.

Add the fringe length to every strand, then a margin of 10 to 15 percent. Cord that is too long costs a little; cord that is too short stops the work. If a pattern was written for another cord size, scale its cut lengths with the conversion chart. For a design of your own, tie a short test strip, untie it and measure what it used.