The Hanging Cradle

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The crib's bottom is nothing more than a 16" X 24" piece of 3/16"-thick Masonite. (Quarter-inch plywood should work just as well.) This piece is purposely smaller than the upper frame so that the macrame lacing will slope inward towards the bottom, thereby helping to hold the mattress in place and keeping the baby from rolling too far to one side or the other. (Note: Because of this board's smaller size, you'll have to space the pairs of twine holes around its perimeter somewhat closer together than two inches. I worked out the spacing with a pencil before I drilled . . . and it saved me a lot of headaches!) For the macrame lacing, we used 3/16" braided nylon netmending twine (pure nylon . . . no preservatives or tar compounds added), which cost us about $1.50 for the 224 feet we used. We chose this material for its combination of strength and softness . . . however, cotton twine-prewashed to remove the starch-or nylon sash cord would be equally suitable.

ASSEMBLY

Putting the cradle components together was a cinch. First we tied four long pieces of twine to the corners of the 20" X 28" frame, then we hung the frame from our plank ceiling with the aid of four strong screw hooks. (If your house or apartment has a plasterboard ceiling, make sure you screw those hooks into something solid-like the ceiling joists-so there's no chance they'll pull out. If in doubt, test the strength of the attachments by hanging a 20- to 30-pound weight from each hook . . . then proceed.)

Once the frame was in place, we set the crib bottom on a cardboard box so it'd rest about ten inches below the hanging "hoop". Next, we got out our roll of twine, snipped off 32 seven-foot-long pieces of nylon, and carefully seared—or melted—the lines' ends in a candle flame (to prevent raveling) . . . after which we folded the pieces of twine in half and dropped them one by one into the pairs of holes along the top of the rectangular frame. This done, we began tying the macrame knots (in this case, a pattern called a square knot sennit).

Just how fancy you get in your knot-tying depends more on how patient you are than on how much skill you have. (If you feel intimidated by this part of the project, though, you may want to consult a beginner's book on macrame . . . such as Dona Z. Meilack's Macrame: Creative Design in Knotting, available for $3.95 from MOTHER'S Bookshelf and other stores around the country.) The main thing to remember is that you want to keep the braided openings small enough so that a child's head can't possibly poke through one, yet large enough so the infant's hands and feet can't get caught. Take your time here and think things out . . . you'll be glad you did.

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