When Melbourne-based Kushi Perera went into lockdown, she decided to make the most of her time by working on creative projects. Here, she talks us through her creative Kmart hack, giving a boring mirror a beautiful macrame-style makeover.
WATCH: DIY macrame pot holder
What inspired your makeover?
I’ve wanted a macrame mirror for a long time. When I first saw the plywood mirror at Kmart in the craft section, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I had the picture in my mind, and so it was only a matter of a few hours work and a lot of patience until I transformed it and hung it in my house!
Have you done any makeovers before?
I love doing arts and crafts during my free time. As a child, I learned crotchet and knitting which encouraged me to learn macrame. Watching a few YouTube videos helped me learn most of it, as well as having a bit of experience with knitting and crocheting. Sewing, acrylic pour painting and decorating the house with DIYs are a few of my favourite things.
What kind of look were you after?
I absolutely love boho designs and try to fill every corner of my house with a bit of “boho chic” look.
What was the biggest challenge of the makeover?
The biggest challenge was to keep the fringe straight. After combing the fringe and a good layer of hair spray, I still had to add hot glue around to keep the shape.
Talk us through the process
- Get a metal or a wooden ring, must be the same size as the mirror. If you can’t find one, cut a ring with cardboard.
- Get the macrame yarn and measure the length you prefer.
- Cut each code twice of the preferred length of the macrame (ie: 6”X2=12”) Bend in half and use square knots around the ring until it’s filled with yarn.
- Once the ring is full, group strings equally. It’ll be around 10 each.
- Use hitches to make a pattern within the groups
- Comb the fringe using a metal comb. If using 3 ply yarn, make sure to untangle all the cords first.
- Evenly cut and trim the fringe.
- Extend the mirror using cardboard.
- Cut a circle in the middle of the cardboard to expose the mirror, then attach the macrame using hot glue and let it dry.
- Make a small yarn loop and attach it at the back to hang.
- Give it a good spray around the fringe using hair spray.
Budget breakdown
Plywood mirror (any small mirror) – $5 from Kmart
Macrame cotton yarn (3mm) – $6 from eBay
Hot glue gun (previously owned)
A round-shaped cardboard / thin placemat $2-$3
Total: $15
Favourite part of your makeover?
The finished product was by far the best part, it was so satisfying to see the end result. It barely cost me $15 to make it. If I were to buy it at a shop it’ll be quite expensive around $80 I’d say, and time-wise it took me about 3-4 hours.
You may also like:
How to make a jumbo macrame wall hanger
Where to hang mirrors according to Feng Shui
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