In the 13th century, Arab weavers are said to have discovered that instead of snipping unneeded lengths of twine from finished products, they could braid it into an attractive, decorative fringe with a series of simple knots. Slowly the technique spread north to Europe. In 1689 when William of Orange became King of England, his wife, Queen Mary, introduced the fascinating art of macramé (from the Arab rnigrarmah, meaning ornamental braid or fringe) to palace circles. The Incas and American Indians had their own versions. Sometimes widely popular, sometimes kept alive only by seamen to whom knotting was both work...
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