Macramé cords are long: a 90 cm plant hanger uses cords around 4 m. Measuring and mounting them well saves more time than any knot.
Measuring
Mark the cut length once on a table edge or the floor with two pieces of tape, then run the cord between the marks and cut; measuring each cord with a tape is slow and drifts. For lengths over 2 m, fold the cord in half at the ring or dowel as you measure so you only handle 2 m at a time. Cut 3-ply cotton with sharp scissors and wrap a small piece of tape around each end until it is mounted, or the plies start to unravel.
Bundling
Any strand longer than about a metre gets a butterfly bundle: wind the cord in a figure of eight around your thumb and little finger, slip the bundle off and put a rubber band round the middle. The cord pulls out of the bundle as you knot and the band holds the rest. Unbundle the working strands before the fillers; the fillers barely move.
Lark's head on a dowel
Fold the cord in half, lay the loop over the front of the dowel and down the back, and pull the two ends through the loop from the back. Pull down to tighten. The bump of the loop faces the front; the reverse lark's head puts it at the back for a smoother face. Each lark's head in 4 mm cord takes about 9 mm of dowel, which is how the dowel planner works out the cord count.
Folding through a ring
For a plant hanger, the cords do not need a lark's head at all. Fold each cord in half and hang the fold over the ring so all the strands come down together; the gathering wrap tied just under the ring holds them. Hang the ring on a hook at eye level before you start the wrap, because everything below is easier with the piece hanging and the cords under a little weight.
The gathering wrap
Cut a separate piece of cord (the pattern gives its length). Lay it along the bundle with one end pointing up and a loop at the bottom, leaving a short tail at the top. Wind the long end firmly around the bundle from the top down, over the loop and the tail, keeping the turns touching. Pass the end through the loop at the bottom, then pull the top tail until the loop and the end are drawn up inside the wrap. Trim both tails close. The same wrap gathers all the strands under the pot at the end of the hanger and tops off the tassel.