I’ve been seeing these little gems popping all over instagram, and I’m in love. Fibre art (or fiber art for my American friends!) is definitely becoming incredibly trendy again with macrame, punch needle, and cross stitch crafts making a strong comeback – and I couldn’t be happier!
I don’t currently have any of the aforementioned fibre art skills, but I do have a lot of embroidery floss and cotton rope in my craft collection, so I thought I’d give these little rainbows a try!
I decided to take an easy/simple DIY approach and not incorporate any wire or structure to the rainbows – and just relied on simple materials + minimal sewing skills to fasten all of the elements together. So this is definitely an easy DIY, and I would recommend to anyone! Plus, they look super cute as wall decor, or would make awesome Christmas ornaments. Definitely planning to host a craft party soon, because I think this is a great one for varying skill levels. And these are trendy enough that people will definitely want to come over to have some snacks and drinks and whip some of these up!
SUPPLIES:
- 5mm Cotton rope (I used this one from Michaels)
- Embroidery floss in various colours
- Scissors
- Needle + Thread (any colour of thread)
- Fabric for optional banner (I used a simple cross stitch Aida Cloth backing from Michaels)
STEP 1: MEASURE + CUT ROPE
This is where you get to decide the size of your rainbow. You can either measure and cut the rope strand by strand, or using one long piece of rope, you can form the rainbow shape, and then cut the ends. This ensures that your pieces are even.
STEP 2: PLAN OUT YOUR RAINBOW COLOURS
This step was actually the hardest for me because I couldn’t decide which colours to use, the order of colours, or how many arcs to use. Which is ultimately why I ended up making two rainbows out of the colours chosen below.
STEP 3: WRAP YOUR STRANDS
Decide which arc you would like to start with (I wanted mustard to be my longest strand, because I’m currently obsessed with the colour).
Using your embroidery floss, tie a knot to one side of your rope strand. How far up you tie your knot will determine how long your rainbow tassels will be. I decided I wanted mine to be about an inch in length, so I measured an inch up the cotton rope and tied a double knot to ensure the yellow would stay in place.
Make sure to leave a little bit of a tail when you tie your knot. With one hand, hold the end of the rope where you tied your knot, and use your other hand to start wrapping the embroidery floss around the rope, making sure that you fold the tail of the yellow up, so that you cover it as you wrap. the rope.
Continue wrapping your rope, maintaining a consistent layer of floss, and making sure not to double wrap your floss (as this will make your rainbow look bumpy instead of smooth). Try as much as possible to maintain the same amount of pressure as you wrap the rope, so that the rope strands stay the same width.
Once you reach the end of the strand (where you want the tassel to start), tie two knots around the rope to secure the floss in place. Trim the floss as short as possible, and using scissors or a needle, push the remaining tail up into the wrapped floss (so that you can’t see the end), to finish off the strand.
Continue wrapping the other rope strands, making sure to start and end the wrapping at the same place for consistent coloured arcs.
STEP 4: ATTACH THE ARCS
Arrange your rainbow strands the way you want them to be displayed, and carefully flip them around to the back side, which will likely look less pretty than the front – which is totally okay!
Starting at the inner arc at the end of one side of your rainbow, push a needle and thread through the top of each coloured strand to attach them together. Once you reach the outer layer, do a small half-inch stitch on just the outer later, and then repeat the same process through the top of each coloured strand to reach the inner arc. Continue this process, stitching them together every half-inch (or so) until you reach the end of the rainbow! Stitching them this close together will ensure you have a solid structure without using additional wire.
Once you reach the end, do a back stitch on the last stitch to secure the end, and knot the thread until you feel it is secured. I did a few messy knots just to make sure it all stayed in place.
You can also stitch an additional loop to the top of the middle of the rainbow so you can hang it up. And for this you can use the thread you used to stitch the back, or you can use embroidery thread to match one of the colours you used in your rainbow.
OPTIONAL STEP 5: MAKE IT INTO A BANNER
Iron your piece of fabric and decide on the dimensions of your banner. Using a ruler, measure and mark the dimensions of your banner, and then cut it out with scissors.
Position your rainbow where you want it to sit on the fabric. For the most accurate result, you can choose to tape the rainbow in place while you sew it from the back.
Carefully flip it over and stitch a few stitches through the fabric and into the back of the rainbow. I did one stitch on one side, two at the top in the middle, and then one more on the other side. Make sure to knot the thread on the back of the fabric to secure everything in place.
Cut a slit on each top corner to thread your choice of rope through, in order to hang the banner.
And there you have it! A cute little wall hanging that would look fabulous in a bathroom, nursery, entryway, or literally anywhere in your house!
Comment below if you decide to try it out!
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