Has anyone else seen these beautiful rainbow wrap hangings and wanted to have a go at making one? I knew I could do it to create one in my perfect rainbow colours, so I had a search online for some tips and it was pretty much how I thought so I did it my own way. Read on to find out how...
It's really easy to make one of these - I got my rope from eBay, this one was made with 14mm wide 3ply cotton rope (cotton ensures you get the fluffy ends and not just curly strands of synthetic material. (I've also bought some 18mm wide which is much stiffer and will be huge!) The coloured yarns are also cotton although it doesn't matter so much if you use wool or synthetic for the wrapping. Mine are from Hobbii who have a gorgeous selection of colours for just £1.45 each! (Let me know if you'd like to know the specific ones I used as they have dozens to choose from.)
Equipment and supplies:
Rope
Yarn (I used 8 colours but you could go bigger or smaller)
Scissors
Sticky tape
Needle
Hot Glue (or you could stitch the pieces together)
Method:
1. First, cut your rope into lengths, I started with the smallest and used that to measure my next one by curving it around, then the next and so on so each one was definitely bigger than the last. I allowed a little extra on each one as I went too in case the yarn took up more space (although in the end it didn't make much difference). Tape up each end so they don't unravel while we work.
2. The take the smallest piece (mine was around 15cm) and using your chosen colour, tie a knot about 1-2cm from the end (or make it longer if you prefer long tassles, I wanted short ones). Proceed to wrap the yarn around the rope, ensuring you catch in the loose end so it's hidden.
3. Keep wrapping the yarn around the length of the rope until you are left with the same size at the other end and thread your yarn onto a needle to "sew" it back underneath the layer of yarn, looping it back out and under a couple of times to secure then make sure at least a 2cm tail is left and cut it off at the end.
4. Do this for all your colours, try to keep the ends in line by checking as you go as it does change when you bend them around. I thought mine were the same but the longest ones needed a bit of unravelling when it came to actually sticking them together so don't worry if it's not perfect, you can fix it later.
I found it was easiest to rotate my rope rather than twist the yarn around it after I got started off with each strand. Hubby took a video of me doing it both ways on my phone, the first way is easier to keep neat without overlapping...
5. When you've finished them all, start sticking them together, again starting with the shortest. I used my hot glue gun, applying the glue to the back between the layers, trying not to let any get through to the front. I did it in stages, doing about 3-6cm at a time and holding while it set for each layer.
6. When you're done, you will probably have to trim the ends to make them even. It is tough cutting the thick rope, you'll need some heavy duty scissors for this.
7. Fluff out the ends, untwist the ends of the rope and untwist the individual strands of rope too and you get a "fluffy cloud" effect at the ends of your rainbow.
I thought it might need reinforcing with some floristry wire but it was stiff enough and stayed flat as I'd stuck it together while keeping it flat on my desk.
8. Use a piece of the yarn cut-off to create a loop to hang it, again I just used my hot glue gun but you could use a longer piece and sew it in if it needs to be more secure (maybe for a larger rainbow).
As you can see the back is a bit of a mess but the front is pretty awesome!
I could fluff up the ends even more but that part was rather boring, lol. I might go back and play with it a bit more before it finds its final hanging place! It looks amazing against our dark green walls!
So far it's had two temporary homes, on my Sophie Abbot painting below and as above hanging in the corner. I have always wanted a very eclectic, colourful gallery wall somewhere in the living room with crafts, photos and other art so this would be a perfect part of it.
My homemade rainbow sitting in its temporary home on top of our Sophie Abbott painting.
So, what do you think? Will you be making one? Which colours will you choose?? If you're not a fan of bright colours like me you could even do an all neutral one in traditional macrame style taupe and cream or go for deep, dark muted tones. An autumnal one would be nice with rust, burgundy and mustard. The possibilities are exciting! It's a lot of fun to make :)
If you would like one but don't fancy making it yourself, I'd recommend having a look on Etsy, you'll find loads on there, including inspiration for other colour combinations too.
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