Rope Wrapped Rainbows

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Spring is officially here and I am so ready for it. I don't mind the cold and snow of winter around Christmas time, but once we are getting to the end of January I am ready for the winter to be over and the warmer weather and longer days that come with Spring. By the end of March, when spring actually arrives, I am more than ready for it. 

Rainbows always make me think of spring, even though I guess they really aren't specific to spring in any way. Maybe it is the April showers bring May flowers kind of thing. Spring just seems to be a little bit more likely to get rain, and therefore rainbows. But I think there is also a cheeriness and hopefulness that comes with rainbows that also reminds me of spring. 

I have seen these wrapped rainbows all over the place, in all different sizes, and I thought they would be a fun thing to make for spring. I chose to make them pretty small with just 3 colors and only about 4 inches tall. 

As I looked into how to make them I found that there are a lot of different ways, some that use wire to bend the shape, some that don't, some that sew the ropes together for a really clean look and others that glue them together. I tried out a few different ways of doing them and came up with what I found to be the easiest way. I think they turned out really cute and you can make them in any colors you want so the options are pretty much endless. 

How to Make Rope Wrapped Rainbows

You will need:

• Twisted Cording (I used 9/16" cable cording)
• yarn in 3 or more colors (I used cotton yarn)
• felt
• glue gun and glue sticks
• wooden bead
• scissors
• yarn needle

Instructions:

First lets talk cording. At first I thought I needed cotton cord so I found some that said it was cotton but it was a braided cording, bad idea- don't get braided cord. First, the inner core is probably a different material/texture than the outer so when you undo the ends it will look weird, also the inner part will be shorter than the outer part when you untwist it, and it will also not be as smooth as the twisted cord. Instead I ended up using a twisted cording that is polyester, that I found in the craft section at Walmart. It is the kind of cording used to make piping for upholstery and other crafts. I linked to it in the supply list or you can see in the picture what it looks like. I am sure there are a lot of similar options out there, including some that are cotton, but for me I found that the most important part was that it was twisted in that way. 

Next up, yarn. I chose to use cotton yarn for all of my rainbows. I have a lot of cotton yarn in my yarn stash so I used a variety of different brands. I just chose some colors I liked together and used them. I liked the look of the cotton yarn because it is a little smoother and less fuzzy. I liked the way the wraps of cotton yarn looked, better than acrylic. I'm sure either type works, I just liked the look of the cotton and had lots of colors on hand so that is what I used. These don't take a lot of yarn so they are great for using up leftover bits of yarn in your stash, of whatever variety. 

With that out of the way let's get started:

Making the Rainbow

Begin by folding your cording into thirds, a little longer than you will want your actual rainbow, and bend into a rainbow shape. Cut the cord into three pieces at the folds (one should be shorter, one middle, and one the longest). I found it easier to cut them just a little long to give myself plenty of room to trim to the length that I wanted. 

Next take your shortest cord (the inside arch of the rainbow) and tie your yarn onto one end at least an inch from the end. 

Wrap the yarn around the cord, keeping the wraps tight together, until you have covered the length that you want. Tie off at the end and use the yarn needle to pull the end up under the wraps to hide it. 

Place your inner arch that you just wrapped down in the shape you want it to be in in your finished rainbow. 

Repeat the process with the next cord making sure that you cover the amount of cording necessary to match up with the first arch. To do this I just would place my wrapped cord over the first, in the place it would be in the final rainbow to measure (make sure it is bent in the shape you want), lining up the beginning with the beginning of the first arch, and wrapping until the other end also matched up.

Repeat with the final cord. 

Lay out your final design, the side facing up will be the back so make sure it looks good on the other side too. 

Add a line of hot glue where the cords meet on the back. To ensure no glue shows through on the front don't actually put it in between the cords, but in the "ditch" in between on the back when they are pressed together. Let that dry. 

Trim the ends of your cording to the length that you want and untwist. You can comb out the threads for a smoother look.

Cut a length of yarn for a hanger, tie the two ends together with a knot, then string a wooden bead over the loop to sit on top of the knot. Tie another knot above the bead to hold it in place. 

Glue the loop to the back of the rainbow at the top, with the bead sitting just above the top edge. 

Cut a piece of felt to fit the back of your rainbow, you want it slightly smaller so that none of it shows through around the edge. 

Glue the felt to the back of the rainbow to cover the hot glue and the end of the hanger.