How to Make a Beautiful Macrame Rainbow Wall Hanging (for Beginners)

The first time I saw a macrame rainbow wall hanging over a nursery crib, I was hooked, and once I figured out the wrapping technique, I couldn’t stop making them. This project swaps out complicated macrame knots for simple rope and yarn, so you get that same dreamy, boho look without needing any prior fiber-craft experience.

You’ll spend about two to three hours on it, most of that the relaxing, repetitive part: wrapping yarn around rope while you listen to a podcast or put on some music. The materials are things you can grab at any craft store for well under twenty dollars, and the only tools involved are a hot glue gun, scissors, and a sewing needle.

Once it’s finished, you’ll have a soft, textural piece that works as well over a changing table as it does propped on a shelf or hung above a reading nook. It also makes a genuinely sweet handmade gift, since it takes almost nothing to swap in a new color palette for whoever you’re making it for. It’s become one of my favorite pieces in our wall art and hangings collection.

Macrame Rainbow Wall Hanging at a Glance

• Difficulty: Beginner
• Time: 2 to 3 hours
• Cost: Under $20
• Ages: 8+ (with adult supervision for the hot glue gun)
• Best for: Nursery and kids’ room decor, boho-style shelves, or a handmade gift for a new parent

What You Need to Make a Macrame Rainbow Wall Hanging

Materials

• Natural twisted cotton rope, 1/2 inch thick: this forms the shape of your rainbow. Cotton holds a curve well and looks soft once the ends are untwisted into tassels.
• Colorful yarn in 6 to 7 rainbow shades: any worsted-weight yarn works, you just need enough of each color to fully wrap one rope piece.
• A piece of felt for backing: this is what every wrapped rope glues onto, so pick a color that won’t peek out from behind the ropes.
• Small pompoms: glued along the top arc for a playful finishing touch. Skip these if you’d rather keep a more minimal look.

Tools

• Sharp scissors: for trimming yarn ends and cutting the felt backing.
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks: holds the wrapped rope pieces to the felt. It sets in seconds, so have your next piece ready before you glue.
• Sewing needle: for locking off the yarn ends inside each wrapped rope piece.

Most of these materials you can find at any craft store, and the whole project shouldn’t cost more than $15 to $20. If you want to practice the felt-and-glue technique on something smaller first, our felt coasters tutorial uses the same basic approach.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Cut Your Rope Pieces

Start with the smallest curve of your rainbow. Lay your cotton rope in a U-shape on the table, decide how big you want that smallest arc to be, and cut it there.

Use this first piece as your guide for the rest. Lay it down, measure the next size up with your remaining rope, and cut again. Repeat until you have 6 to 7 pieces that get progressively larger, like nesting bowls but in rope form.

Step 2: Wrap the First Rope with Yarn

Pick your first color (I always start with red at the top). Tie the yarn around the rope about 2 inches from one end, and leave those 2 inches free since they’ll become a tassel later.

Then start wrapping the yarn around the rope, nice and tight, without leaving any gaps between wraps. If you haven’t wrapped rope with yarn before, our beginner macrame earrings tutorial covers the same basic wrap technique in a smaller, faster project. Keep your tension consistent the whole way so it comes out neat instead of lumpy in spots.

Step 3: Finish the Yarn Wrapping

Keep wrapping until you’re about 2 inches from the other end, then cut your yarn, leaving about 3 inches extra.

Thread that extra yarn through your needle and poke it through the rope right next to your last wrap. Thread it between the rope and the wrapped yarn, pull tight, and trim off the excess. That locks everything in place so it won’t unravel later. If the yarn starts twisting on you partway through, stop and let it hang and unwind before you keep going; fighting through a twist just makes the wraps uneven.

Step 4: Repeat for All Colors

Do the same wrapping process for each rope piece. I like to follow the rainbow order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet), but honestly, use whatever colors make you happy.

This part is genuinely meditative. Put on a podcast or some music and let the repetitive motion do its thing; by the third or fourth rope, you’ll have the tension dialed in without even thinking about it.

Step 5: Attach Everything to the Felt

Get your felt piece ready and heat up the glue gun. Start with your smallest rope, the one that will sit at the bottom of your rainbow, and glue it down with the unwrapped ends sticking out past the felt.

Keep adding each rope piece in order, spacing them evenly so the curve stays even. Hot glue sets in seconds, so have the next piece positioned and ready before you squeeze the trigger.

Step 6: Trim the Felt

Once all your ropes are glued down, carefully trim the felt around the edges so it’s hidden behind the ropes and doesn’t show from the front. Take your time here, because clean edges make a noticeably bigger difference than they seem like they would.

Step 7: Create the Tassels

This is my favorite part. Take the unwrapped rope ends and gently untwist them, separating the individual fibers into fluffy, cloud-like tassels. The more you fluff them out, the better they look.

Step 8: Add the Pompoms

Glue small pompoms along the top curve of your rainbow. It’s a small detail, but it adds a playful touch that makes the whole piece feel less flat.

Step 9: Add a Hanging Method

Attach a small loop of string or a picture-hanging strip to the back of the felt. That’s it, your rainbow is ready to hang.

Tips and Variations

• Swap the cotton rope for jute if you want a more neutral, earthy palette instead of bright rainbow colors.
• For a smaller nursery-mobile-sized rainbow, use 4 to 5 rope pieces instead of 6 to 7 and scale your felt backing down to match.
• Once you’ve got the wrapping technique down, it carries straight over to other rope crafts, like a wrapped dreamcatcher.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I use instead of cotton rope?

You can use any soft, twistable rope about 1/2 inch thick, like jute or a paracord blend, as long as it holds a curved shape once bent. Cotton rope is the easiest to work with for a first attempt because it’s soft enough to bend into a smooth arc but sturdy enough to hold that shape once you glue it down.

How long does a macrame rainbow wall hanging take to make?

Plan on about two to three hours total, most of it spent wrapping yarn around the rope pieces. The cutting, gluing, and tassel steps go quickly; the wrapping is the part that takes patience, especially on your first rainbow.

Can I skip the hot glue and hand-sew it instead?

Yes, you can hand-stitch the wrapped rope pieces to the felt backing with a needle and heavy-duty thread instead of hot glue. It takes longer than gluing, but it holds up just as well and skips the glue gun entirely if you’d rather not use one around kids.

How do I make a bigger or smaller rainbow?

Cut more or fewer rope pieces to change the size: use 4 to 5 pieces for a smaller nursery-mobile-sized rainbow, or 8 to 9 for a larger statement piece. Just remember to scale your felt backing to match so it still fully hides behind the ropes.

Will the yarn colors fade, and can I hang it outside?

Keep it out of direct sunlight if you want the colors to stay vibrant. This project isn’t weatherproof, so it’s best for indoor use only; the yarn will fade and the felt backing will break down if it’s left outside.

More Home Decor Tutorials to Try

If you enjoyed this project, you’ll find plenty more like it in our home decor collection.

• DIY Rainbow Wall Hanging with Rope and Yarn (No Knots Needed), a faster, no-knot version of this same rainbow shape.
• How to Make a Mobile, another hanging piece using a similar wrap-and-glue technique.

Share your macrame rainbow wall hanging in the I Made It space inside Craftaholic Community. The most-loved post each month wins a one year free Premium membership.

Happy crafting!