Rainbow Dyed Wall Hanging

Psssst… this post *might* contain affiliate links: see my disclosure here.

Watercolored Rope Wall Decor

dip dyed rainbow rope wall hanging

Every single time I see a dip dyed rope wall hanging, my heart pitter pats ever so slightly. I’ve made macrame and love it something fierce. And I’ve picked up woven wall hangings at the flea market. But… I’ve never made a dip dyed one of my own!

dip dyed rope wall hanging

Shop my favorites!

One of the only things I’ve ever won from a blogger giveaway was actually from my friend and podcast partner Erin when she was giving away a set of this Folk Art Ultra Dye (affiliate)! It works on anything ‘porous’ that won’t need to be washed so… rainbow wall hanging coming right up!

dye for rope wall hanging

Step 1. Rope

I’m using leftover rope from my macrame. I love the 3/4 inch woven rope because I can unwrap it to be more like a tassel but it definitely takes some time. I looped the rope over a dowel just like I would with macrame so quickly pop over to check out that post if you’re not sure how! I trimmed the edges straight, but that’s just aesthetic… you definitely don’t have to!

attach rope to dowel and untwist

trim the edges straight

Step 2. Mix

Even though I had a pretty broad range of colors, I still mixed quite a few different options in the color spectrum. Using plastic cups and milk jugs, I watered the dye down a bit (maybe 1 part water to 3 parts dye?).

Step 3. Prep the surface

Cover a table with plastic and then a layer or two of paper towels. Lay the rope on top making sure you spread it out as evenly as possible.

Step 4. Spray

I wanted my rope to really absorb the colors like watercolors, so I sprayed it with quite a bit of water first. (I continued to spray it throughout the painting to help the colors mix together.)

Step 5. Dye!

Start with your darkest color at the bottom. Paint an even stripe along the bottom of the rope and spray to help the dye permeate the rope. Grab the next color and paint another stripe. I wanted the two colors to mix into each other so I painted over where the colors met and alternated with my spray bottle.

paint dye onto rope

overlap the edges of the dye and spray with water

I continued with all my colors until I reached the top 10-inches of the rope. I wanted the rope to end uncolored, so I diluted the final color more and more as I painted towards the dowel until it was void of any color.

continue with dye in rainbow pattern

leave the last bit of rope exposed with no dye

I left it flat on the table to dry overnight and then hung it on two hooks to finish drying the next day.

dye on rope wall hanging

rainbow wall hanging

Have I mentioned that I LOOOOOOOVEE this?! Starting with wet rope meant the colors really washed into each other, but if you’re looking for a more exact color pattern, leave the water behind and just make sure that you saturate the rope with color enough for it to penetrate through all layers.

dip dyed boho rainbow wall hanging

What do you think? Is the wall hanging trend on it’s way out, or does this lovely thing have a little more time to be on display?

pin this image to pinterest

colorful Diy dyed rainbow wall hanging... i love the colors and texture of this wall hanging

Don’t Miss Out

Become An Insider!

Signup for exclusive tips, and tricks from Charlotte’s House!

Let’s chat!

I love comments from you, so feel free to leave your thoughts and ideas below! And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for even more!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

15 Comments

  1. You know a DIY project is brilliant when a) it looks fabulous, and b) it actually looks like it would be fun to make. Thank you for sharing it, Charlotte. Cheers, Ardith

  2. OR, you can use a wooden dowel for $1 and insert in to the trigger guard. Hold the dowel with one hand and the pistol with the other. EZ PZ. Lots of those vid”s on youtube as well. A helluva a lot cheaper than $300

  3. I love this!! I’m definitely making this for my room. Any chance you can link to the rope you used? the stuff I’m finding on amazon doesn’t look like it would unwrap and still look good. thank you!

  4. Are you the Charlotte that sold tie dye at the Philadelphia Folk Festival back in the ’80s?