DIY: Felt and Hand Stitched Rainbow Wall Hanging

Rainbows are having a real moment right now. They are on everything! Clothes, shoes, jean jacket pins, and basically all of the walls. And here is the thing…I’m not mad about it.

So when I got an invitation to a friend’s baby shower, I knew I wanted to make her a rainbow wall hanging for her nursery. I’ve also been going gaga over Feed the Fish Co.’s felt pennants so I took so inspiration and got my hands on some felt. I added my own twist by decorating the felt with hand stitching.

When I started, I didn’t have a clear vision of what it was going to look like. I just went with it. So my apologies for the lack of in-process photos. I just let myself play for this one! The actual steps are very simple, so I think you can knock this one out without the images.

What you will need:

• Felt
• 5 colors of embroidery thread (your choosing!)
• Needle (with eye large enough for all 6 strands of thread to get through)
• a wooden dowel
• Scissors

Step 1:

Measure out 4 inches in the center of your felt and mark each end with a dot. From the dot, measure in towards the center about an inch and a half and mark again. Do this on both sides. From the very center of the felt (so that would be 2 inches in from either of your farthest dots), measure 3 inches above and place a dot. Now measure an inch and a half below that and dot again.

This is the shape for your rainbow! Using a pencil, lightly draw the curve of your rainbow and connect the outer dots and then the inner dots.

Step 2:

Choose the order of your threads that you like for your rainbow and start stitching! I did 4 rows of backstitching for each color. I like that the stitches are staggered so I start with a smaller stitch for every other row. Continue stitching all 4 colors.

Step 3:

Cut out a 1inch x 1.5 inch box out of a light felt for your modern cloud. I used a matching embroidery thread and did a large running stitch around the inside of the box to attach my clouds to the rainbow.

Step 4:

It’s time to cut your felt to size! Measure to the center of your felt, about 3 inches below the bottom of your rainbow. Mark with a dot. From the edge (where it lines up with the bottom of your cloud square), cut a straight line to your new mark. Do the same on the other side.

Step 5:

Cut straight lines down the edge of your felt to be about 2 inches from the edge of your rainbow.

Step 6:

Fold the top of the felt behind itself and over your dowel to the height you prefer (mine is about 2 inches above the rainbow. Use embroidery thread to do a running stitch across the bottom of the dowel (that is now tucked into your felt) to secure. Continue the running stitch along the edges to finish off.

That’s it! Just a backstitch, running stitch, and some cutting and you have a beautiful new wall hanging for a nursery, play room, or your own adult crafting corner.