In this tutorial we take a look at how to tie dye paracord with fabric dye. The result is beautiful rainbow colored paracord!
The very first bracelet I made was using rainbow cord. I have been a fan of rainbow cord for a long time, but all the commercially available ones did not work for me at all. So when I saw a few images of rainbow paracord posted by Samantha Falor I knew I had to find out how to get my hands on it! The smooth transitions between colors and the mellow, washed out vintage look got me at “Hello”. This beautiful rainbow paracord is actually home made! In the following segments you can learn how to make it yourself!
The tutorial was produced by Samantha Falor from Paracordlady.com. You can get in touch with her on Facebook and get your hands on her beautiful designs at her Etsy store. Thank you Samantha for all the work you put into this tutorial and for sharing it with the community!
So, let’s get to it!
Supplies needed
- 50 feet of white Paracord (or the length you need)
- Tulip fabric dye (available in a kit)
- Rubber bands
- Ketchup style bottles
- Gloves
- Water
- Cooling rack
How to tie dye paracord
- Cover your work surface with plastic sheeting to protect it from the dye.
- Set up the cooling racks on your work surface. This will allow you to color the cord without rolling it in any excess run off colors.
- Put on gloves. VERY IMPORTANT!
- Fold paracord into a 3 foot long hank (or to the length you want to see the pattern reverse and repeat).

5. Select your colors out of the color kit (I used Pink, Orange, Yellow, Lime Green, Turquoise, Purple, Fuchsia). Mix the color dye per the instructions in your kit.

6. Take your rubber bands and section off your paracord so that you have 7 sections (we used 7 colors, if you have a different quantity of colors adjust as needed).

7. Keep in mind that the color will spread out along the cord and blend together near the bands. Take each color and squeeze on to the paracord from above leaving a little room around the rubber bands for the color-bleeding.
8. Roll it over and be careful not to get color that might be on your gloves spread over the paracord.

9. Open up the paracord slightly with the tip of the bottle to ensure that the color has gone through the middle of the bundle.

10. Cover the paracord in plastic and let it sit untouched for 6 to 24 hours. I left mine for about 24 hours. Keep in mind though to follow the instructions for the color dye that you are using as it might be different from what I used.
11. Gently rinse the paracord under running water until there is no longer any color coming out. Place somewhere for it to dry.

12. The color will look lighter once it is completely dried.
There you have it! The best looking rainbow paracord in all the land! I love the vintage look of it, what about you guys?
Most paracord is Nylon and so you’d have better luck using an acid based dye. Tulip dyes are made for cottons (like t-shirts). While you were able to get it to dye part of the reason it is so pastel is that incompatibility. Also likely if it gets wet in the future the dye may bleed.
There are places you can order acid dyes but also food coloring and vinegar will work to set it or kool-aid if you don’t want to buy specialized dyes.