Easy DIY Christmas Tassels
I love making tassels. They are a great way to use up fibers, fabrics, threads, and beads. And you don't need a lot of things to make a beautiful tassel. If you are a crafter, you have most of these items. If you are not a crafter, you can find these items inexpensively and secondhand!
First, let's talk about WHERE to find tassel items...
Thrift stores - fabrics (think clothes, linens, etc), ribbons, laces, beads, threads, anything you can turn into a string can be used!
Dollar Stores - ribbons, laces, threads, yarns, etc.
I buy items from both places. I also buy from the clearance sections at craft stores.
Here's a big pile of Christmas mess that I dumped out on my desk to start my tassel journey. EVERY item here is either secondhand or from a sale. Unless its a dollar store, I'm not paying full price for anything! (Pssst...I even have torn hand towel shreds in there!)
Here's a more cleaned-up version of what I was working with. There's a strip of red SOCK in there! I love using twines, also. I use them to tie it all together, to add beads, and usually as the loop at the top. And the stripes in the twine add a little more fun to the tassel.
Beads
The first thing I want to talk about (mainly because it is the thing I forget unless I do it first) is beaded bits. When you add beads, you don't need a strand full of beads (although I do add beaded garlands and necklaces of beads that don't come off but we'll talk about that later). You only need to add a few beads to go at either end because you won't see them in the top half where everything is crammed together.
I just lucked out and nabbed a bunch of Christmas charms on clearance at the end of the season one year so I put two on each tassel so they'd add a little bling at the ends. You don't need charms, though. Beaded threads work just fine. I used metallic gold sewing thread for these.
Bells!
And don't forget about BELLS! I know for a fact that dollar stores sell these at this time of year and I'm sure you can find them at your big box stores and craft stores. I usually come across them in craft stash buy-outs that I get so I end up with a lot of bells! So, I add 2 to each tassel (using my handy-dandy twine as you can see!) The little jingle really adds the Christmas feel to the tassel...even if you can't see the bells very well in all of the other stuff, you can hear them and they are lovely!
Maybe its just me, but is a craft stash really complete WITHOUT some jingly bells?
Construction
Let's talk about construction. Now, I'm not saying my way is the best way to do it, but it works for me and has for years. The first thing I do is lay out the bits I'm using.
Then, I put my twine down (make it longer than you think you need. I used this box when I made them as a way to measure how long I wanted the twine - long enough to go completely across the box) and I lay my bits out one-by-one across it. I'll do some sorting while I do this and separate like items (some threads and things I usually add more than one of)
Tying it is easy. Just tie a knot. After the knot is tied, grab the tassel loosely and pull that knot so it is hidden under the tassel. At this point, while you are gripping the tassel, move things around as you see fit. I don't mess with it much or else I'll be messing with it all day so I try to just leave it alone. But if you are going for a certain look, definitely make the tassel do what you want it to do!
I used twine to wrap around the head of the tassel a handfulof times (maye 6-10 wraps around). Pull it tight. The twine is nice because it doesn't break no matter how tight I pull it. I usually leave long tails on my wrap twine so that they blend in with the rest of the tassel. You will have to pull pieces down to tighten them up after you wrap the head of the tassel tight...just make sure to pull each side of the thread/ribbon/lace/etc evenly so you don't pull one out on accident! When you tie the head of the tassel, some of the things pop up and look loose on top, so that's why you want to just pull them down against your looped twine.
Last year, I had pretty bows to tie around the top of the tassel (dollar store purchase) but I didn't have any left this year (trying to use my stash and not spend) so I used these litte berries. Unfortunately, my tassel was pretty thick, so they didn't work as well as I wanted, but I made them work good enough.
So, I successfully made 8 tassels last night just using a bunch of strings and things that I had in my Christmas stash!
TIPS & TRICKS
* Beaded garlands, broken jewelry, chains, etc. all work wonderfully. If you are using a beaded piece, tuck it into the tassel well so the beads don't get stuck in the wrapping (as you can see in my closeup above)
* You can use a key ring or other ring as the loop at the top. I just use twine and string because its usually what I have on hand
* Stick to 12-15 individual strands. I did over 20 on these and wrapping the top was very difficult. I usually stick to 15
Do you have some tassel tips? I'd love to hear what you do/use! I have not attempted flattening the ribbons that are kinked and creased yet, but I am going to try steaming them. I don't want to use my heat gun (unless on a very low setting) because a lot of these ribbons are a nylon blend so I don't need melted gunk in my tassels!
What do you think? Are you ready to try your hand at a tassel?
Much Love,
~M