Put a Tassel on Anything With These Easy Tips
It’s no secret that we’re big fans of tassels here at Brit + Co — we’ve made earrings, necklaces, garlands and MUCH more with these babies. So for today’s #31DaysofDIY, we’ll dish the deets of our favorite tassel-making techniques and materials. Let’s get fringe-y with it!
No idea what #31DaysofDIY is? It’s a brand new tradition here at Brit + Co that’s all about kicking off 2015 right. We’ve challenged ourselves to make or learn something new every single day for the month of January, and we’re inviting all of you along for the ride. From DIY basics like Sewing 101 to learning to design and laser cut our own stencils, we hope this month of making inspires you to make all year long.
YARN TASSEL INSTRUCTIONS
Materials:
- yarn
– scissors
Instructions:
1. Cut two five-inch pieces of yarn and set aside.
2. Wrap 30 lengths of yarn around your hand, then use one five-inch string to tie the bundle together.
3. Create the head of the tassel by wrapping the second five-inch string around the full bundle of yarn.
4. Trim the ends to your liking. All done!
Yep, yarn and scissors are ALL you need to make this kind of tassel.
First, snip two pieces of yarn that are each about five inches long (these will come into play later). Then wrap your yarn around the base of your fingers until you reach the thickness you’d like — we wrapped our yarn around 30 times. Cut the yarn when finished.
Pro Tip: For different-sized tassels, wrap yarn around objects of different sizes. You could use a mason jar, a notebook, a fork, or literally anything sturdy enough to keep the yarn in place.
Next, use a five-inch piece of yarn to tie around your mass of wrapped string. This will be the top of your tassel. (Note that this step is optional — if you don’t need to tie your tassel to anything, omit it.) Wrap the second five-inch piece around the full cluster of yarn to create the head of the tassel. Then cut the bottom of the yarn cluster and trim to your liking. Ta-daaah! That’s a good-lookin’ tassel :)
We made a bunch of yarn tassels into a garland to gussy up one of our throw pillows at Brit HQ. You’d be surprised at how easy it was to crank out a dozen of these little dudes.
JERSEY TASSEL INSTRUCTIONS
Materials:
– jersey fabric
– scissors
Instructions:
1. Cut thin strips of fabric out of your jersey. Stretch each strip so that the ends curl inward.
2. Set one strip aside and gather the rest into a group. Wrap the extra strip of fabric around the full bundle to create the head of the tassel.
3. Trim the tassel as much as you’d like. That’s it!
For jersey fabric, we used uber-cheap camisoles. You could use old t-shirts or experiment with other types of fabric, too.
First things first: Make your tassel string by cutting long strips of your jersey. If you’re using a shirt like we did, keep your strips attached at both ends — we’ll cut one end of it later.
Once you’ve cut all of your jersey, pull all your strips so that the ends curl inwards. Put one strip of jersey aside, then gather the rest of the strands into a group. Line up the old seam of the shirt, then fold the strands so that the seam is about two inches from the top. Using the jersey strip you set aside, wrap around the the full cluster of jersey to create the head of the tassel. Be sure that you’re wrapping around that ugly seam! Then trim your tassel to the length you prefer.
We used our jersey tassels to make a simple wall hanging, and we LOVED how it turned out. We spent less than $10 on this DIY, but it looks so expensive, don’t you think?
EMBROIDERY THREAD TASSEL INSTRUCTIONS
Materials:
- embroidery thread
– scissors
Instructions:
1. Cut two five-inch pieces off of your bundle of thread.
2. Use one of these pieces to tie a double knot in the middle of the bundle. Fold the thread in half so that this knot sits at the top.
3. Using the second piece of five-inch thread, wrap around the full bundle to make the head of your tassel.
4. Trim the tassel to your liking.
This type of tassel is probably the easiest type to make. Like, CRAZY easy.
Cut two five-inch pieces of embroidery thread. Use one of these pieces to tie a double knot smack dab in the middle of your bundle of thread.
Fold the bundle of thread in half so that the double knot sits at the top. To make the head of the tassel, wrap the second five-inch piece of thread around the entire bundle. Then trim the ends to your liking. Voila! That’s it.
There are endless applications for these embroidery tassels, but we decided to use them to update some placemats. We love how these guys add texture and flair to a basic table setting.
TISSUE PAPER TASSEL INSTRUCTIONS
Materials:
- tissue paper
– scissors
– hot glue gun
Instructions:
1. Fold two sheets of tissue in half. Cut strips into the tissue on the non-folded side, about two-thirds of the way up the paper.
2. Unfold the tissue paper and roll the middle, uncut part tightly. Do not roll the cut strips of paper.
3. Twist the rolled part of the tassel to further condense it, then wrap this part with an extra strip of tissue paper. Glue this extra strip in place. You’ve officially made a paper tassel!
We love all things Studio Mucci, so we thought we’d take a stab at creating a tissue paper garland of our own.
Take two sheets of tissue paper and cut it in half, lengthwise. Then cut this piece in half, cutting perpendicular to the initial cut to make four separate pieces (they’ll each be a tassel). Fold this cut piece in half. On the non-folded side, make slits into your tissue paper about two-thirds of the way up. Open the tissue up again — you should have fringe on both sides of the paper. Then tightly roll the entire tissue paper, only pressing down in the middle uncut part.
Once you have rolled the entire tissue, twist the middle to further condense it. Pinch these twisted parts together.
Take another strip of tissue paper that’s about the same width as each tassel strand and wrap it around the twisted paper, ensuring that you leave a loophole at the top. Use a glue gun to fasten the strip. Fluff the tassel’s strands to give the tassel body.
There you go — a paper tassel! Easy peasy, lemon-squeezy.
If you want to make a paper tassel garland, make a ton of paper tassels and thread them onto a string or ribbon. They’ll dress up any drab wall in an instant :)
LEATHER TASSEL INSTRUCTIONS
Materials:
- leather (we used a 12-inch x 4-inch piece of lambskin)
– fabric scissors
– sharpie pen
– straightedge
– hot glue gun
Instructions:
1. Cut a thin strip from your leather and set aside.
2. Using a straightedge, draw a line about one inch into your fabric. Cut your fringe up to this drawn line.
3. Glue your extra strip of leather onto the top-left corner to make a loop handle.
4. Starting on the same side as the handle, roll the entire uncut part of the leather tightly, gluing as you go. That’s all you need to do!
Because leather is much thicker than our other tassel materials, we can use a different technique: THE ROLL!
First up, cut a thin strip of leather from the end. This will be the loop at the top of your tassel.
Next, draw a straight line about one inch into your fabric. Make sure you’re drawing on the side of the leather that won’t be showing! Then carefully cut strips of leather up to this line you made.
Using the strip of leather you initially cut, create a loop handle. Glue this onto the top-left corner with your hot glue gun.
Let’s get rolling! Apply more hot glue to the uncut strip of leather at the top, then tightly roll up all of your fringe starting on the same side as the loop handle. Make sure you don’t get any hot glue on the cut part of the leather.
We used this tassel to dress up a standard clutch, but we could also see it being used as a lamp pull or a statement necklace. Really, the possibilities are endless.
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