A Tale of Three Tassels: DIY Tassel Tutorial

Items with tassels are some of the hottest accessories on the market right now. You can find them on jewelry, purses, keychains, hats and clothing. And what's more - there are all kinds of tassels - silk, satin, leather, and chain.

I have spent the last couple of weeks dabbling in making my own tassels. Now mine are fairly simple but your options are limited only by your own imagination. I have found quite a few very ornate tassels - maybe I will graduate to making some of these in the future!

Now I have spent a fair amount of time checking out various tutorials on Pinterest and Facebook. And I have found that there is definitely more than one way to make a tassel. There are lots of techniques and styles - and you can get lost looking through all the tutorials. But I am going to share with you here how I made my tassels.

SUPPLIES:

• Silk embroidery thread
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Thick cardboard stock cut to the length you want your tassel - mine is 2 inches
• Jump ring - I used an 8mm size
• Two pairs of chain or flat nose pliers (not pictured in the photo below)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  Wind your thread around the cardboard stock about 50 times - the more wraps your make, the thicker and fuller the tassel.

2.  Slide your wrapped thread off the cardboard. Then use your pliers to place the jump ring at the top of the wrapped thread.

3.  Cut a piece of thread off about 12 inches long. I used matching thread but you could use a contrasting color. Some people use a gold or silver metallic thread.

4.  Bunch up the looped thread and use the 12 inch piece of thread to tie a knot around it near the top just below the jump ring.

5.  Place your scissors through the bottom of the looped thread and cut through it. Then cut any straggling pieces of thread to even it up.

6.  And Voila! Here's your tassel:

7. Now just place your tassel on whatever project you want.  Add it to a charm bracelet. Or make a matching tassel for a pair of earrings. I added mine to a keychain:

Now I mentioned there are multiple ways to make tassels.  Like this capped tassel I made below.  I used a tutorial from madeinaday.com to make this one:

My third tassel is actually my favorite - you make a nice little loop with the thread at the top and it really makes for a nicely finished tassel. I used two pieces of contrasting thread for this one and followed the you tube tutorial from CraftyOwlCafe.

So go ahead - make a tassel and share it! I'd love to see it!