How to make tassels

Esme Clemo
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Here’s our step-by-step video guide to how to make tassels

 

Materials

To make a tassel you will need

    • Thin card

 

    • Ruler

 

    • Pencil

 

    • Craft scissors

 

    • Anchor embroidery skeins, to make tassels for our bag we used: cornflower blue (131), sky blue (130), turquoise (433), blue/purple (118), pale mint (206), deep mint (204), violet (1030), jade (187), pale pink (08), coral (33) and deep coral (35) Metallic gold thread

 

Card measurements:

    • For a small tassel cut a 2.5 x 10cm piece of thin card

 

    • For a medium tassel cut a 5 x 10cm piece of thin card

 

    • For a large tassel cut a 10 x 10cm piece of thin card

 

Thread measurements:

    • For a small tassel 90cm of two strands

 

    • For a medium tassel 90cm of three strands

 

    • For a large tassel 500cm of six strands

 

Make tassels with our easy guide

1. Depending on what size tassel you want to make, measure and mark the size on a piece of thin card and cut out. We are making a large tassel.

Cut a 10cm piece of card

2. Measure half the width of your card and draw a line lengthways. Score along with scissors, or a blunt knife, and fold in half.

Fold the card in half

3. With the open side of the card facing away from you, place one end of the length of your thread on it, so that a little hangs over the open end.

4. Start wrapping the thread around the card, over and over until all the thread has been wound on.

Wind the embroidery thread around the folded card

5.  If you are using thicker card‚ or you wound the thread on very tightly, separate the card by poking a pencil through the centre

6.  Cut a 20cm piece of thread and insert it through the centre of the card. Then pull it up through the open end of the card.

7. Pull on the two ends of thread tightly, then pull them up and towards you, so that the thread ends at the folded end of the card

Secure the tassel with a knot at the top

8. Tie a double knot to secure it in place.

9. Insert the scissors at the open end of the card and cut through all the layers of thread to form the tassel.

Cut the tassel off the card

10. Cut a length of gold thread, approximately 25cm for a large tassel. Holding the tassel in one hand, place the gold thread over it, leaving 7cm hanging over for tying the knot later.

Wind metallic thread around the tassel top

11. Carefully wrap the gold thread around and around, pulling it tightly as you go and holding it in place with your thumb. Then tie a double knot to secure it in place.

12.  Cut off the excess gold thread and neaten the look of the tassel by trimming the ends so they are all one length.

Trim the tassel tips

Bags Of Style

How to make a tassel to spruce up your accessories

We made 13 large tassels and, using matching sewing thread, sewed them across the front of a plain straw bag.

Bejewelled

A plain necklace is given a new lease of life with rows of pastel-toned medium tassels. Try layering different lengths of necklaces together.

Arm Candy

Tiny tassels are the perfect addition to a beaded bracelet. Either group them together as we have or make a few and position them all around.