How to Create a Decorative Tassel

Learn a quick way to create tassels to decorate clothes, jewelry, and accessories with Binge Knitting

Binge Knitting (@bingeknitting) is a duo of designers and weavers made up of Bárbara Bremer and Carolina Herrera. They knit all kinds of fashion and home accessories with traditional crochet or crochet and needle techniques. Both infuse in their pieces with a contemporary vision of design and sustainable fashion.

They recently gave a talk on Domestika Live, in which they spoke about their career,answered questions from the general public, and shared the simple steps needed to create a beautiful tassel, which you could use in different projects.

What is a tassel

A tassel is a decorative tuft that is attached to clothing or jewelry. It has been used in different forms and many cultures throughout history.

What you'll need

• Thread. You can use any type of thread or yarn that you have to hand.
  


• Scissors.
  


• A book or notebook.
  

Steps

1. Take the notebook or book of any size. The bigger it is, the longer the tassel will be. Don't stress about the size. If you don't like the end result, you can always cut the end of the tassel.

2. Take the thread. In this example, a thick yarn was used, which is ideal for practicing at first.

3. If you want a short tassel, use the narrower side of the book. If you want a long one, use the longer side.

4. Hold the thread strand with your finger and wrap it around the book 15 times. If you do more wraps, the tassel will be wider. Experiment to see what size is right for you.

5. While you are spinning it, make adjustments so that the strands of the thread do not separate too much.

6. When you're done spinning, cut the remainder of the thread.

7. Cut another piece of yarn 12 inches in length and spread it on the table.

8. Remove the wrapped thread from the book, keeping the loop intact. Lay it perpendicular to the thread you just cut. The new thread should be halfway through the looped thread.

9. Take the edges of the strand and tie it loosely. Check that it is halfway, and if it is correct, tighten the knot. Make a second knot. You will see that the body of the tassel is already formed.

10. To make the neck, hold the tassel in your hand. Take the leftover piece of thread and wrap it around the tassel. In this example, five loops were made.

11. Cut off the excess thread and tie two tight knots to secure.

12. Cut the loops at the bottom to have loose strands.

13. Cut the threads to even the bottom of the tassel.

14. Make a knot at the top of the hanging thread. You can also sew it to another surface. In the image, you will see a pink tassel, formed from several tassels to achieve a more ornate look.

You can see all the steps in this video tutorial on Domestika Live.

If you want to learn more from Binge Knitting, sign up for their Knitting and Crochet Basic Techniques course and start creating your own handmade pieces.

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