How to Make Elizabethan Tassels
Tassels are fairly simple to make, and most of the creativity comes into the way you trim them. In Elizabethan England, tassels were common on the edging of cloaks, at the end of long belts, and on handkerchiefs. They were also used as the decoration for pull-string pouch style purses that were worn hanging to the calf under a lady's skirt. Large tassels were often used as tiebacks for curtains and bed hangings. Common materials for tassels included gold, silk or wool. This wool tassel will be approximately 7 inches long.
Things You'll Need
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- 1 skein wool yarn
- Yarn needle
- 2 pieces wool felt, contrasting colors
- Thread
- Needle
- 12 inches of cording
Instructions
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1
Cut a piece of the cardboard into a 3-by-7 inch rectangle. Hold the end of the yarn onto the top edge of the cardboard with your thumb, and wrap the yarn around the long side of the rectangle. Cross it back over the starting end to hold the yarn into place. Wrap the yarn around the long side of the rectangle 30 to 50 more times. For a thicker tassel, keep wrapping.
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2
Cut a 6-inch length of yarn and thread it through a yarn needle. Push the needle under all the strands of yarn at the top of the rectangle. Tie the yarn strands into a bundle using a square knot. Pull out the cardboard. Tie a second piece of yarn around the yarn strands about an inch below the first one. Wrap this yarn tightly around the strand bundle repeatedly, creating a ½-inch long "neck" for the tassel. The area above and below this should bulge out slightly.
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3
Cut a ¾-inch strip from one color of felt that is long enough to wrap around the tassel. Cut five small flower shapes from the other color of felt and sew them onto the strip. Wrap the strip, flower side out, around the tassel. Trim until the strip's ends just overlap, then sew through the edges to attach them to each other and to the tassel.
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4
Cut the cording to the length needed for the desired use of the tassel and sew the cord to the head of the tassel. Attach either one end of the cord or make a loop.
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Tips & Warnings
In the Elizabethan era, clothes really did make the man--or woman. Sumptuary laws--or edicts governing the sumptuousness of clothing--dictated who could wear what colors, and what the cloth and trim materials could be. Keeping in mind that these laws were only sporadically enforced, if you are making Elizabethan replica clothing, you will probably want to reference a chart such as the one in the resources section to get an idea of the materials and colors appropriate for the tassels on a particular accessory or garment. After the invention of the tassel in the Middle Ages, it just kept getting larger over time. For this reason, Elizabethan tassels should be kept somewhat smaller than Victorian tassels used for the same purpose. Vary the fatness of the tassel by the number of times you wrap it. If you are using silk threads, you are going to need a lot more wraps to get any bulk.
