How to Make a Ribbon & Chenille Yarn Tassel
Most homemade tassels are made from one material--usually yarn or embroidery floss. But ribbon can make a good textural addition to a yarn tassel, especially when you pair it with a soft yarn like chenille. Satin ribbon is the best bet for a tassel since it's easy to work with and is available in a large array of colors, but you may need more than one spool per tassel since the spools have much smaller yardage than a skein of chenille yarn. Ribbon and chenille yarn tassels are fast and easy, and you can use them as a personal touch on gifts, pillow corners or even drapery ties.
Things You'll Need
- Scissors
- Thin cardboard (e,g. a cereal box)
- 2 lengths of chenille yarn, 12 inches (30 cm) each
- Masking tape
- 1 skein chenille yarn
- Satin ribbon, 1/4-inch or 3/8-inch wide (number of spools will depend on desired fullness of tassel)
- Tapestry needle
Instructions
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1
Cut a piece of cardboard about 5 inches (13 cm) wide and as tall as you want the tassel to be.
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2
Lightly tape a 12-inch (30-cm) length of chenille yarn onto the upper half of the cardboard. You'll be removing the tape soon, so don't press it down too firmly.
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3
Hold the ends of the ribbon and chenille yarn together, but don't cut them from the skein or spool yet. Start from the bottom of the cardboard and begin wrapping the ribbon and yarn around the up-and-down dimension of the cardboard, treating them as though they were one strand.
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4
Wrap the yarn and ribbon as few or as many times as you like, but about 50 times makes a nice medium-sized tassel. If you want a thinner or thicker tassel, wrap fewer or more times, using your best judgment. When you're done, cut the ribbon and yarn from the spool and skein so the ends of both are flush with the bottom of the cardboard.
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5
Untape the 12-inch (30-cm) length of chenille yarn from the upper half of the cardboard, slide it up to the top of the ribbon-and-yarn bundle and tie it tightly with a double knot.
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Cut the opposite end of the bundle with the scissors, which will make free ends instead of loop ends. Remove the cardboard.
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With the second 12-inch (30-cm) length of chenille yarn, make a tight double knot around the whole bundle a short way down from the tied end. This will form the "head" of the tassel. There's no set measurement for how big the tassel head should be, so again, use your best judgment and place it where it looks best to you.
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Wrap the free ends of that yarn piece two to three times around the "neck" of the tassel and make another double knot. Thread both ends into the tapestry needle, then pull the needle into the tassel head and down through the center of the tassel body to hide the free yarn ends. Pull the needle out, letting the ends stay in the tassel.
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Fluff or smooth the tassel as desired and trim the ends if needed. Use the yarn ends at the top of the head to attach the tassel where you'd like it.
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Tips & Warnings
If you run out of ribbon in the middle of wrapping it around the cardboard with the yarn, don't try to tie or glue the start of the next ribbon spool to the end of the first one. Instead, cut off the first one flush with the bottom of the bundle (if needed) and start the new one flush with the bottom of the bundle also.
Instead of using cardboard, you can also wrap the yarn and ribbon around your fingers--if that's a size you'd like the tassel to be.
If you do use your fingers as the guide for wrapping the ribbon and yarn, you'll need to slide your hand out of the bundle to tie the first length of chenille yarn at the top of the tassel, but you may want to slide your hand back in before you make the cut at the bottom. If you do so, be very careful using the scissors.
