Tassel Necklace Tutorial

Here's how to make the awesome Tassel Necklaces we made at our recent evening craft workshop in Hamilton, Vic:

Materials:

Rope

Embroidery cotton in your chosen colour scheme

Scissors

Needle

Thread e.g. beading thread or strong thin cotton

Jump Rings and jewellery pliers if needed

Double-sided tape (optional)

Beads (also optional but they add that zing!)

Tutorial:

1) Cut your rope to desired length- longer for bow or tassel ends, shorter for a neat join.

2) Make your tassel! Wrap embroidery floss, twine or thread around something flat, and close a jump ring around one end, or tie with cotton.

3) Cut the opposite end so the loops become loose ends, then wrap more thread just below the jump ring to make the tassel shape. Trim messy ends if you like!

4) Add beads above the tassel (I also added a jump ring below the blue thread) and use strong cotton or jewellery thread to attach it to the rope, sewing through the rope itself for security.

5) Wrap either side of your tassel with thread, doubling back on the loose end to secure it. TIP 1: A little bit of double sided sticky tape holds the thread in place nicely! TIP 2: It’s easier if you wrap straight from the spool or wrap your coloured thread on a piece of cardboard first to speed up the round-and-round part!

6) Stuff the end of your wrap back down into the wrapped thread, or secure with a tiny dot of glue.

7) Close the ends of your necklace- here you have many options! a) Neat: join the ends together head-to-head with no overlap, tape them and then wrap with thread. b) Frayed: overlap the ends and wrap them together, securing with tape first if you wish, then drag through the fibres of the rope with scissors (or a fork!) to fray. c) Bow: overlap the ends and fold them back in to make a bow shape, tape and wrap both the centre and the loose ends all together. d) Use rope end fastenings from a jewellery supplies shop. e) Tie a knot!

Get creative with your design- add extra loops, beads and charms, wrap every inch of the rope, maybe even dip dye toe rope or tassel! Add metalic threads, or experiment with different ways to close the loop, or different ways to arrange the necklace- maybe add some knots or twists along the way, or upcycle bits of hardware as beads for example plumbing olives! The options are endless!

Happy Crafting!

Stacey from My Crafternoons