Making Tassels 101

Tassels, like pom-poms, are common adornments for knitted items. If you’ve never made a tassel then you’re in for a fun project. Tassels are easy to make and don’t require any fancy equipment. If you enjoyed my pom-pom tutorial (Making Pom-Poms 101) then you’re sure to enjoy this one too! 

Materials

The only materials needed to make a tassel are yarn, scissors, and cardboard. A small kitchen scale can also come in handy if you need to precisely measure the amount of yarn for each tassel that you are making. For example, the instructions for my free Dappled Shawl pattern call for three tassels of approximately 3-4 grams of yarn each. This is an easy way to determine how much yarn to set aside for the tassels and how much yarn to use for each one so that they match. I set aside a healthy 4 grams of yarn for each of those tassels.

Making The Tassels

First of all, get your yarn ready. Decide on the amount needed for your tassels either by weighing or measuring. In the example shown below I weighed my fingering weight yarn and I’m using 4 grams.

Cut a piece of cardboard to the size you prefer. I’m using a 3 inch piece of cardboard here. The size of the cardboard determines the length of the tassel. Next, wrap the yarn around the cardboard as shown in the photo. The more yarn that is wrapped, the thicker the tassel will be.

It’s always a good idea to make some practice tassels first. Use scrap yarn and try various amounts of yarn and various sizes of cardboard until you get the result you’re looking for. Practice makes perfect!

Next, cut two pieces of yarn to use for tying. For a 3 inch tassel, cut two pieces of yarn that are each a bit longer than 6 inches. With one piece, tie the top of the wrapped yarn tightly as shown below. Do not trim the yarn ends. They will be used to secure the tassel to the item it will be attached to.

Now you can cut the bottom of the wound yarn as shown below. Trim it evenly and carefully. Next, use the other piece of yarn that you set aside to tie around the tassel, creating a ball shape at the top of the tassel. Secure it tightly. You may or may not decide to wrap the yarn around the tassel more than once for a pretty effect. The yarn ends can be tucked inside the tassel. You can use a darning needle to thread them into the inside of your tassel. Finally, trim the tassel so the yarn ends are even.

Here is the finished tassel. Four grams of yarn made into a 3 inch tassel gives a nice thick decorative tassel. Experiment with yarn amounts and sizes to get the result you want. Wrapping more yarn makes a thicker tassel and the size of the cardboard determines the length.

Attaching Tassels to the Dappled Shawl

At the beginning of this tutorial I mentioned my Dappled Shawl. I made three tassels with approximately 3 grams of yarn each. To make the tassels I used a 3 inch piece of cardboard and I wrapped the yarn around it 70 times.  Next, I attached a tassel to each corner of the shawl as follows.

Using a small crochet hook, pull the tassel’s yarn ends through the tip of the shawl where the tassel will be secured. Pull one end through the right side of the shawl and the other through the wrong side of the shawl. I then tied the ends in a double knot. If you don’t like using knots or you want to be able to remove the tassel when washing the item, pull the yarn ends through several more times to secure it. Then, using a darning needle,  pull the ends into the centre of the tassel. Trim the ends to match the length of the tassel.

 

Happy tassel-making!