Beaded tassels are attractive, versatile accessories that can be used to decorate around the home, embellish clothing, or jazz up jewelry. You can make them in any design and color you want. All you have to do to create one is join several strings of beads, called trailers, together into one tassel skirt. Then, you can top off the skirt with some decorative beads or a bead cap.
EditSteps
EditDesigning Your Tassel
- Decide how many trailers your finished tassel will have. You can make a tassel with as many trailers as you want. Just remember, the more trailers you make, the heavier the tassel will be. Keep this in mind especially if you intend to add the tassels to a piece of jewelry, like a pair of earrings.[1]
- When deciding how many trailers, also consider the size and type of beads you will be adding. The number of trailers not only affects the weight of the tassel, but also the bulk. For bookmarks, keychains, or necklaces you may want to go bold with large beads. But for earrings, smaller beads are better so they don't hurt your ears.
- A thin-tasseled earring might only have 5 or 6 trailers, while a keychain might have up to 20.
- It’s helpful to sketch out your pattern on paper so you can visualize what the final piece will look like.
- Choose bead types and colors according to your design. Beads are made in many different sizes, colors, and materials. Depending on what you want to do with your tassel, you can choose any combination of beads that suits your style and purpose.[2]
- Usually larger, decorative beads are used on the bottom of the tassel trailers and on the body of the tassel. Small, simple beads called "seed beads" are great for use as fillers and spacers. Play around with different sizes and shapes until you find a design you love.
- Metal beads will be heavier than wooden or plastic beads, so keep the size and weight of the beads in the mind as you decide which to use.
- Gather all your beading supplies and place them in front of you. Once you’ve decided how many trailers and what types of beads you want, you need to gather all your supplies. Beading supplies can usually be found at craft and sewing stores–there may even be a specific aisle dedicated to jewelry-making materials.[3] You’ll need:
- A spool of beading thread
- Beads of your choice
- A large, thin needle called a beading needle
- Scissors
- Ruler or tape measure
- Something to cap the trailers and finish the tassel: a bead cap, one or more larger beads, or a small jewelry ring called a "jump ring"
EditMaking the Trailers
- Cut your beading thread into segments to form the trailers. The trailers are the individual strings on the tassel that make up the tassel's "skirt." They can be any length you want, but you need to make sure to cut the thread about longer than the length of the finished skirt. To cut your thread, lay the line out alongside a ruler or measuring tape and make equal cuts until you have made enough trailers.[4]
- The extra length will make it easier to tie the starting and ending knots and to attach the trailers together in forming the tassel skirt.
- For earrings, you probably want to cut no more than of thread, for a finished skirt that is about long. For keychains, bookmarks, or other jewelry, decide what is comfortable for you to carry or wear and measure based on that.
- Tie a stopper knot in one end of each trailer to hold the beads in place. Stopper knots are larger knots at the end of a line that will keep the beads from falling off. You can either tie a specific stopper knot, or just make a couple knots on top of each other to form a single knot big enough to keep your beads from slipping off the thread. The knot just needs to be bigger in diameter than the hole of your bottom bead.[5]
- Tie the knot as close to the end of the thread as you, leaving just about tail at the end. If you find it's difficult to tie the knot that close to the end of the line, you can leave a little longer tail and just trim it at the end.
- Thread the open end of the first trailer through a beading needle. If you have a steady hand or are using larger beads, you can skip this step. Threading the line through a beading needle is to help you work quickly and efficiently without losing the end of the line or struggling to feed the line through each bead.[6]
- If you're having a hard time threading the needle, try folding it at the end and pushing the folded loop through the needle's eye. The fold will stiffen the thread, making it easier to push through the eye of the needle.
- You can also wet the end of the thread with your tongue to make it easier to pass it through the eye of the needle.
- If your needle has a really small eye, try using a needle-threader–they're available at most craft stores.
- Slide the beads according to your pattern down the needle and onto the thread. Holding the needle upright (or the thread if you do not use the needle), slide the beads onto the thread one at a time according to your planned design.[7]
- Some people like to start with larger starter beads at the bottom and then add smaller beads, but it’s not a necessary step. As long as the knot you made at the bottom is wider than the diameter of the first bead, you can add the beads in any order you want.
- Leave at least of open thread at the end of the line so that you can tie off the line and secure the beads in place.
- Seal the top of the trailer with another stopper knot to hold the beads in place. Directly after the last bead on the trailer, add another stopper knot to secure the beads onto the line. Don’t forget to make sure the knot is wider than the last bead so that the beads don’t slip off.[8]
- If you don't finish off each trailer with a stopper knot, your beads will fall off the line and you'll have to start over.
- Tie this stopper knot as close as you can to the beads. Ideally, it should be flush against the last bead, so that your row of beads doesn't slide on the trailer.
- Make the rest of the tassel skirt by adding and securing your beads to the trailers. For each trailer, thread the needle, slide on the beads, and secure the beads with stopper knots. When you are done, you will have several beaded strings ready to form into a tassel skirt.
- To easily keep track of how many trailers you've made, lay them out on the side of your workspace as you finish them.
- Use a piece of tape to stick the completed trailers to the table if you are worried about losing any. This is a good tip if you have a cat or small children that might get curious about your project.
- Inspect your trailers to make sure you like the way they look. Once your trailers are all made, lay them out on the table in front of you. Make sure they look how you want as individual strings and that you like the way they look together with the other trailers. If you don’t like any of them, cut open the knot, remove the beads, and remake it.
- There is no specific way the trailers should look. It's completely up to you and your design preferences!
EditJoining the Trailers
- Join your trailers under one or more larger beads to finish the tassel. To create a tassel with a beaded skirt at the bottom and a big bead or string of beads on top, just feed the lines of the individual trailers through one or more larger beads and secure with a large stopper knot.
- To make it easier to pull the ends of the trailers through the topper bead, either twist them together to make one bigger and stiffer line, or thread them through a large-eyed needle to easily pull them through the bead's hole.
- To secure the topper beads, you can add a dab of hot glue or super glue at the point where the thread comes out from the top bead.[9]
- Cap your trailers with a bead cap to create an ornate tassel. Bead caps are bell-shaped caps that slide over the top of your tassel skirt and give it a nice, finished look. You can choose between open or closed bead caps, depending on how you want to use the tassel after you’ve finished.[10]
- For an open bead cap, just thread the trailers through the hole in the cap and secure it with a stopper knot and glue as you would with a large bead topper.
- For a closed bead cap, tie the trailers together with a large knot and super glue the knot to the inside of the bead cap.
- Tie the trailers onto a jump ring to add them to a piece of jewelry. If you want to add the tassel to something else where the top won’t show, you can just tie each trailer to small jewelry ring called a jump ring. This forms a tassel skirt that you can attach to a bracelet or a necklace, or even sew into a clothing project.[11]
- You could also glue the tassel to the back of a brooch.
EditVideo
EditTips
- Doing the beadwork on a flat surface will make it easier to thread the beads in the pattern you have in mind, and also makes it easier to compare the succession of beads on the trailer you are working on with the ones you've already completed.
EditThings You'll Need
- Spool of beading thread
- Beads of your choice
- Large, thin needle called a beading needle (optional)
- Scissors
- Ruler or tape measure
- Bead cap, 1 or more larger beads, or jump ring
- Hot glue or super glue (optional)
EditRelated wikiHows
EditReferences
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