Well, well, well. Look who's back with another DIY tassel project. Another one, you say? Why yes! Most of you are probably fortunate enough to have missed or forgotten the last time I made tassels. Some four years ago I scarred my family for life when I stuck these beauts all over our house. Literally. Oh, I was proud. Those kitchen ones are no joke LOL!
I recently went on a quest to find something large scale for a big wall in our living room. I had some short white shelves pushed up against it and a few small things hung above those, but the ceiling is so high and this wall so grand, my little vignette wasn't doing this side of the room any favors. I wanted to play up the large scale of the wall with something proportionately....large! After seeing this image on Pinterest, I knew what I wanted to try.
So I had to ask myself. Can tassels be redeemed?
For this project I used yarn rather than fabric. The steps above show you exactly how I made each tassel:
1) Wrap the yarn around some 8-12" object 15-30 times around. I tried to vary the size of each tassel and didn't keep an accurate count of how many times I went around. I just knew some would be fuller than others. 2) Pull the ring of yarn off the object. 3) Grab ring somewhere in the middle and tie a string or twine around it. 4) Cut the opposite end of the yarn ring open. 5) Gather the bundle together 6) Grab at the twine/string you tied around the ring and wrap a nice little 'neck' of twine/string about 2-3" below that
Then tie about 6' long pieces of string to a wooden dowel. I got mine from Home Depot and stained it. Space the strings about 2" apart.
Hold the wooden dowel with the strings up on the wall where you'd like it to go, and make sure to use a level! It's hard to eyeball something this large when you're right up on it. Mark the ends where you want your nails/hooks to go.
I hung mine on two large nails at either end but this part could go so many different directions. Only after hanging the dowel with the strings tied to it do you want to tie on your tassels. When it's up on the wall you'll be able to see better the scale and where you want the tassels to start. Don't over think as you're tying the tassels on - a piece like this shouldn't be too methodical but rather soft and organic.
It's definitely the strong focal point I was looking for to carry that wall! This piece speaks the same language, (as Cate says), as the trendy wall weavings that you can find just about everywhere, but at less than $20 to make myself it was less of a financial investment for something that, let's be honest, may only be in our home for a season. Our home is my place of inspiration - it's where I try out new ideas and styles and see how things can work together. This is where I can really stretch my creativity without risking a client's trust or budget.
So, what do you think? Have I redeemed tassels under our roof? Well, my sons think they look like octopuses, my daughter says they're dolls, and in my blessed husbands own words, "It's okay." LOL! Interpret as you wish.
Thank you all for coming by!
