How to Make a Tassel: A Simple DIY!

Making a beautiful tassel is easy with this simple step by step DIY tutorial!

One of the details that I love most about my living room armoire is that the upper cabinet knobs are actually metal keys inserted into little keyholes. They aren’t very noticeable unless you’re get up close so I thought it would be fun to add a tassel to the keys to make it stand out. Since all of the pre-made tassels that I found looked like they belonged in the house of a cute little old lady who loves doilies and fake flowers, I figured out how to make my own! It was simple – I’ll walk you through how to make a tassel step by step!  

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies 

I chose embroidery floss for making my tassels because there are tons of colors to choose from, it’s cheap, and half the work in making a tassel is already done because it comes bundled in even loops. I made each tassel with three 99 cent packs of embroidery floss, an adjustable metal ring (if you don’t want the metal accent, you can skip it!), and a wire cutter I bought {this pack} from Michael’s that had three gold and three silver rings), and a wire cutter ({this wire cutter} is a highly rated inexpensive option) if you’re going with the metal band. 

Step 2: Cut Your Embroidery Floss

Take the paper sleeves off the embroidery floss and cut about two yards of floss off of one of the packs – set it aside to use later. Line up the three flosses and put all six of the loose ends toward the bottom. Cut off the three long loose ends to make them about even with the short ones.

Step 3: Create Your Tassel Hanger

Next, find something that’s a bit fatter than a pencil (I used a scrapbooking tool but you can use a wooden spoon, skinny magic marker, etc.) and stick it through the loops of floss at the top. Then cut off a piece of floss (about 18″) from the two yard piece you set aside and run it though the top loops, tie it in a knot, and cut off the excess at the top of the knot to create the tassel hanger. You can always shorten the length of the hanger later if needed.

Step 4: Create the Tassel Top

While pulling the tassel hanger taut, use a small piece of embroidery floss to tie a knot as shown. Cut off the extra floss close to the knot.

Step 5: Finish off the Bottom of the Tassel

Remove your round tool from the top loops and then snip the loop at the bottom with scissors:

Trim the bottom to the length that you want your tassel to be:

Step 6: Wrap the Metal Band Around It

The only adjustable rings that I could find were a bit large, so I used wire cutters to cut a little over an inch off of the band before bending it around the tassel. Beware – once you cut the band, the cut edge will be sharp so handle carefully! If you have little ones who may be messing with your tassels, I would recommend filing the sharp end.

Finally, bend the adjustable ring in a circle around the tassel so that the ends overlap in the back (bend the cut end around the tassel first and then bend the finished end over top of it). 

or find a fun piece of cord or trim to wrap around it:

I love the little added touch of whimsy it brings to my china chest: