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Bead Tassel |
There is a chart for this project that you can see by clicking on the link. |
Supplies for the Tassel
65-75 Four or Five mm beads drilled with holes large enough for #8 perle cotton, mine are frosted white in the photo.
Aleene's Tacky glue, dries clear.
Wax paper to lay glued strands on and to work on the project. Glue easily pulls away from the wax paper once it dries.
Ball of Perle Cotton #8 to match project, mine is lavender.
cut about 20 to 25 lengths that are double plus 2 inches larger than the final length you want.
Mine were 12 inches long, 6 inches when doubled. I glued the ends of these strands and then used the glued ends to string the beads.
I knotted both ends for the bead tips.
Focal Bead drilled with hole large enough for 2 strands of #8 perle cotton, mine is the large purple glass bead.
Tassel
Make 2 feet of twisted Perle Cotton #8 cord. Secure ends and set aside till later.
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Tassel |
Place a four or five mm bead on each end of the twelve inch lengths of perle cotton, tie knots to secure beads and glue the knot. Make 20-25 of these, they have to be about the same length. Lay beaded strands side by side, bead ends even. Fold the group in half and tie and knot the middle with an 18 inch strand of perle cotton. Place a four or five mm bead on each end of the twelve inch lengths of perle cotton, tie knots to secure beads and glue the knot. Lay beaded strands side by side, bead ends even.Fold the group in half and tie and knot the middle of the group with an 18 inch strand of perle cotton. |
String more of the 4 or 5 mm beads onto another strand of perle cotton to make rings around the bottom and top of the focal bead. Place one ring above the focal bead and two rings below the focal bead. Thread ends of perle cotton through a couple of the beads on the bead ring, tie off one end of the perle cotton with a small knot over the strand the beads are on and glue the knot to secure, do the other end of the perle cotton on the other side of the ring. Do this for each ring.
Please note: the bottom bead ring is larger than the other two bead rings. See Photo.
Slip two bead rings on the tassel, then the focal bead, then another bead ring. See photo.
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Get the perle cotton cord you set aside, then the glue, draw a line of glue from the starting point (see photo) where you will glue the cord straight up the group of beaded strands to the rings of beads below the focal bead. The starting point for gluing the end of the cord is about 1 inch above the bead strands. See Photo I wrapped the cord five times around the bead strands and cut and glued the end of the cord under the wraps, slid down two bead rings, the focal bead and the top bead ring. Then glued another new cord on the bead strands above the focal bead and wrapped the bead strands three more times with the new cord and finished it like the first cord. |
Tie the tassel onto your project, I like to tie on the tassel through the folded end of the cord I used around the edge of the embroidery. Then thread the ends one strand at a time on a long, large eyed needle and plunge them into the tassel or project to secure. You do need to tighten the tie-on before you finish the ends, but not so much you break the perle cotton. You may need to get some floss or sewing thread to match your fabric so you can make some invisible tacking stitches through the knot you tied and any other places you deem necessary to secure things.
A final note, the beads want to twist up as shown, it keeps them together so strays don't get pulled off, if the tangle bothers you straighten out the strands, wrap the strands tightly starting about an inch above the beads with a single strand of the perle cotton in a coil up the strands before you glue on the cord. Copyright 2004, Linda Fontenot, www.AmericanFolkArts.com
