On the sixth day of Craftsmas our DIY will be:

• tassled throws a-tasslin’,

• a POM POM GARLAAAAAAND! (here!)

• crocheted baskets basking (here!),

• floral hoops (here!),

• gold feather earrings (here!), and

• a warm, chunky arm-knit blankie (here!)

You’ll need:

• Yarn in colors of your choice (black and white for me forever, thanks)

• A small blanket, or something of the sort. In my case, I found a black blanket scarf at the Target dollar spot (or as it applies to me, the Target $100 spot) for just $5 and it makes the perfect little throw.

• Darning needle/scissors

Tassels:

(this is just a variation on my pompom tutorial)

1. Cut two 12” pieces of left-over yarn and set aside. Using the skein, repeatedly wrap yarn around object of desired size (I used a ~6” book) until you achieve desired fullness for your tassel. I take a ‘more is more’ approach, but tastes vary.

2. Thread one of the 12” pieces between object and yarn wad, and tie in a tight knot at the top of tassel. LEAVE THESE ENDS LONG, as you’ll use them to sew on to blanket. Pull yarn wad off object.

3. Smooth out yarn, maintaining loops, and tie second 12” piece of yarn around ALL yarn (front and back of loop) approx. 1” below the top. Cut the loops on the bottom of the tassel. Trim and hide ends of 12” yarn tied around the middle of the tassel. The top piece of yarn will be used to attach to the purse.

   • tlo pro-tip: sometimes the 2 pieces that you tie AROUND the middle of the tassel stick out in a funny way. If that happens, I thread them over the knot and back down the middle of the tassel using a darning needle.

Visual learner? Here’s a video of me making a smaller tassel. I used my hand instead of a book for this one, but it should give you the general idea.

Assembly:

1. Determine how you want to space your tassels. I put 5 on 2 opposing ends of my blanket.

2. Take first tassel and, using darning needle, thread loose ends tied at top of tassel through blanket just ~1” above edge (be sure it’s far enough from the edge so that the blanket won’t unravel from the weight of the tassels if it isn’t hemmed). Thread ends separately, and then tie in a knot on the back of the blanket. Using darning needle again, thread ends back through to front of blanket and through the tassel from the top, through the yarn tied around the center of the tassel, and down with all of the loose tassel ends. Trim to match length of tassel. Now your tassel is secure AND the ends are hidden!

3. Repeat step 2 for all tassels.

Here’s another video showing how to attach the tassels:

See? So easy! Now I’m thinking I need to try one with pom poms (*rubs hands together maniacally*).

Toodles! tlo