DIY tassel earrings: 3 ways to make your own tassel earrings
Make a pair of stylish earrings with our easy-to-follow tutorials. We have three exciting methods for you to try including a video tutorial! So choose your favourite and get making.
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Tassells are so versatile, you can use them to finish fringe cushions, blankets, lampshades and much more! They make a stylish accessory too, they can be used in earrings, necklaces, keyrings and anything else you can think of! In this article, we will show you how to make a simple tassel in our quick video tutorial. Then we will show you how to attach an earring hook, and voila! You will have your own pair of tasselled earrings. Below you will also find two variations on the tasselled earrings including a step-by-step with images that you can follow along with.
Once you know the basics of making a tassel, all you need to do is use a little imagination and the creative possibilities are countless! Making tassels are a fab way to use up your stash too, especially if you have odd skeins of thread lying around. If you are looking for a chunkier tassel, why not substitute embroidery thread for yarn?
How to make a tassel video tutorial
Tassell earrings by Anchalika O’Connell
Tassel earrings are popping up in all the high street shops but instead of buying them why not make your own? Artist Anchalika O’Connell loves to create jewellery inspired by Thai culture and has kindly given us this colourful, DIY tassel earrings project for you to make. They’d make fab little presents for any occasion, so grab your fave threads and make this quick evening project.
Materials
- Two skeins of embroidery thread in dark blue (we used DMC 823) and one skein in mustard (we used DMC 298)
- Two gold earring hooks
- Two jump rings, 0.5cm (¼”)
- Cardboard, 6 x 3.5cm (23/8 x 13/8“)
- Embroidery needle
- Jewellery pliers
- Scissors
DIY tassel earrings
If you’re looking for more jewellery making content then make sure you check out our macrame necklace tutorial! Oh and we’ve also got an episode guide about the new hit jewellery making show All That Glitters.
You Will Need
- Embroidery Thread
- Gold earring hooks
- jump rings
- Cardboard
- Embroidery needle
- Jewellery pliers
- Scissors
Total time:
Step 1
Wrap blue embroidery thread around the width of the cardboard, roughly 45 times, to create a thick bundle. Stop with the winding thread in the centre, then trim the thread at the bottom. Cut a 10cm (4″) length of blue thread and thread it through the embroidery needle. Use the needle to pull the thread through the bundle, then tie it loosely at the top.
Step 2
Slide the bundle off the cardboard and pull the knot tight at the top to create a tassel.
Step 3
Cut a 12.5cm (5″) length of blue thread and tie it three times around the top of the tassel, 0.5cm (¼”) down from the top, to create a head. Knot the thread to secure it, then thread the ends through the needle and take it through the tassel, hiding the knot under the wrap.
Step 4
Slide the scissors through the looped threads at the bottom of the tassel and cut. Trim the ends so they’re even, then use a fine comb to brush the ends of the tassel and make it fluffy. Repeat Steps 1-4 to make three more blue tassels and two yellow. Remember, you can make your tassel earrings in any colour you like and using spare thread from your stash.
Step 5
Thread the needle with blue embroidery thread and tie a double knot at the end. Push it up through a blue tassel, then a yellow tassel, then another blue tassel. Tie the thread at the top in a double knot, then thread the needle under the top of the tassel to secure it. Trim the ends.
Step 6
Open the jump ring with the pliers, then loop it under the knot at the top of the blue tassel. Attach the earring hook, close the jump ring. Then repeat Steps 5-6 to make the second earrings and you’re done! A pair of tassel earrings that make an amazing gift.
How to make tassel earrings by Holly Spanner
Tassels are hugely popular and on-trend, and our swanky tassel earrings are an easy way to capitalise on this micro-trend. Earrings always have the potential to sell well – get your costings right and you can really cash in, as they’re the perfect price point for gifts. So why not learn how to make tassel earrings to sell?
Our tassels are made with DMC Light Effects – a sparkly embroidery thread that comes in different effects: pearlescent, jewel, precious metal and antique. For speed, you can buy earring wires but for an upmarket version (and more profit if you’re looking to sell your tassel earrings) we show you how to make your own from sterling silver wire.
Learning how to make tassel earrings make for the ideal gift, and once you’ve learnt how to make tassel earrings, it’s just a case of deciding which colour combination to go for!
Looking for more awesome jewellery making tutorials? Check out these fun three-tiered DIY tassel earrings, or how about learning how to make a jewellery roll to keep all your homemade jewellery safe and protected.
We love seeing what you make, so don’t forget to share your craft projects with us on Facebook and Twitter, too!
To make these tassel earrings you will need:
- 8-10 skeins of DMC Light Effects thread in the following shades:
- Sterling silver wire (half-hard), 24cm (91⁄2in) of 0.7mm
- Jump rings, 2 x 7mm, 2 x 5mm silver-plated
- Fine rollo chain, 5-6cm (2in) silver-plated
- Jewellery pliers set (round, snipe and flat nose)
- Wire cutters
- Cup burr
How to make tassel earrings
Size
9.5cm (33⁄4in) long (including the earring wires)
Top tips
- You can harden the wire to set the earring shape by tapping with a rubber hammer on a metal block.
- You can leave the threads crinkly or press the separated bundles with a medium-hot iron
Step 1
We’ll start learning how to make tassel earrings by making the wires. To make the tassel earring wires, cut a 12cm (4¾ in) length of silver wire and bend into a U shape over the handle of your pliers. Use snipe-nose pliers to bend one tail slightly and the other tail at the same height (2.8cm from the curve) so it’s nearly at a right angle.
Step 2
Step 3
Again, hold the tail with the tip of the round-nose pliers and bend back to create a u-shaped loop. Trim the tail level with the opposite bend in the wire.
Step 4
Tuck the loose tail into the loop that you’ve just created. Trim the tail as shown, and then round off the end using a cup burr tool or a piece of very fine-grade sandpaper. Make a second earring to match.
Step 5
Pull the thread ends out of all the skeins of thread. Cut 15-20cm (6-8in) lengths of thread for each tassel. Use a large tapestry needle to separate the individual strands from each length of thread.
Step 6
Loop the bundle over a fine thread and then use the tails to pull the bundle into a jump ring. Fold the bundles in half so that the jump ring is in the middle at the top. Repeat to make the second tassel. Cut a 20cm (8in) length of silver thread and split the thread into two lots of three strands. Hold one tail down the tassel and wrap the other tail neatly around the top several times. Sew the tails under the tight wrapping and trim. Trim the tassels to about 6cm (2½in) long.
Step 7
Hook the earring wire under the top of the jump ring. Attach a small heart charm to one end of the silver chain using a small jump ring. Make two bead dangles with decorative headpins, as shown. Attach one bead dangle to the bottom jump ring and the other halfway down the chain. Feed the end link of the chain over the earring wire, so that the charm/bead embellishment sits at either the front or back of the tassel, depending on the look you prefer.
Congratulations – you’ve learnt how to make tassel earrings! Now – will you sell, keep or gift your tassel earrings?
Once you’ve made your DIY tassel earrings, be sure to tag us in a picture on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. We’d love to see the finished result! And remember to subscribe to Mollie Makes for more fashion and interiors tutorials.
