Our latest crafting obsession: tassels! These sweeties add vibrancy and charm to whatever you’re making, along an edge or at the corners. And tassels are so easy to whip up, especially with our handy Tassel Maker. Just wrap, tie, and snip, and you get a perfect little plume!

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Our Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap is a finished rectangle of Robert Kaufman’s Organic Voile, decorated at each end with pretty tassels. To make them, we used a Sewing Thread Bundle in our toasty Campfire palette. Against the creamy Voile, these little tassels really add spark!

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

The Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap is just the thing to have on hand for an extra layer of warmth and softness… Or for an extra pep in your step! -Molly

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Materials

  • 2 yards of Robert Kaufman’s Organic Voile in Natural
  • Tassel Threads: Purl Soho’s Sewing Thread Bundle in Campfire
  • Sewing Thread: A 110-yard spool of Gutermann’s Cotton Sewing Thread in color 1040
  • Purl Soho’s Small Tassel Maker
  • A hand-sewing needle

Update, May 2024: You can explore our current collection of beautiful fabrics and supplies on our page of Sewing Tools + Notions!

Size

Approximately 36 inches wide x 71½ inches long

Note

Since this fabric doesn’t have a clear right and wrong side, you should just assign the sides arbitrarily.

Pattern

Cut

Making sure to first trim off both selvage edges, cut the fabric into a 36 1/2 by 72-inch rectangle.

Roll Hem

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Using the technique explained in our Rolled Hem Edge Tutorial, hem all four sides of the fabric with a rolled edge. With the Sewing Thread and hand-sewing needle, hem the long sides of the rectangle first and then the two shorter sides.

Make the Tassels

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Choose one of the Tassel Threads and wind the thread 100 times around the longer width of the Tassel Maker, as shown above. (If you don’t have our Tassel Maker, you can use a 1½ x 2-inch rectangle cut out of stiff cardboard.)

Cut the thread at the bottom of the Tassel Maker.

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Cut an 18-inch length of the Tassel Thread and thread it onto the needle. Pass the needle under all the wound threads.

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Pull the needle until the middle of the thread length is under the wound threads. Tie a square knot at the top of the Tassel Maker, securing the wound threads.

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Gently pull the wound threads off the Tassel Maker and remove the needle. Trim the ends of the thread that tied the square knot so they roughly align with the bottom of the loops.

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Now cut a 15-inch length of the Tassel Thread. This is called the Tie Thread. (For the sake of clarity, we use a contrast thread here, but you may want to use the same color thread as the tassel.)

Pinch the top of the thread loops, as well as the tail-end of the Tie Thread.

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Keeping your pinch tight, wrap the Tie Thread 20 times tightly around the pinched loop, a scant ¼-inch below its top. Tie the two Tie Thread ends together in a tight square knot, securing these wraps.

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Snip the Tie Thread’s tails so they are the same length and thread them both through the needle as if they were one thread. Then push the needle down through the center of the wraps and pull taut.

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Smooth down all the loops and tails and snip off their ends to create a tassel.

Make 13 more tassels like this one, using all six of the Tassel Thread colors. From four of the colors, make two tassels of each; and from two of the colors make three tassels each, for a total of 14 tassels.

Sew on the Tassels

Cut an 18-inch length of the Sewing Thread and thread it onto the hand-sewing needle.

Starting at a corner, you will sew 7 tassels along each short edge of the wrap, every 6 inches. Here’s how…

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Leaving a 4-inch tail, sew through the tassel very top threads, then through the very bottom of the rolled edge of the wrap. Repeat this stitch a couple of more times at the same point. These are the Tacking Stitches.

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Wrap the needle-end of the Sewing Thread around these Tacking Stitches three times and then tie the Sewing Thread’s two tails in a square knot.

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Thread the other Sewing Thread tail into the needle together with the first, as if they were one thread.

Enter the needle at the hem’s Tacking Stitches and pull the needle through the hem, exiting approximately 1 inch away. Trim the threads at the exit point to hide their ends.

Repeat these steps to sew on all 14 tassels.

Block

Once you have sewn on the tassels, you can neaten them up by blocking them. Here’s how…

Using a garment steamer or the steam option on your iron, steam a tassel. Once it is moist from the steam, comb it out and straighten all the strands with a knitting needle or any other pointy object. Then, smooth out the tassel with your fingers.

Repeat for all 14 tassels and you will be all done!

Rolled Hem Tassel Wrap | Purl Soho

Update 2024: You can explore our current collection of beautiful fabrics and supplies on our page of Sewing Tools + Notions!