Wool Wrap with Silk Tassels
Once you start making tassels, it’s pretty hard to stop! They come to life so simply and dance around so satisfyingly, the tassel bug is definitely contagious. We caught it recently when we made our Beads + Tassels Necklaces, and so this week, we channeled this newfound tassel love into this beautiful Wool Wrap with Silk Tassels!
With no sewing at all, this Wrap is all about tassels. You start with a cut rectangle of Lanecardate’s gorgeously soft and warm Lana Cotta Canberra wool (no hems or seams!). Then you edge the fabric with an abundance of luminous tassels, using our handy Small Tassel Maker and our sumptuous Spun Silk.
This straightforward construction leads to an uncomplicated elegance with a playful flair… perfect for this season’s celebrations! -Molly
Materials
- 3/4 yard of Lanecardate’s Lana Cotta Canberra
- 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Spun Silk, 100% silk
- A 110-yard spool of Gutermann’s Cotton Sewing Thread
- Purl Soho’s Small Tassel Maker
- A hand sewing needle
- An erasable fabric marker
Update, May 2024: You can explore our current collection of beautiful fabrics and supplies on our page of Sewing Tools + Notions.
Size
Finished Dimensions: Approximately 27 X 56 inches
Pattern
Cut
Square up the cut ends of the fabric. Do not cut the selvage edges.
Make the Tassels
You will actually be making two tassels at a time, which is a slightly different process than making one.
Wrap the yarn around long side of the Tassel Maker 5 ½ times. Snip the yarn so that one end is at the top of the Tassel Maker and one is at the bottom.
Thread a 14-inch length of the Sewing Thread onto your needle and pass it under all of the wraps at one end of the Tassel Maker. Tie a square knot around the wraps, but do not include the yarn tail closest to this end. Do not trim the Sewing Thread tails.
Rotate the Tassel Maker and tie the other end of the wraps in the same manner.
Pull the wound wraps off the Tassel Maker.
Now cut a 15-inch length of the Sewing Thread, which we’ll call the Tie Thread. Pinch the top of the silk loops, as well as the tail-end of the Tie Thread. Let the silk tail that you didn’t tie hang down.
Keeping your pinch tight, wrap the Tie Thread 10 times tightly around the pinched loop, ¼ inch below its top. Tie the two Tie Thread ends together in a tight square knot, securing these wraps.
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. Snip the tails to be 1 inch long.
Rotate the Silk so the other side is now at the top and repeat all of these steps so that both ends look the same.
Measuring from the top of the loops at one end, snip the first tassel off at ¾ inch.
Repeat to create the second ¾-inch tassel. Trim them both to be nice and neat.
Repeat this entire process 36 more times to create a total of 74 tassels.
Sew on the Tassels
Note: It can be hard to tell, but Lana Cotta Canaberra has a right side and a wrong side. It is felted stockinette fabric so the right side is the knit side of the fabric. If you look very closely you will see the “V” shapes of the knit stitch on this side. The wrong side will have the “U” shapes of purl bumps.
With the right side of the wool facing up, use the fabric marker to make a scant ¼-inch vertical mark every ¾ of an inch along one of the selvage edges of the cut wool. Make the beginning and ending marks a scant 1/8 inch from the fabric’s corner. This edge will be 27 inches wide so you should end up with 37 marks.
Repeat at the opposite selvage edge of the wool.
Snip the Sewing Thread ends at the top of the tassel so that they are the same length and thread them through the sewing needle.
At the first mark on the wool, take a tacking stitch by passing through the top of the mark and then across the top of the tassel. Repeat two more times, sewing these stitches fairly loosely, as you would to sew on a button. The slightly slack area of the stitches between the fabric and the tassel is called the Neck.
After you have taken these three stitches, wrap the needle around the Neck three times, again as if you were sewing on a button.
Tie a simple overhand knot around the Neck and pull it to secure the wraps. Push the needle down through the top of the tassel, through the middle of the wraps, and then snip the Sewing Threads to align with the bottom of the tassel.
You have now sewn on the first tassel! Repeat for the other 73 tassels!
What is the spool of thread for?
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for the question! The thread here is used to tie the top of the tassels and to attach them to the wrap!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
What color of Gutermann’s Cotton Sewing Thread goes with the Spun Silk in Golden Pear? I wanted to make my own combo of the Golden Pear tassels with the Lana Cotta Canberra in Dark Gray, or the dark blue. (Opinions welcome!)
Hi Gayle,
Thanks for writing in! The color of Gutermann to match GOlden Pear is 1680. However, if you are using the dark gray or blue Lana Cotta, you could also use a dark blue or drak gray thread. I think that either would be lovely!
Best,
Cassy
I’m thinking of slightly longer tassels, so making 74 longer tassels rather than making two at a time. Would I need more silk yarn for that or is there enough to double the number of tassels?
Also — if I wanted to make a poncho and cut a slit into it, does the substance of the fabric mean that I don’t need to hem it or do anything else to it to retain its edges?
I was also thinking of alternating red and gold tassels, but since the silk yarn is only in gold, would that mix well with tassels made of thread?
Thank you!
Hi Gayle,
Thanks for writing us. If you want to make the tassels longer, you’ll certainly have enough silk but will need a longer tassel maker. You can easily make a custom tassel maker out of cardboard! Because this fabric is felted knit, you won’t have to do anything to the edges if you wanted to make this into a poncho. Just make sure that you neatly cut your neckline. No need to hem! If you’d like to alternate red and gold silk tassels, I recommend getting silk thread or finding a similar weight silk yarn in the color you desire. This would look best.
Thanks!
-Adam
Instead of the kit – I purchased the fabric and silk separately. I purchased one yard of fabric. So my question is: If I am not to cut the selvedge edges how do I arrive at the proper dimensions? The dimension of the cut yard is 36 inches from selvedge edge to selvedge edge and 56 inches in length.
Hi Tammy,
Thanks for writing in! The fabric that we used here is roughly 56 inches from selvedge to selvedge. For a narrower fabric, I would use the joining technique that we used for our Linen Gauze Wrap!
Best,
Cassy
Hello! I adore this wrap and would love to make it for holiday gifts. However, I cannot access/purchase the Lana Cotta Canaberra wool on your site. Is is still available? If it’s no longer available, is there a comparable fabric that you’d recommend? Thanks so much!
Hi Megan,
Thanks for writing in! Unfortunately, Lana Cotta Canberra has been discontinued and is no longer available; however, I think you could use Dorr Mill Wool Yardage for a similar wrap! I would recommend felting it as we outline in the product description before cutting so you don’t have to finish the edges.
I hope that helps!
Julianna