This post is a "How to" make your own tassel bunting! I wanted to make one of these for my last market but just didn't get time. Since then I've had these two plastic tablecloths sitting in my craft room annoying me so I bit the bullet and made my banner!
Now I read ALOT of other tassel bunting/banner tutorials which I looked up on Pinterest and alot of them use tissue paper which makes it a little easier when figuring out size etc. Now you can use tissue paper and apply the same techniques but I would imagine you'd have to be more delicate in some steps. Plus because I will want to use mine numerous times and make it 'weather proof' I thought making it with a plastic tablecloth the next best option.
So sit back...relax...and enjoy! I hope it comes in handy for you one day too!
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HOW TO: TASSEL BANNER
Materials:
Two or more plastic tablecloths (I got mine for $1.80 each at an el cheapo shop)
Scissors
Ruler
Glue (Any glue should be fine for this)
String (I used gardeners twine)
Step 1:
This is what my tablecloths looked like after trying to fold them back up. I give my attempt a 5/10.
Take your tablecloth and fold it in half andf then in half again. This way it'll give you four layers at a time to work with. Plus your pieces will be more even in the end. From top to bottom measured around 65cm.
Now that you have your nice folded and flat layers you'll want to cut them into big strips. As you can see I have a ruler sitting on the left edge and cut up the dotted line. My pieces were about 32/33/34cm wide.
Step 2:
Where you have folded your tablecloth there will be a looped edge. Make sure you cut this open on both ends before continuing. I almost forgot a couple of times!
You should have a nice bunch of four pieces after cutting your first section. Now put this aside and cut up the rest of your tablecloths.
Step 3:
Take one of your pieces and fold it in half so it is half the LENGTH. This means you'll still have a piece 30-ish cm wide and now about 33cm in height.
Starting on the edge where the two ends meet cut into your piece. Make sure you stop cutting about an inch away from the folded edge. DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH!
Step 4:
Take your sliced up piece and unfold it so you have the solid piece running down the middle and the tassel pieces either side.
Now fold this piece in half so the ends are touching. You may need to untangle the tassel pieces as you complete this part.
Now fold it in half again....
Keep going until you have it nicely folded like mine below.
Step 5:
Now this step can get a little tricky but gets easier with practice. If you are using tissue paper I would warn you now so be very careful!
Your need to twist the middle section nice a tight. I tried to twist mine reasonably tight as they do come undone a little bit in the next couple of steps. If you are using tissue paper I would think it would stay in the twisted form a bit better than the plastic.
Let the twist loop back on itself and glue this in place.
I gave mine a little extra twist when I had the glue on as it was easier than trying to get the glue in at the beginning. I also used a little clip to just hold it in place while the glue dried. You could use pegs for this if you don't have any clips.
Just make sure you don't glue the hole shut otherwise you'll have issues.
Here are all my lovely pink tassels made! I could have made more out of the table cloth but I was happy with my 12.
Step 6:
I made this step up myself as I thought it gives the tassels a finished look and a little extra durability.
The picture below shows one already wrapped but I basically found a strip that was closest to the loop and easy to wrap around the twist join.
Wrap...wrap...wrap and then secure with some glue. Voila! A beautiful finished tassel ready to be hung!
I noticed after threading on a couple of tassels my string was fraying on the end so I did the old shoelace trick and wrapped some sticky tape around the end.
In other tutorials I have seen people just thread the tassels on and let them hang freely which would be fine for a birthday party/baby shower etc. But since mine is going to be used outside where it could be windy I have knotted my tassels in place about 15cm apart.
All done! I can't wait to use it at my next market!
TTFN xx
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