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Put the haunted in your house this holiday season with spooky ghost tassels. The tassels work up quickly with minimal supplies, so creating a bunch of them is not out of the question. Use the cute little tassels to make garland, hang from the ceiling, or use them as a decorative touch to treat bags.
Materials
- TASSEL MAKER. In this tutorial, we’re using a 5″ tassel maker from Katrinkles. But, you can always use a piece of cardboard cut into a similar shape to use as a DIY maker.
- YARN. The amount needed will vary depending on what weight yarn you’re using and the size of the tassel you’re making. We used about 15 yards of Ewe Ewe's Wooly Worsted in Vanilla to make our 5″ tassel.
- BEADS. You’ll need two black beads for the ghost eyes. Make sure they’re sized to fit on over the eye of your darning needle and your yarn!
- PIPE CLEANER. Cut about a 2.5″ section of a black pipe cleaner to use as the ghost arms.
- SCISSORS. You'll need them to trim your tassel ends.
- DARNING NEEDLE. Remember, make sure it will fit through your beads.
HOW-TO
1. Cut a 6” length of your yarn* to use as the tassel "Hang String” and a 2.5” pipe cleaner to use as the “Ghost Arms.” Place both on the upper peninsula of the tassel maker. You want to be sure that both of these pieces will be caught in the top of the tassel. Turn in the ends of the pipe cleaner just slightly to make little ghost hands.
*want to make your ghost look like it's really floating? Instead of using yarn as your hang string, use clear fishing line instead!
2. String the two black beads on to the main yarn, using the darning needle if necessary. These will eventually be pushed into place for the "Ghost Eyes."
3. Wrap your main yarn around the tassel maker about 45 times, ensuring that the Hang String and the Ghost Arms stay in place as you wrap. Make sure the Ghost Eye beads remain on the working yarn and do not get wrapped into the tassel.
5. Make about 45 wraps around the maker. Then, pause at the top of the tassel maker. Slide one Ghost Eye bead up the string and position it in the middle of the tassel head; continue your wrap. Do the same thing for the second Ghost Eye bead. Then make 2-3 more wraps. Cut your yarn.
6. Finish your tassel by using a 6-10” length of the main yarn to tie around the “neck” of the tassel. Your Ghost Arms and Ghost Eyes will now be secure in the tassel's head.
7. Slide the tassel off of the maker. Tie the Hang String securely at the top of the tassel head. Then, tie the two ends together to create a loop to hang your ghost!
Now, make another! String them as garland, float the from the ceiling, or just create a spooky Halloween scene.
Share your creations with us by using #ghosttassels on Instagram and Facebook.
This tutorial was originally published on www.poststitchknittingblog.com.