Are you looking for a giant wall feature to go above your sofa / bed / sideboard? Me too… Well I was, until I made this giant tasselled extravaganza the other day. I’d been looking at large scale wall hangings online for a bit, I loved the work of some modern weavers like Natalie Miller or Meghan Shimek but right now my budget doesn’t really stretch far enough to get one of their pieces in my house. I like the idea of playing around with texture and my bedroom definitely needed a little help in that department. I can’t hang anything directly above the bed because of earthquakes (I also have a headboard and anything above it would look too fussy right now). I betasselled the wall opposite my bed instead. There is now a white credenza underneath, which you will see in full effect once I give you a bedroom tour (*eyes*).
I am thinking of making more of these to sell, perhaps in different sizes too as I realise not everyone wants an entire wall of tassels… Let me kn0w if this is something you may be into! Otherwise, in the meantime I made a step-by-step guide on how to make your own if you are more DIY inclined!
here is what you need
1 to 3 balls of yarn, depending on the size you want to achieve (I used all 3)
scissors (duh)
a branch or dowel rod
something to wrap the yarn around (I used a magazine as I wanted the tassels to be really long, you can also use a paperback for a smaller size)
string
copper wire (this is optional, based on the look you want to achieve as you can use the string instead)
step 1
Wrap the string or copper wire around your dowel rod or branch so you can hang it on the wall. You can also drill through and screw it to the wall, but ever since I saw Driller Killer in the cinema, I refuse to touch a drill. Cool story, bro.
step 2
Start wrapping your yarn around your magazine / book / shoe box lid. I wrapped mine around at least 10/12 times as I wanted thick tassels.
step 3
Cut the bottom of the yarn you wrapped around your magazine.
step 4
Wrap your string or copper wire around the top of the yarn – BOOM, that’s your first tassel done. Keep doing it until you pass out, then wake up the next morning and make more tassels. You now live in tassel Hell and you will be making them for all of eternity.
step 5
These tassels ain’t gonna make themselves, keep wrapping…
step 6
Climb on a chair and hang your branch or dowel rod. I hung mine quite high as I wanted the strings to be fairly long.
step 7
If you have a cat, maybe shut the door as a cat + string = definite delays in your DIY project. I wasn’t in a rush so let’s just say I took a break by step 7.
step 8
Tie your strings to the branch or dowel rod. I tied single knots so I could adjust the length and I also spaced them out quite a bit so I could add more if I felt like I needed to add more.
step 9
Tie a tassel at the end of each piece of string. Adjust the height, add or remove strings…
step 10
Throw yourself on the bed, pat yourself on the back, you are DONE. I wasn’t though… I added some string lights along the top of the branch + some crystals because I live in Los Angeles now and I enjoy being a walking cliché sometimes.
