DIY tassel garland

Add pops of color to your decor with this fun boho style DIY tassel garland. It is an easy, quick and inexpensive project that you can make in an afternoon!

Don’t you just love tassels? Me too! They are so fun and add whimsy to anything. I love them on clothing, accessories and even in decor! They also fit in perfectly with a boho theme, so I really wanted to use them in my fall boho decor. I decided to make a DIY tassel garland and it turned out great!

Where to use a DIY tassel garland

This project was so easy that I am tempted to make it again with different colors! I can imagine so many ways to use it, other than on a mantel like I did. The wood bead garland with tassels would be a fun way to add some color to a bedroom. You could string the tassel garland on a window, bed frame or just hang it on the wall.  How adorable would it be in a baby’s nursery in soft pastel colors?!

I can also see making a DIY tassel garland for a party! This would be an easy way to highlight your graduate’s colors or adding some festiveness for a birthday party. The ideas are endless!

Supplies for a wood bead garland with tassels

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• Yarn in various colors – I used five different colors: rust orange, dark red, burgundy, gold and olive . The dark red and gold colors I already had on hand so I do not know the brand/color.
• 3 ply jute rope
• Assorted sizes wood beads
• Scissors
• Command hooks (optional)
• Thin piece of cardboard (I used a cereal box)

How to make a wood bead garland

This step is optional. You could always just hang the yarn tassels from a long piece of yarn, twine or string. However, I think the wood beads add a more finished look to the garland and I already had the wood bead garland! 😉 I actually made this wood bead garland a long time ago and do not have pictures of the process but I will explain it. The nice thing about wood bead garlands is that they are so versatile. I have used mine on lots of mantels in several different ways. Like in this flip banner or just as decoration sitting on the mantel like on my spring farmhouse mantel.

First you will need to cut a long string of jute rope. I cut mine the length to drape along the front of my mantel with some leftover on each end. Next string on some wood beads in different sizes. You can do this in a pattern or randomly. I did mine randomly as I thought it looked better that way, although I never put two of the biggest beads next to each other. Lastly tie the ends into a knot with loops so you can hang it from the ends. I hang mine using command hooks on the end of the mantel.

Check out the video on how to make a DIY tassel garland

Don’t want to read all the instructions? I have included a video in this post showing you how make the DIY tassel garland. If you can’t see the video, turn off your ad blocker. If you want more detailed instructions, continue reading.

How to make a yarn tassel

Making a tassel is super easy, as I found out! Believe or not, this is the first time I have actually made them! I was surprised by that too. LOL You do not have to use yarn for a tassel, you could also make it out of paper, string, embroidery thread, jute, or even thin strips of fabric.

First you will need something to wrap the yarn around like a flat piece of cardboard. You could also use a book if you have one handy and don’t want to make a cardboard template. I wanted my tassels to measure about 5-6″ long so I just cut a cereal box into 6″ x 8″ piece. I folded the 8″ side in half to make it sturdier and taped it together. In the end, I was left with a 4″ x 6″ cardboard form.

Next I started wrapping yarn around the cardboard lengthwise until I had about 30 wraps. This made for a nice thick yarn tassel.

To get the wrapped yarn off of the cardboard, I slightly bent the cardboard. Then it slid off easily.

Keep the yarn taut across your fingers and get it ready to cut one of the ends.

Replace one side of your fingers with the scissors. Cut one end of the yarn bundle while still holding taut on the yarn. A tip that I found out was to cut the end that already had the ends from the yarn. This saved from losing pieces of the yarn that you would cut off otherwise. You can see in the video how I did not do this. 🙂

Form the tassel

Lay out the yarn bundle flat on the counter. Take a small piece of yarn (about 5-6″ long) and tie it around the bundle right in the middle in a knot. Hold the yarn by the strings to smooth down the ends of the tassel. The strings of this piece of yarn will be what you will tie onto the wood bead garland later.

To form the tassel shape, take a long piece of yarn (about 24″ long) and tie the end of it around the top of the yarn bundle (about 1″ down). This will form the top ball shape of the tassel. Keep wrapping this long piece of yarn around the tassel making sure to cover the cut end in the wraps. To finish it off, pass the end of the yarn under a previously wrap on the back of the tassel and pull it tight. This will keep the wrap in place.

Give the tassel a hair cut

After this, you will be left with a tassel with uneven ends. No matter how much you try to keep the yarn bundle ends even, they always end up like this.

No problem though, because you can just trim those split ends. 😉 Take the tassel and smooth out all the ends, then slide your fingers down to the ends of the tassel. Trim the uneven ends of with some sharp scissors.

This will leave you with a respectable looking tassel. 🙂

Repeat this process until you have about 5 tassels of each color. 

Add the tassels to the wood bead garland

Tie the tassels onto the wood bead garland spacing them out about every third bead. Then clip the yarn ends off the tied piece. You can see how I did this in the video above. 

That is it! It may sound complicated, but I promise, it is super easy. And it did not take long especially compared to some other projects that I have made!

Are you inspired to make your own tassel garland? Do you have anywhere that you want to add some pops of color? This would be a great way to do it! 🙂 I will be back later in the week to share more fall decor with you! Have a great day!