Description
These beaded tassels are quick and fun to make. You’ll be using Peyote stitch and working with seed beads. And I’ll let you into a secret…this project is a great stash-buster! So, let me tell you more…
Materials
You will need the following materials for your beaded tassels…
- Size 11 Miyuki seed beads
- 20mm wooden bead
- Durathread
Then, just your normal beading needle and scissors will be perfect for this.
You might notice that I’ve been very specific about the bead brand and also the thread brand. So, let me explain…
Bead brand
If you’ve been beading for a while, you may have noticed that different brands of seed beads behave slightly differently. Or, possibly, you didn’t know this and you’ve just been wondering why your project didn’t work out as the tutorial said it should.
Well, each different manufacturer’s brand is minutely different in size. So, for some things this won’t matter. But for other projects, it can make the difference between success and something not quite so great.
This is one project where the brand may matter. You’re going to be creating a casing to fit over a wooden bead. So, if you use slightly different beads, you might find the casing doesn’t fit so well.
Thread choice
When it comes to the thread, I’ve specified Durathread for two reasons.
- It’s very easy to work with, so it shouldn’t keep tangling and knotting
- It behaves rather like a nylon-based thread, so that means it’s very flexible and will create a nice flowing tassel
Thread is key to getting a good beaded tassel. If you use a stiff thread, then it’s not going to allow your beads to drape into their strands. So, you will get a very stiff and angular looking tassel. So, that’s why thread choice matters for this project. And if you’ve never come across Durathread before, you can find out more here.
Experience and techniques
You are going to be working in basic Peyote stitch, using the circular and tubular variations. So, these are simple techniques that anyone can do.
The tutorial includes step-by-step diagrams to show thread paths and the patterned part of your tassel is explained with a word chart as well as a pattern chart.
So, this should be suitable for all levels. But if you are not yet very experienced, just bear in mind you might need to learn a few extra things as you go. And you should be prepared to figure things out for yourself. But you can also find a free tutorial to teach the basics of this variation at this link.
About the beaded tassels project
Each beaded tassel measures about 1″ (2.5cm) across the rounded part and is about 3″ (8cm) long. It’s very easy to alter the length, though.
You can make these in under two hours. Each tassel uses a mix of colours, so it’s great for using up small quantities of beads. And I have included some blank graph paper so you can create your own designs, not just follow mine.
Background
I designed this pattern to celebrate International Beading Week 2021. You can find out more about the event at this link. All you really need to know here is that the Beadworker’s Guild have chose a theme of beaded tassels for 2021. So, they have invited designers to create and share patterns.
Pricing options
I thought I would try a little experiment to allow you to choose what you feel you would like to pay for a project. But before you do that, let me put the case for designers.
It takes many hours, days and weeks of work to design a single project. And that is on top of many months and years of experience learning the skills to do this. So, my question to you: is this something that you value? And if so, do you think you should be paying for the work, time and skill and that has gone into creating this tutorial?
And, I know many people work on the assumption that a single tutorial will sell hundreds of copies because there are thousands of beaders in the world. But the reality is, most tutorials only sell a handful, if that. So, many don’t even come close to covering their production costs.
I’m not giving you this information to influence you either way. I simply want you to have the knowledge to make an informed choice if you decide you would like to use this tutorial to learn how to make your own beaded tassels. And whatever you choose, I wish you much joy from beading, both now and for many years to come!
