Fall Craft - Scrappy Spice Tassel

If you are a regular visitor to my page or instagram feed you know I love to recycle and reuse materials. This scrappy tassel craft is possibly my favorite way to reuse my scraps and the addition of fall spices will invoke all those cozy fall feels. The beauty of this craft is the messier the better so leave your inner perfectionist at the door and let your freak flag fly with this one.  Color is a great way to show your personality so don’t be afraid to mix it up in unique ways or stick to neutrals if that is more your style.
Step 1: First you’ll need to get all your materials ready and really the world is your oyster here, old cut offs from jeans, old clothing, material scraps, twine, cord, yarn, raffia, ribbon etc get creative and use whatever you like.

Materials:
  • All the scraps! Cut to about the same length (I did approx 10in) depending on how long you want your tassel, keep in mind these pieces will be folded in half so if you want a tassel about 5in long yourscraps should be 10in long.
  • String/cord
  • Two cinnamon sticks and one star anise (check your local bulk spice store or organic food store for these as you generally wont find them in the regular supermarket isle)
  • Beads, bells and anything else you want to adorn your final piece with
Step 2: Cut all your scraps to length and lay them out in a random order, doing this will make sure that all your different pieces are scattered throughout the tassel rather than bunched up together.
Step 3: Take about half of the scraps and fold them over a cinnamon stick at their middle.  Gather the strands together under the stick and tie them tightly with a length of string.
Step 4: Take the remaining scraps and tie them in the middle, this piece of string will form the hanging loop so make sure it is long enough for that. Place the second cinnamon stick underneath where you tied the scraps.
Step 5: and fold them over it.  Then divide the scraps in half perpendicular to the stick and place the first part of the tassel (from Step 3) underneath so that the sticks make a cross. Pull all the scraps together under both the cinnamon sticks. Make sure they are pulled nice and tight.
Step 6: Tie the craps together using a gathering knot.
  • Take a length of cord at least a foot in length for the gathering cord. Fold a short length of cord so the loop is hanging down by the base cords and the long length is free
  • Begin to wrap the long length around the base cords and the looped end of the gathering cord, wrap below the first wrap to keep the looped part secure.
  • Wrap the gathering cord around the base cords 4-6 times
  • Place the end of the gathering cord through the looped end.
  •  Pull the shorter end of the gathering cord (the one sticking out the top). You may have to pull on the long end to make sure it feeds through the loop as you tighten.
  • Pull on both ends to tighten making sure the looped end gets pulled about half way up the wrapped section.
  • Cut off both ends close to the wrapped section being careful not to cut the wrap.
Step 7: Add a bead to the top of your tassel if you like then place your star anise on top.  Tie a simple knot around the star anise, be sure not to pull too tight as you may break the star.  Then tie one more knot in the two ends to form your hanging loop.  At this point you can also add whatever else you like to your tassel, string beads to its threads, add fresh herbs to the top, get creative!!
Enjoy your new scrappy friend!!!