Inspired by Coach's tassels adorning the hottest new bags in their collection this season, we went on DIY spree and made our own. We'll show you how to make leather tassels and you'll be surprised how easy it is. In about 10 minutes, you can add a touch of Winter 2012 / Spring 2013 to any handbag in your closet - because you know we are all about making it cute and making it fast!
First, gather your supplies for tassel-making 101! You'll need a piece of leather. We had leather scraps we used, but JoAnn Fabrics sells squares of leather that are perfect for this project in their leather section. You'll also need a strip of leather, which you can find at a leather supply store. Or you can improvise with skinny leather strips, which we used for our bookmark; suede, available on a roll in the jewelry supply section; or chain - like we used for our keychain. You'll need a glue gun and, if you want to make the keychain, a keyring and chain.
Step 1: determine how far up you want your tassel strips to go and mark this spot on the back of your leather. Draw a line across the entire back of your leather piece at this height.
Step 2: determine the width of your fringe for each of your leather tassels and mark that width along the line you've made for the height. Ours are each 1/4" and we made a mark at each 1/4" space.
Step 3: cut the tassel up to the height you have determined at each marker for the width you have marked.
Step 4: You will add leather or chain at the point of 1) and glue at point 2) and then roll the tassel tightly and glue again at 3). Specifically: add a drop of glue at 1) along the line of the leather or chain you are adding at point 2) then add the end of the leather or chain at point 2). Roll tightly towards 3). When you have almost finished rolling, place glue along 3) and hold it until it dries. That's it! You have created a leather tassel.
If you would like to create the Coach double-ended leather tassels, you will need to create another tassel to be placed at the other end of the leather strip. If you have created a keychain, simply add a keyring to the chain. If you have created a bookmark, you can add a bead for decoration (like we did) or not! And that's how to make leather tassels in under 10 minutes!
And last but not least, a tassel bookmark with a wooden bead.
Enjoy, and let us know which one is your favorite in the comments below!