FRINGE 101: FIBER | Yarn Tassels, Poms & Wall Hanging

1. Intro: I'm Carli, the founder and designer behind Crave, a business based on the mantra that up-cycling is cool. I design and sell modern accessories made from vintage leather jackets, manage an online store front, teach in-person workshops, and I'm new to the Skillshare scene where I'm excited to be sharing some of my favorite tools and techniques with you via the world of How To videos. This course is part 1 of a multi-part series, where we'll be experimenting with all types of fringe. In this class, we'll be exploring the basics of fringe made with fiber. Throughout this course, we'll be talking about different materials and types of yarn to use, creative ways to source your materials, finding inspiration, several techniques to create projects like tassels and pom pom, and eventually lead up to designing and making your very own tassel wall hanging. Add it to a gallery wall, make it a statement, peace in your home or give it to a friend. I don't really care what you do with it as long as you have fun making. I'll also be walking you through how to adapt these techniques to make all sorts of other cool projects. Let's get started. I can't wait to see what you create. 2. Supplies & Sourcing Materials: To create this project, you'll need the following materials, most of which can be found at your local craft store. A few colors of yarn, a scrap of leather, a piece of cardboard, a wooden dowel, a hammer, sharp scissors, and some nails. Let's talk about yarn for a hot minute. There are two types of fibers, natural and synthetic. For this project, I personally prefer working with natural yarns because I like the way they look. The most common of which are cotton and wool. The most common fiber content you'll see at your local craft store is acrylic, this works just fine for this project. Consider getting resourceful when it comes to sourcing your materials. One of my favorite places to find yarn is at a secondhand store. They're typically lots of colors and fibers to choose from, it's usually way less expensive, and you're turning someone else's trash into a new treasure. If you really want to get crafty, think about upcycling an old scarf or a sweater. Simply start unraveling from the bottom, stretch the yarn tightly around a sturdy object as you go, dampen in the fibers so that the kinks will release as it dries. I've found that wrapping the yarn around a metal waste basket works the best. This way I can submerge the whole thing in water, spray it down with the hose or steam it with my iron to release all of the wrinkles. Pro tip when using this method, search for a sweater in a chunky weight that is not serged at the seams. Otherwise, you'll end up with a lot of tiny pieces of yarn, and it's easiest to work with one continuous piece. While you're thrifting, look for an old leather jacket. You can cut it apart and use it for the strap. Also consider sourcing leather scarfs from a local leather goods company, a pollster or tannery that would otherwise be thrown out. 3. Wrapping Tecnhiques: A typical Tassel wall hanging is comprised of one of two methods. The single wrap or the multi wrap. Both are the same method, just different amounts of strands and different end result. To experiment with this process, you will need yarn, a wooden dowel, and scissors. To complete the single wrap, simply take one piece of yarn, at least 15 inches long, fold the strand in half and place behind the wooden dowel. Then take the two stray ends and string through the loop you just created. Pull the two ends tight and you've just created your first loop. Makes sure that you loop from the same direction each time. Let's try it again. Take another piece of yarn, fold the strand in half and placed behind the wooden dowel. Take the two strands and string through the loop. Pull tight. Okay, a little faster this time. Take another string, fold it in half, place behind the wooden dowel. Take the two strands and string through the loop. Same thing with the multi wrap. This time we'll try it with five strands of yarn. Fold all five strands in half, and placed behind the wooden dowel. Take the 10 stray ends and string them through the loop. Pull tight. Now with 10 strands, fold them all in half, place behind the dowel, loop all the ends through and pull tight. See the difference between the single and multi? Also notice the difference between the front and the back. Your design can include one or both methods, experiment and have fun. 4. Add A Tassel: Just when you thought this couldn't get any fringe here, we're going to add a guaran tassel into the mix. For this step, we will need yarn, a piece of cardboard and scissors. You'll need a piece of cardboard approximately three inches wide by one inch longer than your desired tassel size. I'm using a piece that measures three inches by five inches, which I will use to create a four inch tassel. Starting at the bottom of the cardboard, wrap your yarn around the long way. The more revolutions, the beefier the tassel. When using a mid weight yarn, about 20 drops will do the trick. Unless you're hoping for a lopsided look, keep track of the number of revolutions when making multiple tassels. This will keep them looking consistent. Finish wrapping at the bottom of the cardboard as well. Next, carefully slide the yarn off of the cardboard. Cut another piece of yarn at least twice the length of where the tassel will hang on you're finished piece. For now I'm using about 30 inches just for example sake. Thread the yarn through the bundle you've just removed from your cardboard and tie it in a knot. Slide the knot into the yarn bundle to hide it. Later on we'll use the same wrapping technique we learned earlier to attach this tassel to our wooden dowel. Now it's time to define the tassel. Cut another piece of yarn, at least 15 inches long. I'm using a contrasting color so it's easier to see. Make a loose U-shape with both ends pointing towards the top of the tassel. One side should be much longer than the other. Cross the long end over and hold in place with your thumb. Wrap securely around the yarn bundle, about five or six times. Make sure to keep it as tight as possible. Come back around towards the front of the bundle and slide through the original loop. Pull taught, grab onto the shorter string up top, and pull. This secures the wrap without leaving a visible knot. It's tricky. So let's watch this again. Make a loose U-shape with both ends pointing towards the top of your tassel. One side is going to be longer than the other. Cross the long end over, and hold it in place with your thumb. Wrap the yarn tightly around the tassel about five or six times. Come back around her into the front end, slide through the original loop, grab onto the shorter string and pull. Snip both threads close to the new yarn wrap, and adjust accordingly to hide the ends. Voila. Lastly, cut the tassel loops and trim so that all ends are even. Now you've got yourself a mighty fine looking tassel. 5. Add A Pom Pom: Tackled the tassel onto the palm. For this step, we will need yarn, a piece of cardboard, scissors, and potentially a sewing needle. This time we'll be wrapping around the short end of the cardboard. Start on either end. The more revolutions beefier the palm. We will start with 75 revolutions up to 100 or more for a denser version. As you are wrapping, consider experimenting with different colors for a color black book or a variegated yarn for a speckled book. When you finish wrapping, clip the yarn on either end of the cardboard. Carefully, slip the yarn off the cardboard. We are going to tie a knot in the middle of the bundle as tight as humanly possible without breaking the yarn. Take a piece at least 10 inches long plus twice the length you want the palm to hang on your finished piece. Later on we will use this piece to attach the palm to a wooden dowel. Tie a tight single knot in the middle of your yarn roll. Flip the entire bundle over and tie a surgical knot. This is a single knot, but loop the yarn through twice instead of just once. Let me show you again. Tie a single knot, flip it over a surgical knot. It is a regular knot, but loop it through twice. Pull as tight as possible. Flip back over to where you started and tie a super tight double knot, triple if you really want to seal the deal. I can't stress this enough. Tie it as tight as possible. Cut the loops of your bundle. Smash it in the middle and cut a rough circle around the entire palm. Be sure to avoid the middle yarn as this is what we will be using to attach it later. If you do accidentally snip your hanging thread, no worries, we will just need a sewing needle, the large enough to fit a new piece of the yarn through. Continue to trim a spherical motion until it is the desired density. Spread your yarn through the center of the top. Tie the two ends in a knot and carefully tie the knot as best you can. I should have warned you this can be very addicting. 6. Finding Inspiration & Sketching: Now that you have a basic understanding of how a Tassels wall hanging is constructed. It's time to start planning for your project. For this step, all you need is an open mind, and open eyes, although paper, pen, and markers or color pencils may come in handy. Before diving into your project, finding inspiration is a great place to start. The yarn aisle can be daunting, but having a general color palette can help make the process feel pain-free. Pinterest is a great tool when searching for color inspiration or finding the shape you want to create with your wall hanging. I recommend creating a specific board to keep your ideas for this project organized. Simply search for color palette or color inspiration for a ton of great options, or get more specific with terms like a vintage color schemes or modern colors, or kick it old school and avoid the computer screen. Keep your eyes peeled throughout every day life for exciting ways to pair color. Nature is the OG source for inspiration, but also consider buildings, advertisements, packaging, or your own closet when searching for your muse. Once you've decided on a color palette, I find it best to start sketching out your idea on paper. Play around with the order of colors and the shape of your wall hanging. Continue to play around. Nothing has to be permanent or final here. Getting inspired, share your inspiration or link to your Pinterest board in the community or class project section. See you at the next step. 7. Getting Started: Let's get started. For this step, we will need two to five colors of yarn, a wooden dowel, and scissors. Before we start cutting yarn, it's a good idea to get a feel for the size of your project. Know where you want to hang it already, get a rough measurement of how long you'd like the piece to hang. Take the longest measurement and multiply that by two, then add two inches to figure out how long to cut each piece of yarn. We'll be folding each section of yarn in half, hence the multiplying by two, and attaching it to the dowel. Adding this extra two inches accounts for wrapping the yarn and then trimming the ends when we're done. Here's an example. If we know we want our yarn to hang down 12 inches, we will multiply 12 by 2 to get 24 and add an additional two inches to get 26. We'll be cutting 26 inch pieces of yarn and we'll need about 75 to 100 strands. Start by cutting a few pieces of yarn and laying them out as you go. This way, you'll get a good visual of the finished piece and can make any necessary changes. See, it's starting to look like our sketch. Start looping your yarn in whichever way you prefer, either from front to back or from back to front. Just make sure to loop it in the same direction each time for a consistent look. Again, nothing is permanent. You can change colors and patterns as you go. I like to get my base down before adding any additional flourishes like tassels or pom poms. Once your wrapping is complete, lay it on a flat surface and smooth out all of the strands as best as you can. Trim the ends into your desired shape. You may find it easier to hang and then trim any stray ends that way. Now, I'll add my tassel and it's starting to almost look complete. 8. Finishing Touches: You're fringe is looking great. Now, it's time to make it hangable. For this step, we will need; your wall hanging, a scrap of leather, a hammer, scissors, and two nails. We will be cutting our scrap of leather to measure approximately three eighths of an inch by 18 inches. We need to make sure it's long enough to reach each side of the wooden towel. You can cut your leather piece to be longer if you like, it will make the piece hang lower. I've marked a rough guideline of where to cut. Be sure to use sharp scissors. Now it's time to attach the leather strip to your finished wall hanging. Simply line up the leather with the center of the wooden dowel. Hold in place with lining up the nail with the center of the leather strip. Carefully tap the nail into place to get it started. Then secure with a few firm pounds. Flip dowel over and repeat on the other side, make sure your leather strip isn't twisted. Take a peek at all your hard work. It looks great. I think you'll be able to take it from here to hang. 9. Adapting What You've Learned: Start looking around your home and you'll notice all sorts of things that could use some fringe, a throw pillow, a basket, a door knob. Anything with a handle of MOOC or a surface to so is an excuse to attach a palm or a tassel. I've got Pinterest boards dedicated to all sorts of inspiration. There are so many ideas. Here are a few examples of projects I've tried and you can to. Make the tassels and palms the same way we learned earlier. Then just attach to a pillow using a needle and thread. You seriously have all the skills you need. Make three yarn tassels and loop them the same way you did around your fringe wall hanging. This time just attaching them to a gold ring. I cut another strip of leather and punched a hole at either end to allow a nail to fit through for easy hanging. Attach compounds to a basket using needle and thread. These are made from old t-shirts. How great is this? Again, you already have all the skills and techniques you need. Loop yarns around an open weave basket the same way we looped around the wooden dowel. Keep an eye out when you're searching online or shopping in a store. Closely examine other work and see how you can adapt the same ideas while adding your own spin to it. Chances are you'll be able to create some really cool stuff. 10. Final Thoughts: Thanks for following along with my first Skillshare class. I hope you've enjoyed learning about all you can do with fiber fringe. I'd love to see your projects, and your inspiration, and progression along the way. Please post any photos of your creations and process in the your project portion of this class. I'll be sure to comment with any feedback along with sharing some of my favorites on my Instagram stories. Also, be sure to check out all projects to see what others are creating. Follow me on Skillshare to say updated on the newest class offerings. Spoiler alert, there will be more fringe. Happy crafting.