Jazz Up Your Projects with Tassels

If you’ve been reading this page for very long, you probably know that one of my obsessions (or shall we say interests?) is using yarn stash as much as possible. I have an unreasonable stash, and I’m guessing I’m not the only one, so whatever we can do to use a little more yarn in each project seems like a good thing to me.

And one way to use more yarn on a project or as a totally different standalone thing is making tassels.

They add interest to clothes, purses or any item you add them to. In jewelry making, they’re a perfect addition to boho necklaces, fancy earrings, purses, clutches and scarves. If you knit a pillow, blanket or scarf, you can add tassels to the corners to emphasize a color used in the project or just to add another color that ties into your decor or your favorite coat.

They are super quick and easy to make and can have so many different uses. You can make tassels for pillows, blankets or bookmarks, add them to back packs, purses or zip pouches.

Hello Sewing has a tutorial for making tassels out of yarn that includes a video to show you how it’s done. They also have a suggestion to make smaller tassels just but cutting a skein of embroidery floss, which is a great option if you do cross stitch or embroidery and maybe have a little more thread than you need (also guilty).

While their examples show using the same kind of yarn throughout the tassel, it’s also a lot of fun to grab a bunch of leftovers in the same color or coordinating colors to make a boho, multi-textured tassel that uses even more leftovers. These are great to decorate gift bags or even make a fun holiday garland if you use the same colors that are on your tree.

Get the tutorials from Hello Sewing.

[Photo: Hello Sewing]

Next Pattern:

I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings

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