Tassels are definitely cool. I have made them from paper or yarn, never really thinking about substituting these materials for leather – until now. I happened to notice a leather tassel necklace on display at Anthropologie and that sparked my desire to make my own leather tassel and create a necklace.
I have a whole box of scrap leather in my basement that came from the dumpster of a factory that manufactures some very famous (and expensive) handbags. After seeing the leather tassel necklace, I knew I needed to use some of that scrap leather to make my own tassel!
My inspiration to create a leather tassel necklace. On the left is a photo from the Anthropologie website. On the right is an Anthropologie in-store display.
A leather tassel is so easy to make and only requires a small piece of leather and some scissors or knife! I was surprised at how easy it is to get really great results. Basically, I just cut a rectangle piece of leather, cut fringe, added a loop for hanging, and glued (I used Gorilla glue) and rolled the piece of leather. Measuring is not even required. I made mine pretty much by eye, although I did measure the width of the pieces of fringe (1/4”) since I wanted to be sure they were consistent. 
To turn my tassel into a necklace, the only supply I would need? A chain. I decided I would purchase the chain and just hoped to find a reasonably priced one. Guess what? I found the perfect chain (40” long – more than I needed) on clearance for $1.97 at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft store! At this price, I decided I would make two necklaces and I picked out and purchased two chains. I could make each leather tassel necklace for under $2.00! The one I saw at Anthropologie was $78! Plus, I would like mine better because I could eliminate the shiny gold metal piece I didn’t really care for on the Anthro necklace.
I used a rectangle of green textured leather for my first tassel and I cut a separate small piece of leather to fashion a loop for hanging. I used black leather for the second tassel I made and created the loop by folding up and gluing the end piece of fringe. The black leather was much heavier than the green, and I found this method for creating a loop worked better with the heavier leather.
I got a little adventurous creating the black tassel – I glued pink felt on one side before I cut the fringe so that hints of pink would show on the completed tassel. Love it!
Didn’t they come out great?
If you want to make some tassels and don’t have a scrap box of leather, think about using leather from handbags you were planning on discarding or from handbags from the thrift store. Give it a try! I am making more tassels – and, I have plans that go beyond necklaces! ;)
Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
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