Written by Jessica of The Ladyette.
This summer I have practically worn out a black beaded tassel necklace of mine because I love the length and the bulk of it paired with flowly summer outfits. This got me thinking I needed to add more tassel accessories to my wardrobe. Today I have a leather tassel necklace tutorial to share with all of you See Kate Sew readers. My favorite part is the turquoise color. Turquoise is like a second black for me…it goes with everything.
Supplies Needed: a small piece of leather about 9″ long and at least 2″ wide (I found this turquoise piece at Michael’s), a sharp pair of scissors, super glue, a large jump ring, two 18″ necklace strands (also can be found at Michael’s).
Step 1: I trimmed off the ends of my leather piece to get rid of the round edges. Trim one end off by about 3/4″ because it will be used to wrap around the tassel ends later. Then cut two long strips, each about 1″ wide. You can easily eyeball the measurements and the piece will turn out imperfectly perfect.
Step 2: Fold each strip in half so you know where the halfway point is, then cut long slits on each side stopping just a little short of the middle. You can cut the leather folded or in single layers; I chose single layers to give it a more varied and random look.
Step 3: Lay the leather pieces flat, one on top of the other as shown in the picture. Slide the jump ring on to the middle of the leather and fold the leather in half around it. You should start to see the tassel taking shape now.
Step 4: Wrap the scrap of leather from Step 1 around the top of the tassel just under the jump ring and trim off any excess. Super glue one end of the wrap to the tassel body and then glue the other end of the wrap on top of the first end, as shown in the picture. Hold the leather down for about one minute to allow the glue to dry.
Step 5: Now hook the two necklaces together. To do this, lay the end out as shown in the picture and clip the two middle pieces together first. So the clasp of one necklace hooks to the eye of the other necklace and vice versa. Before clipping the outside ends together, slide the jump ring with tassel onto the chain necklace. After both ends are hooked, it will easily slide over your head.
I love the length of this necklace, it adds a lot of interest to an outfit and could be easily layered with other necklaces. And, because of using two necklaces to create one extra long necklace, you can always remove one and have just a short necklace if that’s the look you’re going for. I can just imagine this tassel in so many different colors. I think a metallic gold would be really lovely.
Happy creating!
