How To Make Tassels From Repurposed Denim

Tassels seem to be everywhere, they are the new pom poms. And I do love them! I was so happy when I worked out how to make denim tassels from my favourite material to upcycle, old jeans.

Previously, I have made sweater felt tassels from repurposed scraps. Even though those tassels were a fun way to use up old felt scraps and were very colourful I think I prefer these denim ones.

How to Make Tassels From Upcycled Jeans With Pom Poms

These denim tassels are made by fraying squares of old jeans offcuts. They are much more robust than other handmade tassels as the threads are still attached to the denim fabric. As with all my other denim upcycles, I love the different shades of indigo you get from old jeans.

The great thing about this tutorial is that you can easily make the denim tassels in various sizes.

You can make large denim tassels to use as curtain tie backs, smaller ones to fringe cushions and blankets. Or even smaller to make earrings and necklaces. I’ve even seen tassels of various sizes hung up as a unique wall decoration.

This is what I call a Netflix craft. That is it doesn’t take much concentration so it can be done whilst catching up on a Netflix boxset.

Each denim tassel takes about 30 minutes to make, and is a no-sew jeans upcycle.

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What You Need

• Scraps of denim from old jeans at least 12cm (5″) square. The size of the denim scrap will determine the size of the handmade tassels.
• Bright colourful embroidery thread.
• Embroidery needles.

How To Make Tassels From Old Jeans

1.. First, decide on what size you would like the denim tassel to be. As the size of the scrap piece of denim you choose will determine the size.

If making them for a cushion I recommend using a scrap piece of denim approx 4 inches (10cm square).

2. Next, pull some of the loose blue threads of denim to expose the white threads down one side of the scrap piece of material.

3. Denim is a woven material and the tassel is created by pulling out the white cross threads one by one. Grab the end of a white thread and pull it firmly away from the denim material until it all comes out.

4. Carry on pulling out all the white threads until you are left with approximately 2cm of material at the top. I found that with some denim I could pull more than one thread at a time.

If you turn the denim scrap of fabric 90 degrees and pull out the blue threads rather than the white ones you will end up with white tassels. I did this when making my denim feather wall hanging so that I ended up with feathers of different colours.

Top Tip: If the white thread snaps as you pull it out, just use a pin to find the end and pull it again.

Finishing Touches

5. Next, roll up the denim tassel tightly. Using colourful embroidery thread and a needle hold the top together with a stitch through the denim.

Then, wind the coloured thread around the top of the tassel and finish off with a stitch to stop it unraveling.

Pom poms and denim tassels look fantastic together. For my bigger denim tassels I added a couple of colourful pom-poms to give them extra panache. I’ve just been hanging these on the doors for decoration for now.

I’m on the look out for a nice rattan beach bag to addorn with these lovely tassels too.

I just love the different shades of indigo threads you get from different pairs of jeans. Also, these tassels do feel very soft.

To add decoration to my DIY Frida Kahlo cushion, I’ve added a small denim tassel to each corner. I’m making a stack more denim tassels to fringe the recycled sweater blanket I made.

Other woven fabrics can be frayed like denim.  I’ve upcycled plaid and tartan to make DIY fabric feathers by fraying.  I will use this fraying method to make some colorful and patterned tassels with plaid and tartan scraps.

I used this denim fraying technique to give a Boho finish to a gorgeous stenciled denim table runner.

For more denim sewing projects visit allfreesewing.com