DIY Ghost Tassel Banner

I was making some tassels for a weaving project I was working on and my oldest said that it would make a cute ghost, and that is where this idea started. This is a quick little project that you can create in less than an hour and have cute halloween decor. Make as many ghost as you want to make a longer banner. You can see my you tube tutorial here. 

Supplies you will need: 

Ball of white yarn

Some jute or twine to hang the ghosts on

Black embroidery Floss and a needle

scissors

white felt

7 inch piece of cardboard.

(If you want your ghost to be larger just use a bigger piece of cardboard.) 

Directions:

1.Start by winding the yarn on the cardboard several times. Make sure it is fairly thick so that your tassel will be fluffier. You will want to clip the yarn on the same side of the cardboard that you started your tassel on.

2. Cut three pieces of yard 14 inches long or twice the length of your tassel. This will help the ends blend into your tassel. 

3. Use one strand of yarn to tie on the top of the loops before you pull it off the cardboard. Now slip it off the cardboard and tighten the knot.

4. Use the scissors and clip the other end loops to create the fringe of the tassel. 

5. Fold one of the extra pieces of yarn in half and make a slip knot in the top (Make sure the hole is large enough for your twine to go through it. Now tie it around the top of the tassel where you tied on the first strand.

6. Open the tassel and lay in half. Cut out a circle out of felt. Place it close to the tie. It will end up being in the center of the tassel. I added it to stabilize the french knot eyes. 

7. Now just double your thread and tie a knot in the end. Make two french knots for eyes. (It may be easier to watch the you tube tutorial for this part. -link is at the top of the post)

8. Once your french knots are finished, fold your tassel together and smooth the yarn. 

9.Use the last piece of yard to tie around the tassel to create the ghost head. 

10. Clip the bottom of the tassel to make it strait. 

All done now you just need to make as many ghosts as you would like your banner to be long and string them onto the twine. Just add slip knots to each end of twine to hang. 

I decided to take the plunge and commit to sew 100 blocks in 100 days. I tend to put things off to the last moment so I really debated on if this was a good idea. Also I have been pretty busy moving in to our new place and having a toddler at the same time.

I think it is going to be a fun challenge. I must say the blocks are much smaller than I expected. Most of the little pieces I have cut are one to three inches. I haven't really pieced anything that small before so I am finding out that starch is my friend. Anytime time I do something for a long time I improve so the worst thing that can happen is to be better at sewing tiny blocks together. The pictures above are the first and second block of the book so I have 98 more to go.