FREE BEADING TUTORIAL: Beaded Tassel

Beaded Tassel 

Free Beading Tutorial

Learn how to make beaded tassels with this easy to follow step by step tutorial.

An original BeadedTreasury Design (© 2020 Iulia Postica. All rights reserved). This pattern is for personal use and small group teaching. It cannot be sold, republished (online and off-line), redistributed, translated without permission, or edited in any way – in part or in whole. Please always credit me as a designer. Thank you!

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Techniques

Beadweaving

Even count peyote stitch

Fringe stitch

 Project Level

Advanced Beginner to Intermediate

 Materials (see finished size)

Blue tassel earrings with Dragonfly beads

16 gr. opaque blue turquoise size 11/0 Japanese seed beads (Toho 43)

0.8 gr. bronze size 11/0 Japanese seed beads (Toho 221)

2 Czech glass table cut beads with dragonfly, light blue, Picasso finish, 17 mm

2 Opaque turquoise Blue 12mm Czech Glass Ripple Round Beads

2 Bronze (or blue, or transparent) 6 mm Czech Glass Round Beads

2 Transparent White 4 mm Czech Glass Round Beads

2 brass head pins, 50mm

1 pair brass ear wires

Beading thread, size D, blue

 Teal hoop earrings

12 gr. matte transparent Dark Peridot AB size 11/0 Japanese seed beads (Toho 164BF)

0.8 gr. nickel plated size 11/0 Japanese seed beads (Toho 771)

4 Sueded Gold Turquoise 6 mm Czech Glass Round Beads

8 antique silver opaque size 7/0 Matubo seed beads (Matubo 81002)

8 opaque turquoise green/Picasso size 7/0 Matubo seed beads (Matubo 63130P)

12 opaque mid green size 5/0 Czech seed beads (Preciosa 53240)

2 sterling silver hoops, 30 mm

2 silver head pins, 40mm

Beading thread, size D, teal

 White tassel earrings with anemone flower beads 

0.4 Opaque White size 11/0 Miyuki Delica seed beads (Delica 200)

20 gr. Opaque White size 15/0 Japanese seed beads (Toho 41)

2 Czech Pressed Glass Anemone Flower Beads, chalk white golden fired color, 18 mm

2 Opaque White 6 mm Czech Glass Round Beads

2 Opaque White 4 mm Czech Glass Round Beads

2 brass head pins, 50mm

1 pair brass ear wires

One G beading thread, white

 Pink tassel earrings

23 gr. Perafinish Matte Galvanized Pink Lilac 11/0 Japanese seed beads (Toho PF553F)

0.8 gr. bronze size 11/0 Japanese seed beads (Toho 221)

2 Bordeaux 10mm Czech Glass Round Pearls

2 Bronze (or pink, or transparent) 6 mm Czech Glass Round Beads

2 brass head pins, 40mm

1 pair brass ear wires

Beading thread, size D, pink

 Tools

Flat nose pliers, round nose pliers and cutting pliers (to attach the findings)

Size 10 or 11 beading needle (an additional long needle)

Scissors

Finished Size

Blue – 8 cm

Teal – 7.2 cm

White – 11cm

Pink 0 8.2 cm

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INSTRUCTION

Step 1.

Cut a comfortably long piece of thread and put a stop bead at about 10 cm (4 inches) from the end.

Step 2. Flat even count peyote.

Make a flat even count peyote strip 4 columns per 19 rows. To start pick up five color A 11/0 seed beads.

Sew back thorough the third 11/0 seed bead, going back in the direction towards the stop bead. 

Pick up one color A 11/0 seed bead, skip a bead, and sew through the next 11/0.

Pick up one color A 11/0 seed bead and sew back through the last added 11/0 seed bead.

Pick up one color A 11/0 seed bead and sew through the next seed bead that is jutting out from the previous row.

Continue beading with the flat even count peyote stitch to reach this size strip: 4 columns and 20 rows.

Step 3. The tube.

Remove the stop bead and hide the tail into the beadwork. Roll the strip to form a tube and connect the two ends. Sew through the first bead on the left end and the second bead on the right end.

Sew through the third seed bead on the left end and the fourth seed bead on the right end. 

Sew top down through the first seed bead on the left end and the next seed bead on the right diagonal.

Sew top down through the next two seed beads on the right diagonal and exit from the other side of the tube.

Step 4. First row of the fringe.

Switch to a long needle (100 mm long) if you have. Pick up 20 Color B 11/0 seed beads and slide them down the thread towards the peyote tube.

Skip the last added color B 11/0 seed bead and sew back through the next nineteen color B seed beads and the next color A seed bead (the one the thread is exiting from).

Sew through the next color A seed bead in the row on the bottom edge.

Continue adding fringes into the bottom row of the peyote tube.

Step 5. Step up to the next row.

Sew bottom up through the nearest color A seed bead into the second row of the peyote tube.

Sew top down through next seed bead in the same (second) row of the tube.

Step 6. Next rows of the fringe.

In every new row of the fringe add one more color B 11/0 seed bead to the length. For the second row – 21 seed beads, for the third row - 22 seed beads, and for the fourth row – 23 seed beads. 

Finished tassel with four rows of fringe.

Step 7. Incorporation of the tassel into jewelry.

On the bottom of the tassel there should be one 6 mm round bead to hold the tassel in place. For this, add one 6mm round bead through one head pin. Then take the head pin through the hollow peyote tube, bottom up. 

You can add any kind of beads on top of the tassel. Starting with 6 mm up to 12 mm round beads, pressed beads, table cut bead, etc. For this particular blue earrings, I added one small 4mm round bead to fill the peyote tube inside and hold the head pin in place, then on top of it, was placed one 12mm ripple bead and one 17mm table cut bead with dragonfly. 

Then use the right pliers to make a loop on top of the bead.

If you don’t have head pins you can assemble all the beads using beading thread and make a loop of seed beads to attach the ear wire. 

In the end, add the ear wire through the loop.

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For the teal hoops earrings the tassel is made of a peyote tube (4 columns per 20 rows) made of 11/0 seed beads and four rows of fringe of 11/0 seed beads (first bottom row - 15 seed beads, second – 16, third – 17 and the fourth – 18).

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For the white tassel earrings with anemone flower beads the tassel is made of a peyote tube (4 columns per 20 rows) made of 11/0 Delica beads and four rows of fringe made with 15/0 seed beads (first bottom row– 60 seed beads, second – 61, third – 62 and the fourth – 63).

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For the pink tassel earrings, the tassel is made of a peyote stitch tube (4 columns per 20 rows) made of 11/0 seed beads and three rows of fringe made with 11/0 seed beads (first bottom row– 30 seed beads, second – 31, third – 32).

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The PDF version of this beading tutorial can be downloaded HERE.

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More FREE BEADING TUTORIALS are available HERE.