Silhouette UK: Paper Tassels - with FREE Tassel File

Tassels are quite the craft accessory of the moment. They are a little more contemporary than a bow and they look great crafted in paper. Not only are they a great embellishment for many different paper crafting projects, they also look fabulous as a decorative element on gift packages.

I couldn't find a tassel file that was quite right for what I needed and thought I'd design my own from scratch. This file available for you to use for FREE!

This is what you'll need to make some tassels:

Silhouette CAMEO®, Silhouette Curio® or Silhouette Portrait®
Silhouette Studio® (Designer Edition for the enhanced tassels)
Coloured Paper and Card
Paper Adhesive
Cocktail Stick or Bamboo skewer
Tool for Curling Paper (e.g. Silhouette Universal Hook)
FREE Tassel File

STEP 1: Prepare and Cut the Design

Download the FREE file from the Silhouette UK Blog website. Open it in your Silhouette Studio® Software. Move non-cutting parts away from the cutting area and re-size and duplicate as required. I recommend cutting several at once, and in more than one colour, so that that you can mix and match the parts. Cut the file from paper or card. The general rule of thumb is, the smaller the tassel, the thinner the cutting medium. These were cut at 2" tall in 135gsm (90lb) paper.

STEP 2: Enhance your Tassel Design FOR DE USERS (optional)

You can use the Designer Edition of the Silhouette Studio® software to make your tassels a little fancier by adding decorative edges to the Wrap and Fringe. Skip to STEP 6 and then return to STEP 3.

STEP 3: Prepare the parts

Once you've removed the parts from the cutting mat, curl them over the rounded handle of a tool (like the Silhouette Universal Hook).

STEP 4: Make up the Tassels

Apply adhesive to the length of the non-cut area of the Fringe. Add the Tie, and roll up the tassel carefully using a cocktail stick (bamboo skewer works for larger tassels)

Once rolled, separate the Tie parts with a cocktail stick so the outside of the Tie sticks to the interior of the rolled Fringe.

Apply adhesive to the length of the Wrap and roll it around the top of the Fringe. Trim off the excess.

STEP 5: Embellishing

You can decorate the tassels further by adding extra bands of coloured paper, decorative string, washi tape etc.

STEP 6: (optional) FOR DE USERS - Enhance your Tassel Design
You can use the Designer Edition of the Silhouette Studio® software to make your tassels a little fancier by adding scallops to the edges of the Wrap and Fringe. This requires the use of the Advanced Knife Tools.

Making sure that the 3 parts are grouped together, Click on the Knife Tool (A), choose Serrated 1 Knife (B), uncheck Auto Apply (C) and ensure Treat Unfilled Shapes As Solid is highlighted (D). Holding down the Shift key, draw a cut line below the Fringe aligned with the left hand edge of the Fringe.

While holding down the Shift key, move the Slider (E) to the far right, make the scallop shape as small as possible. The idea is to match the size of the scallop with the cut lines. The quickest way to do this is to re-size the tassel pieces (remember you grouped them all earlier). Do this by holding Shift and moving the Fringe piece using the right-hand sizing handle (the left hand edge will remain static) until they match. Making sure that the cut line is aligned with the left edge and within the fringe, include it in the Group. Then apply the cut line, by putting a tick in Auto Apply (C).

Make a similar sized cut line and apply it to the bottom edge of the Wrap. Holding down Shift, stretch all pieces back to their original size (width 3"). You can try other patterns for different effects. Cut your pieces and continue to Step 3.