inspired ideas

Vintage Salt Shaker Tassel
A Project from Tammy Gilley Studios
© 2008 Tammy Gilley Studios
www.tammygilley.com









Supplies Needed:
Vintage Salt Shaker
Ribbons:

Narrow ribbon or vintage seam binding for hanger loop, 18” length
1”-wide ribbon for rosette, 15” length
1½”-wide ribbon for rosette, 18” length
An assortment of ribbons, seam bindings, trims (approximately 5’ lengths) for
tassel

Velvet Leaves
Cardboard, cut to 5”x10”
Pearl Cotton
Glue (I like Aleene’s Tacky Glue)
Needle and Hand-Quilting Thread
Fabric-wrapped Florist’s Wire (I like Martha Stewart’s, because it’s a pretty green, but
you can also use the crafting wire of your choice)
Wire cutters

Directions:


Fold cardboard in half, length-wise, creating a 5” square. Beginning at open end of cardboard, wrap 5’ ribbon lengths around the cardboard. When wrapping your ribbons, it’s a good idea to vary your ribbon lengths as you go, to make your tassel more interesting texturally.


Cut a 12” length of pearl cotton, and thread it through your needle. Slide the needle under the wrapped ribbons near the fold in the cardboard. Then, slide very sharp scissors between the two layers of cardboard at the open end. Cut through all layers of ribbon.

Fluff your tassel by turning upside down and distributing the ribbons evenly around the center. If you’ve used vintage seam binding or other ribbons that may unravel, you might want to cut them off at an angle to prevent this. Once you’ve fluffed your tassel to your liking, tie a small bit of ribbon at the top to cover the pearl cotton. Set aside.


To create loop to hang tassel, bend an 18” length of florist or craft wire in half, and push ends through top of shaker, through pouring holes, and out bottom filling hole. This requires a little hand-eye coordination, so be patient. Pull all the way through the shaker, until you have a small loop at the top.


Twist ends together securely. Trim excess wire close to bottom of shaker. Tie ribbon hanger to wire loop. Set aside.




Create rosettes. With needle and hand-quilting thread, stitch a hand-gathering stitch along one edge of 1” ribbon.



Pull up gathers tightly, forming your rosette. Tie a couple of tight knots. Repeat with 1½” ribbon.



Glue smaller rosette, right side facing up, to bottom of shaker. Glue larger rosette, right side facing up, to smaller rosette. Glue velvet leaves, right sides facing up, to larger rosette. Glue tassel to leaves. Allow to dry.