How to Repair Tassels

You make your tassels look good as new by following a few simple steps.

1. Collect any tassel strings that might fall from the tassel bundle in a plastic bag until enough have fallen out to make a repair necessary. Your tassel won’t need to be repaired when every string falls but will certainly need to be repaired if the gathering string or cord that holds the string bundle comes undone or the tassel begins to look thin.

2. Locate the tied end of the cord and carefully undo the knot or fabric glue that may have been used to secure the ends. Unwrap the cord and examine it to determine if it is still strong enough to continue to be usable when you rewrap the repaired tassel.

3. If not, visit a yarn store and look for a replacement cord in a matching color if desired. You might also consider cord options that might offer a nice contrast to the tassel strings; however, if the tassel in need of repair is part of a set, you may need to change all the tassels in the set for décor uniformity.

4. Lay the tassel strings out on a flat surface, and add in any fallen strings that you’ve collected. Make sure the strings are evenly laid out in length. Bend the string bundle in half. Secure the bundle at the half point with a bit of yarn, which you will remove later. This is just to hold the tassel bundle to assist while you rewrap the tassel cord.

5. Make a tassel head of a size appropriate for the overall size of the tassel, depending on the size of the tassel. Since you are repairing a tassel, your tassel’s yarn will already have the indention marked for you on its head. Take one end of the cord yarn and hot glue it to the tassel neck. Then wrap the cord around the tassel neck as many times as possible, but leave about 8 inches of cord loose to make the suspending loop needed to hang the tassel. Secure the cord with a straight pin temporarily to the tassel, leaving the suspension loop hanging freely.

6. Thread the 8 inches of suspension cord into a sewing needle with a large eye such as a darning needle or if the cord is too thick, use a crochet needle hook. Turn the tassel over and thread the suspension cord end up through the middle of tassel head and pull completely through the head. Then, use the needle to go back through the tassel head. Tie the two ends of the suspension cord into a knot which will be invisible under the tassel body. Re-hang your repaired tassel.