How to Make a Yarn Tassel

So here's the thing - tassels are an excellent flourish for many knit projects, and can take a hat or a scarf from "blah" to "bam!" They're also very easy to make by following the steps below.

1. Cut a rectangle of cardboard. The height should be at least as long as you want your tassel (you can always trim the ends; you can’t make ‘em grow!), and it should be wide enough to fold in half easily.

How to Make a Yarn Pompom

I'm getting ready to post a hat that needs a pompom, so I figured that it was finally time to suck it up and write out some pompom-making instructions. And while I know there are many methods, this is the one I think works best. So let's get started!

1. Notice my circles aren't perfect. They don't need to be!

1. Cut out two cardboard circles that are roughly 3” in diameter, and cut a 1” hole in the middle. As you’ll notice, exact precision isn’t necessary. You can also cut bigger or smaller circles, depending on how big you want your pompom to be (this one will be a shy two inches, since that's the difference between your outer circle and your inner circle, and it shrinks a little with the tight wrapping. If you make a mondo pompom, you'll want to cut a bigger center hole, since you'll need a boatload of wrapping to make it look right).

2. And now, start wrapping that sucker up!

2. Thread a long tail (3+ yards, or as much as you’re willing to use, really) of yarn on your tapestry needle, and then, holding your two cardboard pieces together, loop through center hole repeatedly, with some care not to get your end tangled up in the loops.