How to Make a Fringed Tweed Bookmark with a Tassel

 

If you love tassels and want to have some fun with fringe, a tweed fringed bookmark with a tassel is a great DIY project.

I made a bookmark that's nine inches long, not including the four-inch tassel, but, of course, you could easily scale down the size to make a smaller one, if you prefer. 

Just follow the step-by-step instructions below to learn how to make your own fringed tweed bookmark with a tassel.

 

 

The bookmark looks like this in a book:

Materials

  • Tweed scrap, 10" x 10"
  • Felt scrap, 2" x 2"
  • Craft glue

Tools

  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Yarn needle 
  • Straight pin

Step One

Decide how you would like to orient the tweed design before cutting the fabric to size. It's important to make sure the tweed is straight on  grain. To do this, cut exactly along the edge of a thread every time you make a cut and gently pull to straighten, if necessary. Cut a 9" x 2.5" rectangle of tweed. Place a straight pin in the top to mark it (the top will not be fringed). To make the fringe, tease each thread from the fabric with a straight pin, and then pull out the threads, one at a time. Make a fringe about one-half inch on the two long sides and the bottom.

Save all the threads from the two long sides because you will need these to make the tassel. 
Cut a football-shape piece of felt, which will be folded over the top  to stabilize it. The horizontal centerends of the felt should extend to the edge of the tweed where the fringe begins (about 1.5" across).


Remove the straight pin you used to mark the top. Since tweed ravels quite a bit, it may be necessary to trim the top before applying the felt to the bookmark. My tweed had several thread ends poking out, so I trimmed it. To trim, cut straight across the top on grain.

Next, apply glue all around the "football," across the center, and on the sides, as shown below.

Fold the felt over the top of the bookmark with the horizontal center of the "football" going across the top. Make sure it's even, and press the felt to the back and front with your fingers. Secure the felt with alligator clips.

While the glue is drying, you'll have time to make the tassel. Lay out all the threads you pulled from the sides of bookmark. Set two of the sturdiest threads aside. You can also add more threads pulled from the tweed fabric in the other direction to make the tassel fuller. Take one of the threads you set aside earlier and tie it around the center of the bundle. Leave this thread in place because you will use it to attach the tassel to the bookmark.


Pull the tassel tassel down, and take the second thread you set aside. With one side of the thread about three inches long and the other longer, tie a knot around the tassel about half an inch from the top.


Take the smaller end of the thread and wind it tightly around the tassel. Next, wind the longer end over the wound smaller end and keep winding it around the tassel.


Insert the end of the thread into the eye of a yarn needle.

Insert the yarn needle under the wrap, from the top of the wrap to the bottom, and pull the thread through.

Cut the thread flush with the bottom of the wrap. Insert the top thread into the eye of the yarn needle, as shown below.

Remove the clips from the felt. If they have left pressure marks, rub over them with your thumbnail until the felt surface looks smooth again. Poke the yarn needle through the center of the felt at the top of the bookmark. You may need to push a large sewing needle through the center of the felt, first, to make a hole, because yarn needles are not very sharp.

Adjust the length of the thread as desired and tie it in a double knot on the back side of the felt. Add a drop of glue to the knot and allow it to dry before cutting the ends of the thread close to the knot. Cut the ends of the tassel so that all the threads are the same length

Now you can mark your place in your book with your new fringed tweed bookmark.

The bookmark is shown in the large-print edition of my historical mystery book, The Six-Week Solution.

Enjoy your bookmark!