Tassel Necks
Most tassels have a neck Sometimes that is all they do have, no head and no skirt either. Beaded tassel necks are often tubes, made either as a flat piece of beading stitched into a cylinder or tubular beading worked on a supporting rod These cylinders and tubes are supported by having hanks of yarn pulled through them, fitting very tightly so you often don't need to wrap the neck with another yarn.
Beads are so beautiful that a cylinder of plain beading is often all you want, but you can mix colors randomly or following any of the charts for color mixing on page 16. More pattern variations are shown below Once you have worked out how many-beads are needed for the neck of the tassel you are making, a chart can be followed for a highly patterned neck. The samples shown opposite can be worked with different colored backgrounds or changed by placing the colors in different parts of the pattern
Simply stitched necks using either brick or peyote stitch can have added texture by using two- or three-drop versions of the stitches or by combining beads of different textures but the same color. More texture can be made by stitching beads on top. either in rows or clusters, or in loops or small dangles.
Netting is another stitch to use for covering tassel necks. More interest can be added by incorporating larger beads, cubes, or triangles, or even drops or fancy beads.
Flat and tubular beading to use for tassel necks.
Tube tassels
Simple and elegant, these small tassels are worked as a flat strip and "zipped" together to make a tube around a yarn tassel. Any bead can be used cylinders, seeds, hexes, or charlottes—all in any size They can be used alone or as an overskirt around a much larger tassel
The tassels can be made using either peyote or brick stitch, whichever you prefer. but here I am giving the instructions for peyote. using size 11 beads Any of the patterns given in the chapter on color will do for these tassels; anything more complex just isn't suitable.
Cylinder beads 3 3 (mm) size can also be used, and 2-drop peyote stitch, which looks then like a weaving pattern
Materials fine cord, about 10 inches long yarn for the tassel beads
Method
For the smallest tassel: Pick up 12 beads and work peyote stitch until you can
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