Crochet

A Tassel A Day
Patterns From Early 1900s

Some of these would be wonderful Christmas decorations, crocheted with gold, silver or metallic accent thread. Seven tassel patterns, each different than the last. Enough for a new one each day of the week!

Crocheters in the early 1900s came up with some interesting ways to crochet tops for single tassels. Now you can recreate some of these for yourself!

Click on photos or on days of the week to go to those patterns:

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

A Nine-inch Crochet Tassel

Materials
Crochet silk (substitute cotton thread) and steel crochet hook No. 6
A 2-inch mold (You could substitute a round plastic ring.)
Wooden ball for center of mold
Beads (size not given in pattern - use your own judgement)

Abbreviations used

ch - chain

hdc - half double crochet

sc - single crochet

sl st - slip stitch

sts - stitches

Instructions Roll stitch photo and how-to at http://crochet.about.com/library/blbullion.htm Begin with the cover for ball: Ch 6, and join in a ring. Next 12 sc in ring, do not join and work 2 sc in each of the 12 sc; now 24 sc in 24 sc. Next 6 ch and a roll st 0.20 in each of the 24 sc. (Detail of roll st 0.20: Wrap the thread 20 times around the hook, bring up a loop through sc, thread over hook and draw through the coil on the hook, keep roll straight, thread over and draw through loop on hook. Repeat this for each roll.) Slip stitch at top of chain-6 to join. Sc between each roll and slip the ball in this cup and close it by skipping every other sc until ball is covered.

For a hanger, make 4 guard sts and cut thread. (Detail of guard stitch: When the ball is closed up draw out the last loop about two-eighths of an inch, thread over hook, draw up a loop through the closing of the ball, thread over hook, draw up a loop through the same place; thread over and draw this through all the loops on the hook.) This is the first stitch. The second and all others like this: * Draw out the last loop size as before, thread over hook, draw up a loop through the stitch below by following the place where first loop came through, thread over and draw up a loop through same place, thread over, and draw through all the loops on hook. Repeat from * for next two sts and cut thread.

Fasten the thread on the center of the narrowest part of the mold with the curved side away from you. This is covered as tight as possible with hdc stitches. To avoid getting the outside sts too long when reaching under the mold, push up the thread on the inside so you can easily catch it with the crochet hook. Just before joining, catch in the hanger of the ball and sl st to join and fasten off neatly on the wrong side, which is the flat side in this case.

Cap for Top of Tassel

Begin same as for ball and work 6 times around with 24 sc, then fasten off on the inside.

Detail of tassel

String beads first. For a foundation, ch 6 and join, ch 1 and 12 sc in ring. Join to first sc. For a fringe, * ch 3, a roll stitch 0.10 into the first of the ch-3 (roll stitch 0.10 = roll st with thread wrapped 10 times around the hook). Repeat from * until 8 rolls long; now drop a bead close up to last roll, with the crochet hook pull last loop through the bead. Repeat again from * until again 8 rolls long, drop a bead, again 8 rolls long, drop a bead, again 8 rolls long and make a sc in next sc to joining. Repeat from the first * for next fringe. Make as many fringes as desired, the design has seven. Sl st to the center of the foundation ring and make 4 guard sts, like at the ball. Cut thread, leaving a string long enough to sew on the tassel. Slip the cap over the tassel and sew on the center of the mold under the ball.

Note Pattern is basically the same as originally printed, but I revised some of the wording of the pattern to make it easier for today's crocheters to understand. For example, along with substituting some other terms to the way we say them today, each time pattern said "needle" I substituted "hook". (Crochet hooks were often called needles in the early 1900s.)

Image is from New Designs in Tatting and Crochet, 1917.

Pattern was originally printed in New Designs in Tatting and Crochet by M. Hemingway & Sons Silk Co. in 1917.

More Tassels:
Tasseled Bedspread Edging
Three-Tassel Curtain Pull

By Your Crochet Guide: [Past Articles by Date] [Past Articles by Topic]

Bookmark for this page is http://crochet.about.com/library/weekly/aa082899.htm

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