DIY leather tassel necklaces

i am a creative down to the core, but i don’t capture my projects as often as i’d like to because i do most of my creating at night.  night time is great for crafting but bad for blogging (no light = bad pictures).  but yesterday, when the kids were at school, i made the grown up choice to create this tutorial instead of napping (and totally regretted that decision by 3pm)!

i created these leather tassel necklaces several months ago with some left over supplies after closing my shop.  i kept a couple for myself and love to wear them layered together.  i can wear them long or short since they are adjustable.  i have been asked for a tutorial several times after wearing them in my what i wore posts.  so here you go!

you need a handful of supplies for this project.  i got this 3 pack of tools at walmart several years ago with needle nose pliers, round nose pliers, and side cutters.

you can find leather tassels all over the interwebs, but i found some here.  i got mine with antique bronze caps, but there are a couple other options.

an unnecessary addition, but super cute, i add a wire wrapped bead to the end of each necklace.  any beads will do, i just had these glass beads from walmart.

other supplies needed:

about 32″ of chain – i chose antique bronze (similar here)

2  4mm jump rings (similar here)

1  6mm jump ring (similar here)

1 head pin (similar)

1 lobster clasp (similar)

i’ll take you through step-by-step, but you can see the basic order (above) to putting together this necklace.

this requires some cooperation between your right and left hands, since you’ll need to use both the needle nose pliers and the round nose pliers (or any 2 pairs of tiny pliers).  begin by opening the smaller jump ring just enough to add the lobster clasp and one end of the chain.

once those 2 pieces are on the jump ring, close the ring using both pliers.

next take the larger jump ring and slide the tassel onto it, and the chain inside the ring, then close the jump ring.  its important that you put the chain inside the jump ring rather than a loop of the chain through the jump ring.  once the ring is closed, you want the tassel to move freely along the chain, not be stuck on one loop of the chain.

next make the wire wrapped bead.  this is a little tricky, so here’s a great tutorial, but i’ll try to walk you through it.

slide the bead onto the base of the head pin.

using the needle nose pliers, hold the wire about a 1/4″ up.

bend the wire around the pliers to form a loop.

wrap the wire tight around the pliers, tighter than i did here!

holding the needle nose pliers in one hand, take the round nose pliers and grab the end of the wire, and wrap it around the head pin, just above the bead.  then clip off any remaining wire left.

it takes a few tries to get this right, be patient.

take the smaller jump ring, open it, and add the wire wrapped bead and the end of the chain, then close the ring.

all done!  layer a couple of your favorite colors for a lightweight addition to your outfit!

let me know if you have any questions!