Last week I shared the big reveal of My New Backyard with y’all. One of my favorite little touches are these fabric tassel garlands. After our one millionth skype conversation/patio critique session, Jacinda suggested a tassel garland like these from Confetti System. I loved the idea, but those are tissue paper, so not ideal for outside. I decided to whip some up with fabric, so I ordered some Kona Solids from Fabricworm in shades of peach, coral, and blue, as well as some natural linen, and got to work. These are easy as pie and no-sew. Learn how to make a Fabric Tassel Garland after the jump… How to Make a Fabric Tassel Garland I made my fabric tassels quite large (12-15″ long), but you can make them any size you like. Your final tassel will be just about half the length of the longer side. I cut my fabric rectangles around 24″X30″ for most of the tassels, or you could get 4 out of a standard yard by cutting them 18″X24″. I recommend you choose fabric that looks the same on both sides (a solid cotton, linen, or even a lighter weight fabric like a chiffon would be lovely) since they will both show on your final fabric tassel.

So fold your fabric in half so the two shorter sides meet. Make cuts in your fabric about an inch apart, stopping around 2″ to 3″ before the fold. This is much less tedious if you use a rotary cutter rather than scissors. Now unfold your fabric and lay it flat.White Labrador Puppies Hawaii One one uncut end, at the center, begin to roll your fabric up.Bedroom Furniture Lease Continue until you have a tube with fringe at each end. Outdoor Furniture Covers For Brown JordanAs you roll, untangle the fabric fringe, and try to keep your roll as tight as possible, though it doesn’t need to be super-tight to look nice. Pick it up, fold it in half, and pinch the top together so the fringe ends meet and the edge of the fabric is hidden between them.

Use a fabric scrap to tightly secure the top of your tassel. This is what it looks like. Trim it so the ends look even if you need to.Then make another one. Tie them to a string of some kind (I used a thick and sturdy jute because my tassels are quite large and heavy) with another little fabric scrap. Hang them somewhere you can enjoy them. Ask your husband what he thinks, and smile when he says “I can’t talk about those kinds of things. What is it for?” Then go on Prudent Baby’s facebook page and share a picture with us and know that someone understands you. You understand me, don’t you?Nothing can replicate the effect created when a piece of fabric is hand-dyed. This process has an artisan quality to it from the little irregularities and slight imperfections of the process; these kinds of details can’t be found in mass produced items. But this is one medium not restricted to professionals only – you can follow these easy steps to create a gorgeous shower curtain yourself!

After you see how easy it is to get such great results, nothing in your house will be safe from a dip-dye! Supplies:– 2 boxes of RIT Fabric Dye (we used Navy + Teal) – 1 cotton shower curtain – liquid laundry detergent – 3 cups salt Start by removing your curtain from the packaging and double check the label to ensure it really is 100 percent cotton. The dye won’t adhere to synthetic materials like polyester or nylon. If there are any finishes on the curtain that will keep it from absorbing the dye, wash it on gentle in warm water. It doesn’t need to be dried. Once you make sure you have a curtain that will work, find a safe area that you don’t care if a few drops of dye spill. You can lay down a drop cloth, but I found working outside to be easiest.  Put on your plastic gloves and pour one packet of teal RIT Fabric Dye into your bucket. Add approximately 4 cups of almost boiling water (I just prepared a full tea kettle and poured it in). Stir until the powder dissolves.

Next add 1 1/2 gallons hot tap water. Now add 1 1/2 cups salt and a cap of liquid laundry detergent. Stir again until everything is dissolved and well blended. Wipe clean any dye that may have collected on the sides of the bucket so it doesn’t dye the wrong parts of your curtain. If your curtain is dry or has dried since washing it, wet it completely and gently wring out so its no longer dripping. We are going to dip the curtain upside down so the top gets dyed teal first in 10 minute increments. Decide how far you want the teal to go and mark it equally on both sides with clothes pins. I found it easiest to fold the curtain in half so I could make sure I was pinning at the same height on both sides. You don’t need to be precise; just eye-ball about 3/4 of the way down the curtain and put a clothespin there. Then divide the remaining area into 4 equal parts by placing 3 more clothespins on each side. Dip your curtain in the dye up to the first clothespin and time it for 10 minutes. 

After 10 minutes, lower the curtain down to the next clothespin. After this 3rd 10 minutes has passed, lower again to the next pin. After 10 minutes, lower it to the last pin but only let this level soak 5 minutes. Now pull it out slowly and you should have 4 shades of teal. Be careful not to touch dye with your hands and then touch the curtain and spread the dye to unwanted parts. Now hose down the curtain making sure the water runs from lightest to darkest so the dye doesn’t spread to the lightest parts. Wring it out and repeat  this rinsing and wringing process until the water runs clear. At this point you should have a curtain that looks something like this. You can see I draped my curtain on the back of a lawn chair to hold it up while I hosed it down. No two hand dyed fabrics will ever be exactly alike, so don’t stress if your’s looks different than mine. That’s the beauty of this project! Next up lets prepare the navy dye by repeating the same steps we used to make the teal.

Empty the navy powder packet and add 4 cups near boiling water and stir until the powder dissolves. Then pour in 1 1/2 gallons hot tap water and a 1/2 cup of salt. Finish the dye-making process by adding a cap of detergent and stir until the solution is well mixed. Again wipe down the sides to remove any navy dye that has splashed onto the bucket sides. Now, place clothespins on what will be the bottom of the curtain at the level you wish the navy to dye. I decided to dye just the bottom 1/3 of the curtain navy, so you can see I just placed 3 clothespins on each side to mark off my dipping levels. I also folded the curtain in half again so I could make sure the clothespins were at the same levels on each side. We are going to dip for 5 minute increments this time. So lower in your curtain to the first pins and time it for 5 minutes, occasionally poke the fabric down with the spoon so it all gets soaked. After 5 minutes, lower it again. Then lower it one last time at 5 minutes (this should be up to your last clothespin).