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Every place you go, you probably see salt and pepper shakers! And not just run of the mill shakers either. Take Cracker Barrel for example. They have salt and pepper shakers for every holiday, occasion, theme or animal imaginable, and it’s hard not to buy each and everyone of them! At least it is for me. BUT, we don’t need multiple salt and pepper shakers, do we? Nope. Well, when I realized you could actually craft with the shakers, that was a game changer! Introducing the Salt Shaker Tassel Diy! Check out the other Tassel Craft Ideas while you’re here!
Now, you may have seen this idea before. The first time I saw this craft, it was on my friend Hilde’s Facebook page, Crafting at Hilde’s Farmhouse. After seeing her try this idea, I had to give it a try myself. My first salt shaker tassels were very simple, using mostly yarn and a little ribbon. I hung them with that same yarn or jute twine. You can see my first tutorial for the salt shaker tassels >>HERE<<. Below are some of the first ones that I made. Super cute, right? Just wait.
Fast forward a couple of years and I’ve picked up this craft again. Except this time, I’ve upped my game a little bit. Let me just show you! First things first though! What do we need to make one??
Supplies Needed for this Salt Shaker Tassel Project :
- a salt shaker
- coordinating fabrics
- coordinating ribbons/laces
- coordinating yarns
- 20 gauge stainless steel wire
- scissors
- wire cutters
- round nose pliers
Optional items below:
- stainless steel eye pins
- 8-10mm stainless steel jump rings
- glass beads
- embellishments
Step One : Choose and prep your fabric, ribbons, yarns, etc.
First thing to do is choose the fabrics that you want to use to coordinate with whatever shaker you are wanting to use. I’m going to show you steps from multiple shaker tassels. You can see here some of the fabrics that I chose for a Santa salt shaker.
Next, I like to rip the fabric into 12-13 inch long sections of 1/2-1 inch strips. I like to rip the fabric, because it creates a frayed edge that I prefer in my tassels. You can cut the strips with a rotary blade if you don’t like the frayed edges. But I promise you, you’ll not only like the ripped fabric, but you’ll enjoy ripping it as well. Great stress reliever! Lol
Step Two : Design the tassel
I like to start my tassels with some yarn and I lay it out in a criss cross design using a measuring mat. I found this one at Dollar General and it’s the perfect size for the tassels, because it is 12×12! Starting with yarn creates a fuller tassel, and you can use less ribbons and fabrics, so it’s also economical! Win win! Continue adding fabric strips, ribbons, trims, laces, etc.. to your criss cross until it is as full as you like. Typically, I will use 25-50 of these pieces. It all depends on your material and the thickness and texture of each piece.
Step Three : Secure the Tassel
After you have your fabrics laid out as full as you like, you need to tie it all together in the middle. This is one reason I like to use the mat, because I can easily see the center of my tassel. Using a piece of coordinating crochet thread or satin ribbon, tie it together in the center. Gently lift one side of your design and place your tying ribbon underneath, then tie like shown here. That second one you see was the beginning of a witch hat salt shaker tassel that I made for Halloween.
Step Four : Add wire to the fabric strips
Once your fabrics are secure, next you will add some wire. This is what you will use to attach it to your salt shaker. If you don’t have wire, or prefer to not use wire, you can refer back to my original tutorial >>HERE<< which gives you the alternative to this updated method. First, find the center of your tassel and lay it out upside down.
Next, cut a piece of wire about 12-15 inches long. The length of your wire depends on the height of your shaker. If your shaker is taller, then you will need a longer piece of wire. Now, bend the wire in half, leaving it rounded at the bend, like shown here.
Now, wrap the wire around the middle of the tassel, where it is tied together, and loop both sides once, bringing the ends around to the top of your fabric strips.
Lastly, using your pliers, pull each side of the wire to tighten it around the fabric strips. Try to get them as even as possible, because that will make it easier to insert the wire into your salt shaker holes.
Step Five : Add the tassel to the salt shaker
Insert the wires into the bottom of your salt shaker and carefully fish them up through the holes at the top. If there is only one hole, fish both wires through that one hole.
After you pull your wires all the way through, tighten them as much as you can making sure the tassel is sitting snugly at the bottom of your salt shaker. Cut the wire at the top leaving about 1.5 inches. Have round nose pliers ready for this step, because after you cut your wires, you don’t want them to fall back out of your shaker.
Using the pliers start twisting each wire into a round shape. This is why it’s important to use round nose pliers for this step.
Keep twisting, pulling the wire up as you do, to secure even more, until you reach the top of the shaker. You will know you’re done, when the tassel is nice and snug at the bottom of the shaker.
Step Six : Add a hanger to your tassel
You can choose to just add a piece of ribbon to those wire circles and call it done. I like to add a beaded hanger to my tassels. You can add beads directly to the wire itself and create a circle above the beads or you can add beads using eye pins and jump rings, like I do. I did not include the instructions for that in this blog post, but I will create a video and add that here later.
Watch the Process Here!
Look at these absolutely beautiful salt shaker tassels!
I hope you enjoyed this Salt Shaker Tassel Diy and that it inspires you to make some of your own! Make sure to join our email family so we can keep in touch! If you make one of these salt shaker tassels, please post on Facebook and tag me using @myeclectictreasures and use #saltshakertassels. We do have a crafting group that you can also post your tassels to! It’s called Handmade Trends and you can join by clicking >>HERE<<!