Tassels : The Fanciful Embellishment

Library Journal

Decorative tassels are one of the elements of the Renaissance craft of passementerie, developed in Italy and France to embellish furniture and interior hangings. Until recently, very few were made outside the drapery and upholstery trade. Tassels have now become art objects. Using techniques similar to macram, tassel-makers fashion simple ornaments of colored cord or elaborate creations shaped around a molded core. An author of cookbooks and garden books, Welch here provides an interesting summary of the uses of tassels around the world and a gallery of tassels by contemporary artists, as well as a section of step-by-step projects for making a variety of simple tassels. For elaborate, complex tassels crafters may want to consult Susan Dickens's The Art of Tassel Making (Allen & Unwin, 1994), which has more advanced projects.