帯で作った table runner に付けた tassels は市販品です。
タッセルって結構なお値段なんですね。大きいものは、当然ですが、お高い。
色や長さなど種類も少なかったですね。
Those tassels for the obi table runner I made were shop-bought.
I found tassels were rather dear. The bigger, the more expensive, naturally.
Furthermore, there weren't many colours, lengths to choose from.
帰宅してまじまじ見たら・・・作れるんじゃないのぉ？と思いました。
ポンポンを作る時のように糸をぐるぐる巻いて、上部をてるてる坊主みたいに結んだらできるんじゃないかしら？
On getting back home, I took a good look at them, and thought..."These cannot be that difficult to make?"
A tassel can be made by wrapping a length of thread / twine around something, just like making pom-poms; then knot the top part of the gathered thread / twine, like making a teru-teru bozu.
ほら～！ できたっ♪ Voila!
一個目はいい加減に作ったので仕上がりがイマイチでした。
ネット検索したら、型を使うと良いらしいと分かりました。
The first attempt was not as neat as I wanted it to be.
I googled a bit, and found that using a template would be a good idea.
作りました。（これに糸/紐をぐるぐる巻く。）
so...I made a template. (wrap some thread / twine around this template)
あれ？この形は何かに似ている・・・ a photo frame!!
I know this shape...I have seen this shape before...a photo frame!
ね？ 同じ形～～see? they are of the same shape!
ところが！！！ But!!!
やってみて分かったのですが、フレームに厚みがある（おまけに硬い！）ので巻いた紐を切る時に大変！ 鋏がフレームと紐の間に入らないっ
ああ・・・おバカなワタクシ・・・
後先考えないとこういうことになります。。。
無理矢理したら、フレームがいびつになってしまいました
I found out... when I was about to cut the loops of the thread that were gathered at the top and the bottom of the frame...I couldn't slide a blade of my scissors between the frame and the thread, because the frame is thicker (and firmer!) than a piece of cardboard.
...how stupid of me...as usual I couldn't see beyond my nose...
I forced the loops of the thread out of the frame, and the frame warped
大体さぁ・・・フレームでできるものなら皆使ってるっちゅーの、ねぇ？
やっぱりオトナシク紙の型を作って使うのが正解です
I should have known... if a photo frame could be used as a template, many people would have said so...
One would do well to follow instructions without thinking of short-cuts. Then one's photo frame will be safe.
型の大きさで長さ、型に巻く回数で太さが自由になります。
糸/紐の色、材質を変えると雰囲気も変わりますね。
楽しくなって量産しちゃいそうです←何に使うんだ？
You can vary the length of the tassel with the size of the template, the thickness, by the number of loops.
You can create different styles of tassels using different colours / material, which can result in a different mood (depending on the style).
And they can be much more than just "tassels".
They could become vital parts of something you create, they are just tassels, but that creation won't be complete without those tassels, for instance.
It is so much fun that I might start making LOTS of them.←what am I going to do with them?
