DIY: Leather Tassle Key Fob/Bag Charm

Today is a teeny bit momentous. My first post from my new home. I finally completed my migration from Blogger to this here self hosted WordPress site. What do you think of the new pad? I’m still tweaking. (Please let me know if you see anything amiss!)  Lord knows it is not as straightforward as I’d hoped BUT it is doable and so far the pros are far outweighing the cons. (If there’s an appetite for it I thought I might do a post to explain the process and share the resources I found useful. What d’ya think?) With the last couple of weeks being a blur of html, file transfers, 301 redirects and  a few headaches, I’ve been itching to get back to some DIY therapy. So today I thought I’d kick off with a quick and satisfying DIY. This leather key fob/bag charm…

You’ll Need:

Approx 12m of leather lace. (Mine is from Endless Leather)

1.2″ Diameter Split Ring with Lobster Clasp (I got this one and removed the bits I didn’t need)

Side cutters (or Scissors)

Leather Needle (or one with a wide enough eye to fit your leather through)

Set a 30″ length of leather aside. Then establish how long you want each strip of leather to be by cutting a strip and testing it out in your keyring. Once you’re happy, measure the length…

Find a book (or similar) who’s circumference is roughly double the length that you want and wrap the remainder of the leather repeatedly and snugly around it…

Cut the loops at either end and you’ll have a whole batch of leather pieces approximately the length you want them…

Gather them all together (I used approx 40 x 12″ lengths)…

…and thread through the split ring…

…with the split ring in the middle or your strips of leather, fold them in half. Enclosing the split ring in the fold. Grab the 30″ length you set aside and tie a slip knot. Leave a short tail end that is the same length as your folded tassle.

Slip the loop of your slip knot over the top of your tassle and slide it snugly closed like so, with the short tail pointing downwards towards the end of the tassle.

Then take the long tail and wrap it tightly around the neck of your tassle covering the slip knot as you go. When you have all but run out of tail, thread the end into a needle and pass it through/behind the wrapped part. Pull tightly to secure.

Bunch the end of your tassle together and trim the ends to even them out..

Aaaaand you’re done!

 

 

Your leather tassle is ready for some keys…or simply to add a pop of colour to a leather bag …

 

Have a great day! And don’t forget to let me know of any little gremlins you find in the new site! I would sooooo appreciate your eagle eyes on this! If you’re interested in finding out about the Blogger to WordPress migration, perhaps you’re considering the move yourself but you’re not sure, then let me know, and I’ll put a summary post together so you can see what it involves!