DIY: Napkins & Tassels

Planning weddings is something I am very passionate about. I love it. I love all the details, love all the pieces, love seeing it all come together. So it should come as no surprise that planning Alex and my wedding is really ridiculously fun. I have loved creating and dreaming up a vision for every little thing. It's like being hired for your dream client because you can finally do all those weird, crazy ideas you have been wanting to do. And last night I was a crafting machine and finished up 1/2 of our DIY napkins with tassels so thought I'd share a lil sneak into just one of the many details that will be handcrafted for our big day!! 

THE INSPIRATION

If described in a sentence our wedding is Southwestern meets Jurassic Park meets Boho... if that makes any sense whatsoever... Our color palette is inspired by the colors in our home -- all the shades of blues, pops of oranges, lots of neutrals, bold black and white patterns, greenery and lots of neutrals.

Our guest tables will be a combination of wood tables and then round tables with a camel linen from Beachview Event Rentals while some of the high boys will have these amazing 'Indigo Batik' linens from Nuage Designs. So while the high boys have that indigo color, the guest tables were lacking the pop of blue that I really wanted to tie it all together. I of course fell in love with these Shibori napkins from La Tavola but what I didn't love? The price tag... So back to the drawing board I went... or should I say... Hobby Lobby. Where I randomly ran across shibori fabric that was exactly the pattern I loved and the price? I think for the whole bolt was around $48. Unfortunately it wasn't quite enough so I did end up going back and getting a turquoise print for the rest of the napkins. I will add in here for a minute I considered hand-dying and creating shibori napkins, but then reality sunk in and the amount of time that would take was just too much for me. Whereas cutting squares out of fabric seemed much more manageable for my busy schedule. [If you are interested in Shibori DIY -- this link has a great tutorial!]

So napkins, check. But I wanted another splash of color... so that's where the tassels come in. With any craft store pretty much carrying all the colors of the rainbow, it was the perfect way to add another splash of color that fit with the theme/style/vision. 

THE HOW

This is the quite possibly one of the easiest DIY project ever. The tassels are a tad time-consuming but a mindless task that I found quite enjoyable while catching up on Narcos and 13 Reasons Why... 

Supplies: 

• Fabric in a pattern/color/texture you like
• Scissors (that aren't dull...)
• A lot of yarn in colors you like

Directions: 

STEP ONE: You can be as precise as you want with this step but I took a more simple approach. I folded the fabric in half length-wise and cut. Then I did that again. So I had 4 long strips.

STEP TWO: Once you have your long strips you need to cut the napkins into squares. I just used one of the strips to get the right size then copied that x198 more times. I think roughly the napkins ended up being about 16x16', which is technically a little smaller than your standard napkin but we are having tacos out of a truck so formalities aren't really are thing...

STEP THREE: To make the tassels I used my hand so that they were roughly the same size. Hold one end of the string with your thumb and then wrap the yarn 10 times.

STEP FOUR: Cut the yarn at the same place where you are holding the other end of the string so that the yarn ends at the right spot. 

STEP FIVE: Cut a small piece of yarn and tie at the opposite end of where you are holding the two ends to secure the top of the tassel.

STEP SIX: Cut another small piece of yarn and tie this around all the yarn about 1/4 of the way down from the top. 

STEP SEVEN: Cut the loops at the bottom of the tassel so that the yarn is all hanging straight down. Snip and trim if some yarn pieces are longer than others so that they are all pretty much the same length. 

STEP EIGHT: Loop the tassel around the napkin and voila. Done. Oh and then just be glad your wedding photographer can capture a better picture than your iPhone picture... :) 

To see more behind-the-scenes and craft projects I've been working on check out the hashtag #MasonMatrimony2018 on instagram! Thanks for reading!!! xoxox, N

And... if interested in our wedding planning and event design services click below!! Not all our weddings are as "DIY" as mine will be and you can see more of our work here! 

Photo Credits: Tablescape with Indigo Batik Linen via Style Me Pretty // Shibori Indigo Napkins via Alice & Lois // Images of me crafting via my iPhone // Scissors & Yarn from Blick