DIY Stars and Stripes Tassel Garland Tutorial + Bonus Super Simple Stars Banner Tutorial

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With only one day until the Fourth of July, I wanted to give you some super quick and easy projects that you can make last-minute to jazz up your Independence Day celebration!

I absolutely love how the Stars and Stripes Tassel Garland turned out! It combines the trendy tassel garland with some button-like stars to take it to the next level. It is really easy to make and can be made in just a few hours. It is the perfect addition to your decor when you find out last minute you are having company over!

Stars and Stripes Tassel Garland

Materials:

  • Caron Simply Soft in Red (Less than 1 skein)
  • Caron Simply Soft in White (Less than 1 skein)
  • Caron Simplify Soft in Blue (Enough for the length of your banner)
  • Navy Blue Cardstock (I used two sheets)
  • 2″ Star Punch – This is the link for the one that I used, but any brand would work.
  • Small Hole Punch – You want the hole to be small enough that it is difficult to see, but large enough for the yarn to pass through.
  • Scissors
  • Index Cards or a Small Piece of Cardboard

Directions:

  1. Begin by using the star punch to punch out as many stars as you would like to have in your banner. You will need one more star than you will have tassels and will want to have an odd number of stars. I personally used 21 stars.
  2. For each of the stars, punch two small holes in the star to make it look like a button.
  3. Cut a piece of blue yarn as long as you would like your banner to be. (Optional: Use a piece of tape to make a shoelace-like end to one end of the yarn. This will make it easier to get through the holes in the stars).
  4. String the yarn through each star leaving a 2-3 inch space between each star. When you finish stringing all of the stars, you can tie a loop at each end of your banner to make it easier to hang.
  5. Now it is time to make the tassels. You will make half of the tassels red and half of them white. You will need one less tassel than you have stars. Use the following directions to make each tassel:
    1. Create a template by either taping several index cards together or cutting a small piece of cardboard to the correct width. The width of the template will be the length of your tassel. I used 3″ by 5″ index cards to make 3″ tassels.
    2. Cut two pieces of yarn about 6″ long. One will be used to tie at the top of the tassel and one will be used to tie slightly lower. Set these pieces aside for now.
    3. Wrap your yarn around your template about ten times. Make sure to firmly hold the end so that the ends stay even. Cut your yarn when you have finished wrapping it.
    4. Slide one of the 6″ pieces of yarn you cut in step two under the yarn so it is between the yarn and your template. Pull this piece of yarn firmly so it is at the top of the template (opposite the loose ends of yarn). Tie a double-knot tightly.
    5. Slide the yarn off of the template carefully. You should now have a lot of loops tied together. Put your scissors inside the loop and pull down so you are cutting in the middle of the loops and cut.
    6. Lay the other piece of yarn from step two down on your workspace and put the tassel on top of it, about where you plan to tie it. Make sure your tassel strings are all straight and where you would like them, and then tie the piece of yarn around the strings about 1/4 of the way down from the top of the tassel. You will want to use a double knot for this as well. If you have unwanted loops above the knot, just pull gently at the bottom of your tassel while holding onto the string you just tied, and this should fix the problem.
    7. When your tassel is adjusted to your liking, use your fingers to straighten out all the ends. Cut off any excess.
    8. Repeat this process until you have all of your tassels made.
  6. Tie the tassels onto the banner between the stars, alternating between red and white tassels. You should use a double-knot to keep them from falling off. Cut off any excess yarn when you are done tying the tassels onto the garland.
  7. Hang your garland and enjoy!

Bonus Tutorial: Simple Stars Garland

Materials:

  • Cardstock (Red, White, and Blue) – I used two sheets of each color for the garland I made.
  • 2″ Star Punch – This is the link for the one that I used, but any brand would work.
  • String – I used this white crochet thread with gold accents.
  • Tape – I used clear Scotch tape.
  • Scissors

Directions:

  1. Cut the string to the length that you want for your banner.
  2. Use the star punch to punch out red, white, and blue stars. I personally punched out two sheets of each color worth of stars, which gave me some extra to use for accents on my table.
  3. Lay your string out flat on the table, and tuck the stars underneath the string with the spacing you like. I spaced mine out about two inches apart, but you can space them closer together or farther apart.
  4. Use a tiny piece of tape to tape the string to each star. Don’t worry – you won’t be able to see the tape at the end. Continue this process until all of your stars are taped down where you would like them.
  5. Put a tape doughnut down on the taped side of each star, and attach one of the remaining stars of the same color. This will sandwich the tape between the two stars, so it is covered. You want to position the stars so they are generally lined up, but if there is a little overlap, that’s okay (I actually think it gives it an extra dimension and looks nice). Continue this process until all of your stars are finished.
  6. If you would like, you can tie a loop at each end of the string to make it easier to hang. Then, hang up and admire your banner!

I hope you enjoyed these tutorials! If you make a Stars and Stripes Tassel Garland or a Simple Stars Banner, I would love to see your final product! Please tag me on social media using @onecraftatatime so I can see what you made!

If you have any questions or feedback, please let me know in the comments.

Happy crafting!

~ Candace 🙂