DIY tassel umbrella using durable outdoor yarn

Today’s little DIY is definitely not groundbreaking and new. There have been many DIY tassel umbrellas before but what is different about mine is the yarn I used. I wanted to make sure that I tested the yarn outside for several weeks before sharing this post with you. This tassel umbrella has been outside in cold weather since the end of February and still looks amazing. So far the tassels haven’t weathered at all.

These tassels are made very similar to my other tassel tutorials like my ombre large stacked tassel, yarn tassels and my tutorial about how to make a huge tassel.

DIY tassel umbrella

Since I have a lot of blue accents outside in our yard, including our stock tank pool, I wanted to add some more blue to the umbrella. This color combo all flows really nice with the inside of our home as well. Don’t you think so?

Supplies needed for outdoor tassel umbrella

synthetic yarn (there are a lot of different colors but I think the dark blue is sold out at the moment)
wood beads
scissors
safety pins
cardboard
packaging tape
toothpick
umbrella

How to make the outdoor tassels for the patio umbrella

These tassels are also pretty much the exact same version as the tassels I made on my knot bracelet two weeks ago and finished with the gathering-knot method. The only difference is the yarn used.

how to finish a tassel with the gathering knot method

Here is my video tutorial to show you how I made the tassel:

(Click on the triangle in the center of the image to watch the tutorial. If you are on a cellphone, hold the phone sideways to view it in full screen.)

How to make an outdoor tassel

Make sure you have good synthetic yarn
Synthetic yarn lasts longer outside since it doesn’t disintegrate like natural cotton or wool.
Wrap a piece of cardboard with packaging tape
Cut a piece of cardboard the size you want the tassels to be and wrap that piece with packaging tape. My cardboard piece is a 3.5-inch square. This makes it easier to slide the wrapped yarn off when you are ready to finish the tassel.
Cut a small piece of yarn
Place the small piece of yarn at the top of the cardboard. It will form the top part of the tassel.
Wrap yarn around the cardboard
The tassel fullness is determined by how many times you wrap the yarn around the cardboard. I wrapped mine about 30 times.
Slide the yarn off
Tie the top string very tightly
Cutting the tassel end loops with scissors
Tie off the tassel head
Use the gathering-knot method as shown in my video and photo by creating a loop and wrapping string around that loop. Add the string end to the loop and pull through the wrapped around bunch.
Trim the tassel ends evenly
Add a wood bead
This step is optional but I liked the visual divide of the dark blue tassel against the black and white striped umbrella. I used a toothpick to push the tassel end through the tighter holes of the bead.
Either sew the tassel to the patio umbrella or use a safety pin
I tried both and I think I prefer the safety pin version since it is so much faster. Yes, the safety pins could rust but haven’t on mine yet.

TIP: If you don’t want any of the ends to fray, you can use a lighter to slightly burn and melt the yarn ends.

Photos of the finished umbrella and patio space

I never shared with you that I pulled the trigger on the chairs for our patio before the sheltering in place actually started and I’m glad I did. Love them! You can see the rest of the chair contenders in my mix and match patio furniture blog post.

Finally pressure washing the paver patio and adding fresh sand gave everything a clean new look outside too. There was so much dirt and moss on it that had to be removed. I will also treat the patio with Spray & Forget to avoid it getting as bad again in the future.