How to make outdoor tassels that last (DIY tassel umbrella)

If you have ever made tassels for an outdoor project and watched them fall apart after a few weeks in the sun and rain, you are not alone. Most yarn is not made for the outdoors. I already knew from making outdoor macrame pieces that synthetic yarn holds up beautifully outside, so that is exactly what I used for these outdoor tassels on our patio umbrella. They have held up through cold weather, wind, and rain without fraying or losing their shape. Here is exactly what yarn I used and how I made them.

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 nicely with the inside of our home as well. Don’t you think so?

How to make the outdoor tassels for the umbrella

It’s so easy to make outdoor tassels with the correct yarn for the job. The material choice is what sets these apart. Here is exactly how I made mine.

Step 1: Prepare your cardboard template

Cut a piece of cardboard to the size you want your tassels to be. Mine is a 3.5-inch square. I like covering the cardboard completely with packaging tape. This makes it easier to slide the yarn off smoothly once you are ready to finish the tassel. But that is optional.

Step 2: Start wrapping your yarn

Cut a small piece of yarn and lay it along the top edge of the cardboard. This piece will form the loop at the top of the tassel. Then begin wrapping your yarn around the cardboard. The more times you wrap, the fuller your outdoor tassels will be. I wrapped mine about 30 times for a nice, full tassel.

Step 3: Finish the tassel

Slide the wrapped yarn off the cardboard and tie the top string very tightly to secure the loop.

Cut through the bottom loops with scissors to create the tassel ends.

Then tie off the tassel head to separate it from the body of the tassel. You can simply tie and knot the tassel head or use the gathering knot method, which I’m showing in my square knot bracelet tutorial. (see below) That little tassel is the same as my outdoor tassel.

Finally, trim all the ends evenly so the tassel hangs straight.

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.

Step 4: Add a wood bead (optional)

Thread a wood bead onto the top loop before attaching if you want to add some extra detail.

Step 5: Attach the tassels to your umbrella

You can either sew each tassel to the umbrella or attach it with a safety pin. I tried both and prefer the safety pin method since it is much faster. Just make sure you use rust-resistant safety pins.

The finished patio tassel umbrella

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!

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 it had to be removed.

Eventually, I want to add more tassels to the umbrella when that same blue color is back in stock.

I used the same durable synthetic yarn for this macrame piece and had it outside just as long as the tassels. It stayed nice and looking new as well.

And I used the same synthetic yarn color on my small side table. Just check out my metal patio table makeover tutorial.

Also, check out my blog post about how to mix and match patio furniture to get some outdoor decorating ideas.

Update: I recently had to replace this cover because it was old and damaged. Check out my blog post about how to measure a patio umbrella replacement canopy and what my new umbrella cover with fringe looks like.

When you sit on the patio, you have a view of our stock tank pool through the plants. Here you can see my DIY macrame lantern using that same synthetic outdoor yarn in a different color.

Update: I recently had to replace the canopy because it was stained and had holes. Check out my blog post about how to measure and replace a patio umbrella canopy. I love the new one I bought, and it is a completely different look.

Making outdoor tassels is a small project with a big impact on your patio. The key is really just choosing the right yarn from the start. Once you know which synthetic yarn holds up outside, you can use this same technique on so many other outdoor projects beyond just a tassel umbrella. I hope your tassels hold up as well as mine have!

Tschüß,