pull back the curtains!

For the room box I've made a set of tassels or draw backs for the curtains.Researching how they are made up, I really wanted to make fringes just like the real thing. 

I've took some pictures to illustrate.

First I made a jig; drilled app. 25 holes, 1 mm apart, to hold pins. Depending on the length of the fringes I drilled a second line, in this case at 10mm distance.

Then I took a meter of the yarn I wanted to use. If you want it to twist on itself, you need to enhance the twist that's in it already. So I taped it secure behind the first pin and tied the other end onto a tooth pick. I set the tooth pick in my chuck of my drill... and turned it on. (check the way the yarn twists of course :) Keeping the yarn tight (but not too much) I added twists like mad in just a minute. 

Now the yarn could be placed around the pins. Keeping the yarn tight (if not it fringes up into a chaotic ball) I placed a pin on the bottom line and turned the yarn towards the top. At the top I added  an extra piece of yarn to form the core. The twisted yarn is overturned, a pin is placed and down it goes again. This way zig zagging till all the pins are placed. 

A tiny drop of glue is placed at the back of the pins, to secure the twisted yarn to the core thread.

When all is dry the bottom pins can be taken out and like magic the yarn twists on itself and to form fringes.

I've bashed up some beads I'd laying around. Cut 'm through and modeled the top. I added a matching sewing thread and glued that around the top. Using the necktie knot I'd made the loops that will draw back the curtain. I fed the two ends through the bead. Between the two ends coming out of the bottom I added a few extra strands and tied it firm. 

 I trimmed the strands just short of the fringes and glued those round the bottom of the bead.