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This ghost tassel project takes just minutes to make and it’s a fun addition to your Halloween decor, a cute little thing to put into a boo basket, or make a bunch and turn them into a ghost tassel garland.
Have a knitting machine? You can also make these cute knit ghosts to go with your tassel ghosts!
Supplies to Make Tassel Ghosts
This ghost tassel pattern doesn’t require much in the way of supplies. You’ll need yarn — any weight will work and while I chose white you can make ghosts any color you like.
A piece of cardboard or a small book that’s the same size as you would like your ghost to be helps you form the ghost. You’ll also need scissors, something to stuff in the “head” (I used a cotton ball or a wooden ball in these) and some tiny scraps of black felt if you want to add features to your ghost.
How to Make a Ghost Tassel
I used this little reprint of a World War II mending book to make my tassel ghosts. The book is about 4.5 inches/11.3 cm across.
Starting with the yarn end at the side of the book that opens (as opposed to the spine), wrap your yarn around your book as many times as you like. I didn’t count for one of them, but the other two are 50 wraps. Finish wrapping such that the tail end is at the side of the book that opens as well.
Use your scissors to cut all of the yarn strands down the opening of the book. Now you’ll have a bundle of strings as long as the book is wide all the way around.
Take another length of yarn and tie it around the center point of the bundle. Make a loop and tie for hanging if you want.
Open the bundle and place whatever you’re using for the head at the top center of the pile.
Fold the yarn over and arrange it so the head is completely covered. Tie another piece of yarn under the bead or cotton ball to hold it in place.
Finishing Your Ghost
These tassel ghosts are plenty cute just like that, but you can also add some features if you like.
If you’re better at cutting small things than I am, you can freehand cut eyes and a mouth, or use a hole punch to start your circle and cut around with scissors if you need to. That’s what I did and my eyes are a lot closer to round because of it.
I used regular white glue to attach my ghost features, but you could also use fabric glue or hot glue if that’s what you have handy (be careful with heat and acrylic yarn/felt though!).
A Glow-in-the-Dark Ghost
For my ghost tassel project I used whatever white yarn I could find. One of them is a sock yarn (Premier Yarns Serenity Sock, though Kroy Sock would be good, too), and the one shown in the tutorial I think is some random DK from my stash.
The third is Lion Brand DIY Glow, a glow in the dark yarn that is super fun for all sorts of Halloween projects. I charged it by sitting it under a lamp for a couple of days, but you can use the sun if you’d rather. This is a fun twist for your ghost tassel and a garland of these would be super fun for the front porch on Halloween!
