Forgeries on the Fourth

There were many items in the Counterfeit Kit Challenge inspiration kit, Indigo Hills by Pinkfresh Studio, that could have been "forged" and I decided to go for the gorgeous tassels included in the collection. How useful they will actually be on pages has yet to be established because they are quite bulky but I just couldn't resist their prettiness or their colour!

First of all, I collected some products. I had plenty of white embroidery thread and decided that I would use that for the main body of each tassel rather than the different colours in the originals. However, I did have normal sewing thread in each of the five other colours so I felt that was enough of a match.

I started by looping some of the white thread so that it would be longer than double the length of the final tassel and then I started by wrapping the first, middle colour of sewing thread around the centre of this bunch and pulling it tight. In this way, the top of the tassel is really firm.

When I had wrapped what felt like the right amount according to the picture of the original, I then started the second colour to the left of centre, ensuring that the ends slightly overlapped each other to give a smooth transition from one colour to the next. I wrapped that until it looked about the right size compared to the original - there was a lot of guessing in this process!

This colour was then added to the other side too. Finally, I added the second of the side colours - gold.

Once the top loop had the three colours, all that needed to be done was to double this over in the middle so that both sides were the same and the blocks of colour matched up. Then the fourth colour of thread was wrapped around the base of this loop. This needed to be tightly wrapped too so that the loop is held in place.

This was how it looked when I had finished the wrapping of the threads. It felt like it was going to take a long time and the initial stages were a bit fiddly but I think that each one of these tassels only took about 10 minutes once I had established the size, colour and technique.

All that was needed then was to trim the ends of the white thread to give the full tassel effect. The smaller tassel here was my first, test make and I have to say that I think I got the size better than the next ones I made. But these are hand-made after all and I probably won't put more than one tassel on a project at once and wouldn't notice the size even if I did!

Here are the set of four using each of the four colours in the different parts of the binding process. I've just realised that I'm missing the little ring on the top so that they can be attached to layouts and projects more easily so I will try to get around to adding that on when I track some down.

I love the colours from the original Indigo Hills items and think the combination of pink, aqua, yellow and navy works so well. When I put my kit, Lucid, together I had already made up the tassels some weeks earlier. So I put the tassels out on the papers to make sure that I picked out the right shades for my version of the kit. I found this a great way to quickly pick out items for my kit so I might try to remember that technique again for the future.

Thanks for dropping by today! Let me know you were here and which item from the original kit you're planning to forge!

Don't forget that we love it when you join in and make up your own kits. Share your kit and your creations over at our Link-Up page and don't forget the Member Blog Hop on the 24th. 

***** MEMBER BLOG HOP ***** 

Find out how below!  
Go on, you know you want to! 
Your project should be something new, using a Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, that you haven't shown before and will only post for the hop. Be inspired by any of the challenges this month or just share something you've created with your kit. Remember, the more the merrier and it never fails to be a lot of fun! 
To be a part of our blog hop: 

• E-mail us your name & blog address & promise to participate at thecounterfeitkitchallengeblog@gmail.com by the 18th October.
• You will receive an e-mail from us by the 20th October with a list of the hop participants.
• You will need to schedule your own blog post showing your project based on a challenge and link to the person after you in the hop.All Blog Hop posts will need to be scheduled to go live on the 24th October at 12:00am Mountain Standard Time (Arizona) but we will help you with the scheduling