Have you seen the cute tissue paper tassel garlands popping up around blogland? I think they are adorable! I’ve got a very special birthday party coming up in a week (wahhh…. my baby is turning one!) and I decided to make a double duty decoration that I could leave outside all summer. I love the tissue paper tassel garlands, but tissue paper would last 2.5 seconds in the rain, so I had to come up with another material.
I used plain old cheap plastic tablecloths!
I bought my plastic tablecloths from WalMart. The dollar store did not have a good color selection.
Here’s how you can make your very own outdoor tassel garland:
Step A: Pull the tablecloth out of the plastic wrapper, but do not unfold it. Unroll one end, measure in 8-10 inches, then cut through all layers, like this:
Step B: Cut along the fold line of the section you just cut. Now you should have two long, skinny rectangles.
Step C: Fold one rectangle in half. Starting at the open end (not the folded end) cut 1/2 inch strips, stopping one or two inches from the fold line, like this:
- 1. Unfold the rectangle so the tassels are on either side. Is it just me or does this remind you of an octopus?
- 2. Fold in half. Fold again.
- 3. Keep folding until it’s nice and skinny.
- 4. Bend the whole thing in half, making a loop. Staple below the loop but above all the tassels.
And that’s all there is to it! Repeat until you have enough tassels to make a garland.
When the party is over, I have the perfect spot above my flower bed to hang this pretty girl.
Comments & Reviews
So smart using tablecloths!
That's cool!! You can use it not only for parties but for decorating the porch as well! Pinning, thanks for sharing!
About how many tassels come out of 1 tablecloth?
You should be able to get about 20 tassels from one 54" x 108" tablecloth.
What type of string do you recommend using?
I used nylon string.
Thank you! I saw a tutorial for tissue paper garland and stumbled onto your site (different search words). I had planned on using table cloths, but now I know dimensions and quantities per table cloth. I intend to decorate my chain link fence to celebrate my grad during this time of social distancing (Spring 2020).
Love this, thanks for sharing! Do you leave them outside permanently? I’m wondering how well it would hold up to the elements if left outside 24/7.
The colors fade over time if they’re in direct sunlight, but otherwise they hold up well.
For anyone asking this question: Made this for my toddler’s Birthday a couple of years ago and hung in on his play set after the party. Hung in April and it looked great all summer long. The colors started to fade and I ended up removing it mid-late fall. It held up to the elements amazingly. Super easy to make and perfect for parties.