Wood Bead Garland With Jute Twine Tassels

Stacy Davis
by Stacy Davis
4 Materials
Recently, I have been seeing beautiful wood bead garlands on people's Instagrams. I had no idea that these were a "thing" and suddenly I began seeing them everywhere. Decorators use them as a rustic decor item, perfect for completing and creating vignettes. As I researched them, I found out that Pottery Barn had been selling them but according to the blog I was reading, they had been discontinued so people having been creating them with craft supplies. They seemed pretty simple to assemble so I thought maybe some Hometalkers would be as interested in this decor item as I am.
Supplies needed... Wooden Balls (preferably with a hole), jute twine or twine for creating a tassel, scissors, clear glue. As far as supplies needed, this one isn't bad. All I needed, were the wooden balls. I decided to go to the Big Three Craft Stores and do a little comparison shopping for you. I stayed out of the jewelry aisle and stuck to the unfinished wood aisle. I thought the wood beads would be cheaper there.
The completed garlands that are in my pictures are all from Joann's beads. I haven't tried Michaels or Hobby Lobby's yet but I will soon and will post pictures. Joann's was the most expensive of the three. It cost around $5, after my coupon, for 19 wood balls. BUT, they are awesome. I love the feel and look of them. The hole is slightly larger than the Michaels' wood balls.
Michaels beads were not perfectly round. They had flat ends by the holes. But, 18 pieces for $2.64. That is pretty cheap for creating a trendy decor item.
At Hobby Lobby, I was faced with a dilemma. If I wanted round beads with a hole all the way through, they were $2 for 6 or I could buy these knobs (package of 12) that the hole only went part way through the round bead. I bought them and after the coupon, it was $2.52 and decided I will drill the rest of the way through myself. Hindsight, I should have just bought 3 bags of the 6 beads but it didn't dawn on me until later. That would have been similar in cost to Joann's.
If you are using these on a vase or decor item, use that item while assembling your beads. I made this bead decoration and plopped it on and realized that I made it WAY too long. It wasn't a big deal to untie the back and remove the beads but a little foresight would have been helpful.
I am sure there are many ways to make these but I started with the tassel. I cut a piece of cardboard 3 inches by 3 inches. Some people use their hands.
I wound it around until I had what I considered a good amount. Then I slipped a string in the top to tie the top tight.
At this point, I slipped a long strand of jute twine through the middle, this is the string that will hold the beads. About 40 inches is the length I used, 20 inches really because it is folded in half. Jute is pretty cheap and I figured it would be easy to trim off the left over.
Then I took another piece of twine and tied a knot below the string that I added.


You could cut off the tails of the twine but I used a little glue and wound it around the tassel.
This is what it looked like after the glue.
This is the point that I cut the end to create the tassel's fringe. Jute sheds like crazy, I recommend doing this over the garbage can.
To make stringing the beads easier, I put packing tape on the ends. It made it sturdier, like a shoelace, going through the holes.
Stringing the beads is pretty easy. For a necklace look, I went up a few beads and then split the strings and started a bead on each string. At the end, I just tied a bow but a knot would be fine.
It is fun trying it out in different places around the house.
I think it would look darling on a lamp base, as well. If you make this, I would love to see pictures of where you put your bead garland. Next on my plate, is painting and staining versions to see what that looks like and creating decor sticks with some some of the wood beads that I have leftover. As usual, stay tuned for more to come...
Suggested materials:
  • Wooden Beads   (Joanns, Michaels, Hobby Lobby)
  • Jute Twine
  • Clear Glue
See all materials
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 6 comments
  • Linda Linda on Jul 18, 2020

    I had made mine a while back, but I made it with rope, think I'll

    change it 2 Jupe!

    comment photo
  • Barb Edlen Barb Edlen on Oct 02, 2023

    I have one hanging from my inside front door knob. It looks so rustic and delightful. I added a heart to the end.

Next