How To Make A Tassel
While the DEMLW and the scorekeeper will endeavor to provide archers with a tassel appropriate for their rank, an archer is far better off knowing how to make his or her own tassel so they will be able to display their newly-attained rank right away. For starters, you’ll need yarn. I got mine at Wal-Mart, which isn’t saying you can’t bribe a fiber arts Laurel into spinning you some if that’s what you really want. In any event, I used 100% acrylic Red Heart brand in the following colors: Aran (white), Black, Royal (blue), Cherry Red, Bright Yellow and Paddy Green. The colors for the Meridian knot are White and Black. Please note that Aran, for the Archer-level tassel, is actually an off-white; this makes the Meridian knot stand out better.

Part One: The Cord
The first step is to make the cord from which the tassel will dangle. Go and get a drop spindle. What? You don’t have a drop spindle? Okay, don’t panic, we’ll make one. First you’ll need a pencil; sharpen it, then cut a small notch in the wood just below the eraser. Now grab a medium-sized potato. Stick the sharp end of the pencil into the potato, trying to keep it centered. Eureka! A drop spindle. Now take the yarn of your tassel color and pull out a strand until your hands are stretched as far apart as they will go. Cut this off and tie one end to the drop spindle (just an overhand not, you’ll be untying it later). Now stand up, hold the loose end of the yarn, and spin the drop spindle IN THE SAME DIRECTION that the yarn is twisted; in other words, you’re twisting the yarn even tighter. You’ll have to spin it several times, until it really resists any further tightening and the strand is visibly shorter. Okay, put the loose end you were holding into your mouth. Seriously. Don’t let go. Untie the other end from the spindle, again not letting go. You’ll notice the yarn really wants to kink up; that’s good. Now, with your free hand, take the end out of your mouth, hold the ends as far apart as you can, then grab the middle of the strand with, you guessed it, your mouth. Bring the two loose ends together and grab them securely in one hand, and let go with your mouth. The yarn will spin together and form a cord. You’ll probably have to run your free hand down it several times to work out the spots where it goes sideways rather than down (you’ll see what I mean), and maybe even untwist it a little, but once you have a single cord, tie off the loose ends in a knot. Now do it again. The whole drop spindle, twist it tighter, stick it in your mouth, bend it in half bit. You’ll wind up with a stout cord that’s much, much shorter than the strand you started with. Tie the loose ends off again, and set that aside. Now you’re ready for:

Part Two: The Tassel
Now take a high school or college yearbook, or some other tome about a foot tall. Grab your yarn again, and start wrapping it around the book, long-ways. Count as you wrap, and when you get to 40 revolutions, stop and cut the yarn off. (For anyone fortunate enough to be making a Toxophilite tassel, make about 25 revolutions with the gold, then cut it off; tie the green onto the end, and make another 25 or so wraps, all to one side of the gold. When you look at the finished product, it should be green on one side, gold on the other.) Okay, grab the cord. Slip one end of it underneath the wrapped yarn at the top of the book. Then untwist the bent end of the cord (opposite the knotted end) just enough to feed the other end through it, and pull it very tight. The cord now secures the top of your tassel. Slide the tassel off the book, and with a pair of scissors cut the bottom end of the loop so all the strands hang free. Congratulations, you’re halfway there. All that’s left to do is:

Part Three: The Knot
Have you ever made a bowstring? Yes? Good, because this part is just like serving a bowstring. If you have trouble with it, find a Middle Eastern dancer who’s wearing a tassel belt and ask them how they made theirs. But be nice, offer to rub their feet or something. To knot the tassel, first take the white yarn and pull out a strand (but don’t cut it from the skein). Put the loose end of the strand about 1/3 the way down the tassel, pointing at the loose ends of the tassel; trail the yarn up to about where the cord is, then double back an inch or so. It should look a little like a letter “J” lying on your tassel. Now, holding the top end of the tassel (including the bend in the “J”) firmly, start wrapping the yarn (from the end still connected to the skein) around the tassel. Wrap it tightly. You will be crossing over that strand of yarn you left, binding it down with the rest of the tassel. Continue wrapping until you have about three inches covered, but UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you to cover the loose end of the white yarn! Leave at least half an inch sticking out. Once you’ve gone as far down as you should, double back and wrap upwards again, but just enough to cover the first layer. When you get back to the top, cut the yarn so you have a couple of inches loose. Okay, see where that bend in the “J” was? It’s now a loop sticking out from under the wrapping. Take your loose end and wrap it twice through this. Now, grab the other end of the white yarn, the one down toward the bottom of the tassel, and pull it gently but firmly until the loop at the top disappears underneath the wrapping. Now cut both of the loose ends so they’re flush with the wrapping. To make the black band in the center of the white, do exactly the same thing, only smaller. Make sure to leave about one-third of the white showing on either side of the black. Now, grab your scissors again and give the loose end of your tassel a trim, making sure it hangs nice and even. And you’re done! You now have a rank tassel.