If you've got a broken hand fan sitting in a drawer somewhere — maybe a pretty one that feels too good to throw away — this short tutorial shows exactly what to do with it. I turned one fan into twelve or more tassel bookmarks for junk journals, art journals, and notebooks, using scraps of thread, ribbon, lace, beads, and a few jump rings. The whole process is straightforward, and the results look far more elaborate than the effort involved.
What we cover
This tutorial covers pulling apart a hand fan and turning each individual fan piece into a finished tassel bookmark — including how to reinforce flimsy pieces, how to paint and seal the fan for clean use, how to attach a jump ring, and how to build up the tassel using whatever threads and beads you have in your scraps bag. I also show a flip-through of the finished bookmarks I made, from very simple to quite elaborate, so you can see where the idea can go.
What you'll learn
How to prepare fan pieces for use as bookmarks, including:
- Doubling or tripling flimsy pieces and gluing them together for sturdiness before adding any tassel weight
- Painting the piece with black acrylic paint and sealing it so colour doesn't transfer onto journal pages
- Working with both intact fans and broken, falling-apart ones
How to attach a jump ring to the fan piece The fan pieces already have a hole at the top — you just need a ring that fits through it. I show how to position the ring on the correct side so the tassel hangs at the outer edge of the book rather than toward the spine.
How to build a tassel from scrap threads and ribbon, including:
- Pulling threads, ribbons, silk ribbon, lace, and gold thread together and threading them through the ring as a bundle
- Checking and adjusting lengths before tying off, so the finished tassel sits evenly
- Wrapping a length of gold thread around the bundle neck and finishing with a secure knot
How to string beads onto tassel threads and keep them in place String beads onto individual threads and tie a knot directly beneath each bead so nothing slides off. For very large beads that sit snugly on their own, the knot is optional — but for everything else, the knot is what keeps the design intact over time.
How to work entirely from scraps Every bookmark I made came out of my scraps bag — offcuts of ribbon, leftover thread, beads from old projects. This is a genuine scrap-buster, not a project that requires a trip to the craft store.
The range of finishes you can achieve with this technique, including:
- Simple natural wood tone with a single thread tassel
- Black and gold with gold beads and ribbon
- Gold-painted fan with handmade paper beads (finished with sparkly nail polish — and no, they don't yellow)
- Boho-style with mixed textures, lace, and layered threads
Tips & gotchas
Reinforce before you add weight. If a fan piece bends easily in your hand, it won't hold up to a tassel pulling on it. Glue two or three pieces together and let them dry fully before you go any further. The tassel doesn't need to be heavy to pull a flimsy piece out of shape over time.
Paint and seal, even if the fan looks clean. I painted mine with black acrylic and then sealed the surface so the paint wouldn't transfer onto journal pages as the bookmark slides in and out. It also neatens up any visible glue from the reinforcing step — which, honestly, is not always pretty when you look at it up close.
Get the ring orientation right before you close it. The ring needs to sit on the side that faces outward — the spine edge of the book. If you attach it on the wrong side, the tassel hangs toward the inside of the journal rather than out over the edge. Take a second to check before you close the ring permanently.
Knot beneath your beads. Once the threads are tied off and trimmed, thread your beads on individually and tie a small knot directly beneath each one. It's a small step and easy to skip, but without it the beads migrate and cluster at the bottom. The only exception is a very large bead that grips the thread on its own — even then, a knot doesn't hurt.
Trim after knotting, not before. Pull everything through the ring, check that the bundle is roughly centered and even, and then tie off the neck wrap and secure it. Trim the thread ends to length only after everything is knotted. Trimming too early makes it hard to adjust.
A tassel bookmark made from a fan piece and a few offcuts is genuinely something that looks handmade in the best sense: considered, layered, and a little bit personal.
