DIY Tissue Paper Garland: Twist Tutorial


For my Sparkling 30th Birthday Party I made a bunch of tissue paper tassels to decorate the food tables.  Tissue paper tassels are such an easy and inexpensive way to dress up a party.

To go with the sparkling theme, I choose to use tissue paper in shades of gold, silver, and metallic pinks.  I have made these before, using string to finish off the tassels.  This twist method is an even easier way to make these fun banners.


To start, unfold the tissue paper.


Then fold the entire stack of tissue paper into thirds.


Cut the folded edges on each side to create one stack of rectangle shaped tissue paper.


Then fold over the tissue paper (the pink gets folded to the size of the gold).


I use clips to held hold the tissue paper together when cutting a large amount at once.  It gets a little messy and imperfect but you can't tell once the tassel is made.


Then cut strips leaving a small section at the top.


The finished product should look like a jelly fish!


Separate the tissue paper into two pieces per tassel.  Pick up the tissue paper at the fold and put your fingers down the middle.


Pull the sections together down the center.


Before you start twisting, it sometimes helps to flatten the center piece.


Fold over and start twisting.


Twist a few times around until it is tight.


You want it tight but if you twist too much and too stiffly, some of the tissue may rip off.  It's not a big deal if it does but you want to try not to tear too much.  Thread the tassels on string or ribbon.


If using metallic tissue paper, the paper will rip using the twist method.  Instead, I just tied a piece of string following the previous directions minus the twisting.


When making the tassels in bulk, I cut up all my paper and then put together later.


The finished product in all its sparkling glory!


Here are the tassels dressing up the food table.  I string the tassels on some yarn or ribbon and use safety pins to pin them to the table cloth.


I also used individual tassels as table cloth weights by safety pinning them to the fabric.


And I tied a few to balloons.


So many uses for this easy project!  Pretty up your next party or even just your home decor!