Make Your Own Pom & Tassel Basket Totes

I love a great fashion makeover. Try upgrading a plain handbag or tote with fabric trim and turn them into one-of-a-kind tassel basket totes for the beach or shopping. For more fun makeovers see my Thrift Store Upcycle page.

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I love raiding the basket section of thrift stores. You can usually find the most unique baskets to use for decor or in this case fashion for a fraction of the cost of retail ones. They run around $3 to $5 versus the twenty dollars and up prices of regular retail. 

These days, you can find in most clothing stores or stores like Target, fun large basket totes with ball trim, tassels. They all have a bohemian look for spring/summer handbags or beach totes.

On my thrift store hunt, I found some great basket totes and canvas totes to decorate like the pricey ones sold in stores.

I love funky vintage basket totes. It’s awesome when you find them in great condition. Plus it is super easy to dress up these totes with simple ball trim, tassel trim, and a cute tassel pom charm.

Let me show you how to make great tassel basket totes in minutes that won’t break the bank!

Tassel Basket Totes

Supplies:

• Totes: Half Moon Bag, Straw Tote, Canvas Tote
• Pom Pom Trim: Orange
• Mini Pom Pom Trim: Yellow
• Tassel Trim: Multicolor (cloth stores like Hobby Lobby)
• Hot Glue & Gun
• Scissors
• Pom & Tassel Charm (On second basket tote, tutorial in another post)

Instructions:

Start with a plain woven bag or canvas tote. I got this crescent tote for a whopping $2.99 at my fav thrift store. It is a vintage half moon basket and it had some wear on the edges.

I used a clear spray on shellac to restore some of the color and shine back into the whicker. Make sure follow manufacturers directions and spray the bag outside.

The fumes from the shellac are pretty harsh. Just a warning!

Start by pinning the tassel and ball trim to the basket using large sewing pins. When you get the right color combo and you are happy with the placement, unpin and remove the top trim.

Begin gluing the trim on the side of the tote. I only had a small amount of the multicolor tassel so I used it on the inside of the handle. Glue the ends together when they meet.

Glue a layer of ball trim on the top of the tassel trim. Glue the yellow mini pom trim over the ball trim on the edge. This project is super easy to make and is only a fraction of the cost of department store bags!

I couldn’t stop at just one bag I had to make a bunch. Above you can see where I added trim to canvas totes. I also made the pom pom tassel bag charm on bottom basket tote. See the link for that tutorial.

Love it? Pin it!