Copper Gourd Tassel Dangle Charm New Chinese Bracelet Charm

Tassels were used widely on traditional dress: on fan handles, sword cords, curtain hooks, horse harness. Half their job is ornament and half is weight — a bundle of threads has enough mass to hold something light down. On a small pendant the point is mainly the way it moves. A properly made tassel has its threads drawn even one by one and cut to a single length, so that it opens into a circle. Sword tassels were silk; fan tassels mostly cotton, the material following the use. The top of the bundle is bound with a dozen or more turns of thread, drawn tight enough to hold.

The tassel is the lower half of this dangle: several dozen fine threads gathered and held at the top by a small copper cap, then spreading as they fall, so from a distance it reads as a soft red brushstroke beneath the metal. Walk and it swings, with a wider and softer movement than a metal drop. The density of the bundle decides how it hangs — too sparse and it strays, too dense and it becomes a rope. Tassel length and the weight above it are matched; too short and it does not swing, too long and it knots.

The gourd sits above, polished, with a groove drawn round the waist. The tassel is deep red, which does not fight the warm yellow of the copper. Red with yellow is the commonest pairing in folk work: festive, and it suits most people. Deep red is steadier than scarlet and will not jump out against dark clothing. The groove at the gourd's waist is where the copper cap seats.

The threads here are harder wearing than silk and hold their colour better, at the cost of silk's particular weight; each has its advantages and neither is simply the better choice. With use the ends fur. Trim them once with scissors, square across, and do not pull at them — pulled ends fray and the tassel gets shorter each time. Slip a sheet of paper underneath when cutting so the line comes out level. Once the ends have opened, a little hairspray will hold them; glue will not do. The colour is dark enough to hide dust until the dust has matted.

Orientation matters when hanging it: gourd up, tassel down, not the other way round. Take it off to wash your hands; wet threads get heavy and the hang goes out of them. The cap is glued to the gourd, so do not pull at the joint. Between wearings, hang it vertically — pressed flat for long enough it takes creases that will not fall out. Dust in a tassel can be blown out with a hairdryer on the cold setting, never hot.