Octopus Archery Tassel

A tassel is used by archers to wipe the mud off arrows if they land in the ground. (Yes - I'm an archer!)

The usual ones you see are fairly traditional and made out of yarn (BORING!)

After my last competition I spotted some soft cotton rope that I had lying around and that looked ideal for making something a bit different - a novelty octopus tassel.

This is a really quick and easy make.

Of course you don't need to use this for archery - scale it down and it would make a great keyring, or just a toy.

There is an archery competition called a clout where you are aiming at a flag in the ground at a long distance (think Agincourt). Arrows are scored by closest to the flag. For this round ALL arrows land in the ground and need a tassel for wiping them off. I've included a photo.

8 feet / 2.5m of soft cotton rope 1cm thick (or equivalent)

2 pieces of paracord each about 3 feet / 90cm long. These can be the same colour or different colours.

2 small pieces (6 inches / 15cm) of satin cord or something similar.

2 eyes to stick on - googly or not.

Scissors

Glue

Ruler

Cut 4 lengths of rope each 2 feet (60cm) long.

Fold the rope lengths in half and tie them all in the middle using a piece of satin cord.

Make a woggle using one of your pieces of paracord. This should be a contrasting colour to make a scarf for your octopus.

I won't go into detail as there are some good instructions here:

https://www.instructables.com/Scouts-Woggle-Turks-Head-Knot/

Using another piece of satin cord tie the ropes together about 3 inches (8 cm) down from the top folds. Slide the woggle into position over the top of the satin cord, tighten to fit and finish ends by melting and sticking them together.

Take your second piece of paracord, fold it in half and loop through the top part of the octopus head (where your tied your satin thread) and tighten. This is a larks head knot.

You can now cut off the satin thread (just the top one) as this isn't needed any more.

Make 4 snake knots next to the top of the octopus head, then tie an overhand knot to form a loop for hanging.

Choose the eyes you are using and position them. Glue in place.

Admire your octopus while you wait for the glue to dry.

All ready for some arrow wiping action.

Now I'm off to make another one as my son has claimed this one!