I thought I would begin to include a few posts on places I like to order supplies from, especially if they are a little “off the beaten path”.  I am strictly a consumer and have no relationship with this company.

One of these places is Tassel Depot.  I came across Tassel Depot last year when I was looking for inexpensive tassels for the Graduation ceremony in “Legally Blonde”.  I didn’t find what I was looking for, however, they have a “sale” section that has a “closeout” section, where you can find all manner of interesting braids, cord and some other unusual stuff.

I have ordered from them twice.  I think the shipping is reasonable, and they kind of do the “fill the box” thing, so I shop until my shipping jumps up in cost.  The rolls of trim are typically in minimums of one gross (144 yards).  I haven’t checked to see if there actually is that much on the rolls, but, the rolls are certainly full, and for what I have paid I am not going to quibble about a few yards one way or another.

My most recent order included 1/4″ flat white braid, 144 yards for $3.  The top of the spool says 2 gross, so I am not sure how much I got.  I am planning to use this for drawstrings and other ties on shirts, etc.  I am pretty happy with this.  It has a little more bulk than twill tape.  I think it will be quite useful.  It could work for costume lacing as well for corsets or peasant shirts.

I also ordered these metallic braids at $3 a spool  (do you like my background mess?  I’ve been cleaning up from “Cinderella”.  Today I spent about 2 hours picking pins and bits of stuff out from the carpet under my sewing machine table, while thinking about how much more fun it would be to be SEWING something.)  These braids just make me want to make a hat, or a robe for a Political figure, or something else fun.  Not clean and sort . . THAT is for sure.

This spool of optical white braid was also $3.  I don’t have a plan for this, I just liked the name.  I apparently liked the name last time I ordered as well, as now I have TWO rolls.

This time I ordered some metallic covered wire, some 1/46″ and  1/8″. This is the 1/8″.   It was $5.  I’m not sure what I am going to do with it, but I think it would be useful for hats.  My daughter’s high school graduation is coming up as well, and our school colors are black and gold . . . it might come in handy for decorations or something.  The narrower stuff is interesting as well.  I was wondering about zig-zagging it along the edge of something, like you do heavy fishing line, to make a wired ribbon or wired tulle.  That could have some interesting applications.

Last time I ordered some gold metallic thread.  We used it to make tassels for “Legally Blonde”.  I also got some neutral colored skinny cord that I use for tying plants up in my garden.  I used the silver braid  to trim the jacket below and the jacket in Edwardian Costume: Blue dress with Jacket.

I have a spool of narrow gold cord (and I can’t remember if I got it here or not, but this is an example of another use.  The strips are a non-fray fabric (velour) and the braid is zig-zagged to the edges.  It takes a fair amount of trim, and this is an inexpensive way to do it.

This  time I also ordered some large elastic loops.  I am thinking I will use them to go around partial bolts of fabric, or to hold groups of things, like curtains, together.

So, if you are looking for cord or braid, this might be a place to check out.  Who knows what you might find!