National Book Lovers Day is August 9, and there’s no better excuse to make these gorgeous DIY tassel bookmarks. They’re perfect for fancifying a trashy novel, keeping place a book you’re supposed to finish before school starts, or marking inspo in your favorite coffee-table design book. 

Hallmark Signature Designer Leslie S. did the hard work—all you have to do is print them out and tie on a tassel. Here’s how easy it is to make your own DIY tassel bookmarks.

DIY TASSEL BOOKMARK SUPPLIES

• FREE PRINTABLE BOOKMARK DOWNLOAD

• CARD STOCK

• SPRAY MOUNT

• FABRIC (OR OTHER DURABLE MATERIAL FOR BACKING)

• YARN

• RULER

• CRAFT KNIFE

• HOLE PUNCH

• SCISSORS

How to make the bookmark

First, download and print the free bookmark printable on card stock.

Spray the back of the print, and attach fabric (or other backing) to the reverse side.

Use a ruler and craft knife to cut out all the bookmarks. Use the hole punch to make a small hole 1/8″ from one end, in the center.

How to make a tassel

Next, get out the yarn. We like our DIY tassel bookmarks extra chunky, so we used 13 pieces of 7″ yarn plus one 14″ piece.

Stack 12 of the short pieces of yarn, and use the last one to tie them tightly in the middle.

Thread that same piece through the hole in the bookmark to attach the tassel.

Tie the long piece of yarn about 3/4″ from the bookmark to make the neck of the tassel. Wrap it around a few times, then tuck the end into the wrapped yarn. (Here’s another easy way to tie the tassel.)

To finish up, if you’d like, pull the ends to smooth out the head of the tassel, and trim them to even things up. All done!

Bonus: Our favorite children/young adult books

In continued celebration of #bookloversmonth, we also asked our writers what books they read as children left lasting impressions. Any of these on your list?

I just finished reading one of Judy Blume’s books for adult readers, which reminded me of how much I loved her Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing when I was ten years old. At the time, I was a girl who would much rather go play outside than crack a book, but this hilarious story of Peter and his nothing-but-trouble little brother hooked me right away. I hadn’t known that chapter books could be so funny. I laughed. I cry-laughed. And I set off, slowly but surely, down the road toward becoming a reader.

—Keely C.

The book (or book series, actually) that influenced me the most was definitely Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. It showed me that sometimes, the best thing about a story is the way you tell it. And it made me want to write more than anything else I’ve ever read. 

—Andrew B.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. This was a book about a poor little black girl in segregated Arkansas who transcended oppression and grew the talent and bravery to write about it. I was a poor black girl in newly desegregating Arkansas who did not know that black women wrote books. For me the title of this book may as well have been “Freedom.”

—Melvina Y.

Catcher in the Rye made me think what I was thinking wasn’t that bad.

—Dan T.

My favorite book when I learned to read was Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. I like the message of “try new things” and the strangeness of the whole story. His silliness fueled my silliness. Still does.

—Allyson C.

I credit Rikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel for getting me hooked on writing.  There was just something about the amazing rhythm of Rikki Tikki Tembo’s amazingly long name that kept me coming back to that little story book over and over.

—Jennifer F.

I loved Pippi Longstocking. I wanted to BE Pippi Longstocking. Reading those books in 2nd grade showed me there was a place for people with big, crazy imaginations like mine.

—Meghan C.

My third-grade teacher introduced me to books like Charlotte’s Web, which opened my mind and heart, and won me over to literature forever. Mrs. Hyde also nurtured my love of reading by letting me be “class librarian”…the only job I’ve ever loved as much as this one! 

—Suzanne B.

The book that first popped into my head was Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Anne has been a powerful influence on my life, with her clever and poignant writing, and her wiser-than-her-years perspective. As a child, I simply and innocently looked up to her and the witty way she wrote in her diary. Now that I am older, I am in total awe of her talents, her voice, and the light that shone within her during such a dark time in history. People continue to learn from her and that is amazing to me.

—Katherine S.

The book that first popped into my head was I was the only first-grader with permission to go to the “big kids’ library” (when you’re reading at age 2, grown-ups tend to put books in your hands at every opportunity). I still remember coming home with Ray Bradbury’s short-story collection R is for Rocket. Its 17 tales of space exploration filled with the wonders and terrors beyond our world shaped (okay, blew) my mind irreversibly. While I’m still waiting for food capsules and rocket men and a Time Safari, Inc. office to open in my neighborhood, I’m continually inspired by Bradbury’s vivid writing and imaginative storytelling, his hopefulness for humanity and his joy for the future.

—Kevin D.

Tell us about the books that changed your life! Better still, show us—marked with a DIY tassel bookmark. We’d love to hear your answers!

Feeling possessive?
Print out some of our artists’ book plates and put your name in your favorite books.

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— Leslie S.