I made a pillow cake this weekend and I could not get the tassels to work at all. Fondant kept sticking and they looked awful. I finally gave up and did cheaters tassels. I used a paper crimper roller to kind of get the effect but I'd still like to learn how to do the more realistic ones. Please help! This is how it looked on the cake.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1200107.html

I use a clay gun and a disc with about 8 holes in it. Grease the inside of the tube and plunger with a bit of Crisco, knead a bit of Crisco into your fondant so it is soft. I draw the lines out to double the length I want the finished tassle, bring the string ends together and pinch the solid end to make the button or bump for the top. If the strings are not all even I cut them with scissors. I usually let mine dry a bit against the outside edge of the cake pan I used for the cake, so they already have the side shape and will conform nicely when you attach them to the cake edges.

OK Shirley! I SEE what you are saying....() But when I tried this my fondant just bunched up wherever I had to stop pressing (cause my hands hurts) and then it was such a weird tassle...I couldn't get it to shape at all!

I would like to know the trick too!