Numbers 15:38

that they make them tassels upon the corners of their garments This is commanded (with different words for -tassels" and -garments") in Deuteronomy 22:12. No statement is there made as to the reason for the observance. It was probably a very ancient custom, dating from a time when such tassels were superstitiously worn as magical charms. Here, however, it has been invested with a higher religious significance. The practice is referred to in the N.T., Matthew 14:36; Mark 6:56 (E.V. -border of his garment"); and it continues among the Jews to this day. In the synagogue all males over thirteen years of age wear a special garment called a tallith, which -consists of an oblong cloth with a tassel at each corner. The head is passed through a hole in the middle of the cloth, which hangs over the breast and back." See art. -Fringes" in Hastings" DB.ii.

upon the tassel of each corner a thread of violet] in order to fasten it to the garment.