Dreamcatcher

Dreamcatchers have always fascinated me. They look so delicate and intricate. They have always been on my list to make, but it’s something that I never really got round to. So, I decided to investigate them. To figure out how they are made, and if it’s something the kids could get involved with. So D is for Dreamcatcher.

I’ll be honest, it’s a bit fiddly. I wouldn’t recommend and preschoolers giving this ago unless they have impressive concentration levels for their age! Have a read and see what you think.

You will need:

Let’s get Started

Start by wrapping your yarn around your hoop. Leave a tail at the beginning, securing it in place by wrapping over it a couple of times. Our hoop is a wooden crafting hoop, about 20cm in diameter. You don’t need to use one that big. Have a look at what’s on offer from Fred Aldous. Keep going until you have covered the entire hoop. Cut the yarn, leaving a long enough end to tie to the tail from the beginning. This will create the loop to hang your dreamcatcher with.

Creating the Web

Now for the fiddly part. Don’t worry though. It isn’t complicated. This is the best diagram I have found for completing this step from We Heart It.

You have already completed figure 1 by wrapping your hoop. From figure 2, start by securing your yarn to the wrapped hoop.

Take your yarn under the hoop, around, and then back through the loop you have just created. The trick is to keep your spacing equal all the way around the hoop. I measured the circumference and roughly worked out how far apart my loops needed to be. The more loops you have, the tighter web you will end up with on your dreamcatcher. Make sure you keep your work tight to create an effective web.

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The next step is to complete the same action, but around the loops you have just made, rather than the wrapped hoop (figure 4). If you are not changing colour you can continue with our breaking the yarn. If you’d like to change colour, simply knot the old colour to secure the end, and knot the new colour in a similar fashion.

Keep going until you reach the middle of your hoop. We did two rounds in purple, and a further two rounds in yellow to reach the middle. Tie the end to secure it. The last thing you want now is for it to fall apart!

Finishing your Dreamcatcher

Congratulations! your basic dreamcatcher is done. Now to add a bit of decoration at the bottom.

We tied feathers using the same yarn as we used to wrap the hoop. Then threaded some beads to give them a bit of weight, and tied this yarn to the base of the hoop. A large eye needle came in very useful at this stage.

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Add your beads and feather to the base of your dreamcatcher. There are no rules here, so use what you like or have to hand.

And that’s it. Your done. Hang your dreamcatcher up and admire your handiwork!