What are Dreamcatchers?
Dreamcatchers are known as sacred hoops and are often decorated with beads and feathers. A Bohemian Dreamcatcher is simply a style! The hoops are thought to catch all your dreams with the bad ones being tangled in the web (center) and the good ones sliding down from the feathers to comfort whoever was sleeping below.
Like dreamcatchers, any craft you create is something special. Yesterday we created a beautiful handmade card and the day before we created an Easy to Make Tote Bag. Open these articles to find some incredible crafts for you and the whole family.
Bohemian Dreamcatchers are often seen as souvenirs in many tourist shops. To be really special and work most effectively, they should be created by you. Today we will be creating our own dreamcatcher and using materials from nature (at least as much as possible).
The First Dreamcatchers (a History)
Dreamcatchers originated with Native American (First Nations) tribes. The Ojibwe and Lakota nations were the first known tribes to have dreamcatchers. These dreamcatchers were created by The Spider Woman, who was known to protect the children and babies. When the tribes grew and spread out around North America, The Spider Woman could no longer protect the tribes as much as she wanted to and it was at that point she created the dreamcatcher. The mothers and grandmothers of the tribes then recreated dreamcatchers to protect their families.
Today dreamcatchers still have a sacred meaning and to create one is meant to protect you and your children.
Bohemian Dreamcatcher Patterns
Dreamcatchers should contain a web in the middle to catch the bad dreams and streamers (often using feathers) to let the good dreams slide down to the sleeper. There are many different ways to weave the web and here are a few examples that I found very interesting
Materials for Making a Bohemian Dreamcatcher
Materials for this project can be taken from nature or you may purchase them.
- Metal or plastic hoop. I used galvanized wire I purchased at the dollar store. There are 65′ in the roll enabling me to create many dreamcatchers or use the remainder for other projects.
- Strips of rope, leather, cloth, or string. This will be used to wrap around the outside of the hoop and to make the streamers at the bottom of the dreamcatcher.
- Wooden beads. You can use any substitute here for other beads. I have sometimes made my own beads with paper mache.
- Feathers. I have collected bird feathers in the past and now making a dreamcatcher I can finally use them. You can paint feathers or leave them as is. Most of my feathers come from Seagulls. I also found a package of colored feathers in the dollar store – they are quite beautiful and a great addition to any dreamcatcher.
- Embroidery floss for attaching the feathers.
- Decorations. I often add butterflies or dragonflies to my projects and a dreamcatcher is an ideal place to add these.
- Scissors or cutting tool.
- Glue. Hot glue works well here as it will affix parts of your dreamcatcher without worry about it falling apart.
Step-by-Step Guide
You will need to set aside a couple of hours to complete this project.
Step 1 – Assemble all of your materials.
Step 2 – If you are using hot glue, plug in your glue gun so it is ready when you finish off the ends.
Step 3 – Prepare the hoop. If you are using galvanized wire you will need to make a circle with the wire and securely close the ends. I twist the metal ends around the outsides to hold it tight. If you have a premade hoop then you are ready to go.
Step 4 – We will be wrapping the material around the hoop. You will need to wrap it tightly so it does not shift and expose the hoop below. When you have finished the wrapping, you will need to glue the ends in place. As I mentioned before, using hot glue is ideal.
Step 5 – Now you will be adding the web to your dreamcatcher. Tie the embroidery floss. Mark 12 spots that are evenly spaced around the outside edge of the hoop. These will be the anchor points for the embroidery floss. Think about making a mark for the hours on a clock.
Step 6 – After you have finished adding the web portion, it is time to add the bottom streamers. The streamers will be added before the beads and decorations. You will wind the floss through itself on the inside of the circle as shown in the image.
The next round you will do the same thing but at every second stop (at the 2,4,6,8,10, and 12 o’clock stops).
Weave the floss through open spaces to the opposite side and work around the hoop until you are happy with your web. Tie off the embroidery thread. This will give you a real Bohemian Dreamcatcher look.
Step 7 – Adding beads and feathers. Once your streamers are in place, add the wooden beads and secure them in place then add the feathers. You will need to poke a hole in the stem of the feather to secure the floss.
Step 8 – Add the streamer for hanging the dreamcatcher.
Step 9 – Add any further decorations you wish to have and your dreamcatcher is complete!
Great Books for Inspiration for Bohemian Dreamcatchers
There are so many different variations of dreamcatchers and all of them are personal to the designer. To give you an edge on creating your own dreamcatcher here are 3 books you need to buy – some even include using crochet as the web!
Dream Webs: Over 30 Fabled Designs (Dream Catchers- Suzanne McNeill Design Originals, #3038)
Crochet: 5 Lessons How To Make Dream Catchers + 5 Cute Projects: (Needlework, DIY, Crochet Patterns)
Unicorn DreamCatcher Book Plus Kit – Includes Hoops, Felt, Yarn, Floss, Beads, Needle, Fiberfill and 32-Page Project Book
Bohemian Dreamcatcher and Other Dreamcatchers Video Guides
DIY Dreamcatcher | How To Make A Dream Catcher Tutorial
DIY Super Easy Way to Make a Dreamcatcher | Step by step slow video tutorial
DIY: How To Make A Crescent Moon Dreamcatcher
Last Word on Bohemian Dreamcatchers
Making a Bohemian dreamcatcher was such a mind provoking adventure. I first had to decide on the material to use for wrapping the hoop and then figuring out what design to use for the webbing. It took me longer than an hour so the afternoon disappeared on me quickly.
Did you ever made a Bohemian dreamcatcher?
Don’t forget about my resource library – there are plenty of projects and downloads that I give away inside.
Until tomorrow…
Bette
PS the password for the resource library is love
Please share the image below on Pinterest – many thanks and Happy Crafting!!!
