DIY – How to make a Customised Dream-Catcher 💕🌸🌈

Hey everyone!

I’m so excited to finally get this post up for you!

If you love delicate, boho style dream catchers, then you’ll love this little tutorial. I’ve always been fascinated by dream-catchers and have seen so many floating around on Pinterest which has inspired me to make my very own version.

The beauty of this tutorial is that with a little imagination, you can create some wonderfully customised pieces to suit your taste and style.

I have been loving a lot of pastel shades recently, it’s light, fresh and adds a lovely touch to the room. Therefore, I decided to grab lots of lovely pastel coloured ribbons to customise a dream-catcher designed especially to go with my kitchen decor.

Dream-catchers have become so popular for home decoration purposes. Everyone has been going crazy over them recently, they’re everywhere from Pinterest to magazines. So what is so special about them?

Before I begin, what exactly is a dream-catcher?

“Legend has it that a dream-catcher would allow good dreams to pass through and float down the hanging beads and feathers to sleeping children. Bad dreams, however, would be caught in the web. As the first rays of the morning light hit the dream-catcher, the bad dreams would disappear”.

Dream-catchers are part of some Native American cultures. It is a handmade willow loop, with woven web in it. The net can also contain additional decorations, such as beads or feathers. Dream-catchers are part of the Ojibwe people culture, and has later spread to other neighbouring nations.

An Ojibwe legend says that the dream catcher is connected with the Spider Woman, known as Asibikaashi. She was known for taking care of people and children on the land. As the Ojibwe nation started spreading through North America, they thought that Asibikaashi wouldn’t be able to protect all the children. So their mothers and grandmothers would weave magical net that they believed will protect the children. Imitation of spider web has been made onto wooden loops. It was said that the spider web would ‘caught any harm that might be in the air as a spider’s web catches and holds whatever comes in contact with it’.

Gosh, I just love reading and learning about different cultures. It was so fascinating to learn all these things whilst I was researching. I always loved these beauties as home decor but to know the purpose and meaning behind it was simply captivating.

Oh and I still dream of opening my ‘dream cafe’ one day, and adoring it with lots of dream catchers, wind chimes and fairy lights. A bohemian version of Peggy Porschen you can say! Ha!

Now, before I drift away, let’s get right back into this project.. So here’s what you need;

Supplies;

* Rattan or metal hoops

* Coloured thread

* Leather/suede cord

* Different coloured ribbons

* Crochet (of various sizes)

* Wooden beads (optional)

* Feathers (of various sizes)

* Scissors

* Glue

Method;

First, you need to cover the whole hoop by winding the thread around it. You can choose whichever coloured thread you’d prefer.

When the hoop is covered fully, just tie the thread at the end (remember to double knot it) and trim off the tail of the thread very carefully.

Once you’ve done this, the fun part begins..

Now you can start accessorising it with lots of cute things such as feathers, ribbons and beads.

With my dream catchers here, I’ve kept the middle of the hoop inside free. You can add a crochet and create lots of different designs. You could also keep it empty and add accessories onto it like I did. There’s endless options and you can choose whichever one takes your fancy.

Now, it’s time to add the ribbons or fringes hanging down from the hoop.

Once you’ve selected the ribbons you’d like to use, it them all out in various lengths. The whole idea is to keep it effortless messy but chic. The different lengths also add to the piece.

Fold the two ribbons or strands in half. Next, draw through the hoop. Once you’ve achieved this, pull the loose ends through the hoop and pull as tightly as you can to secure it. It’s dead simple once you’ve done it a couple of times.. I promise!

Once you’ve arranged all the different ribbons. You can add feathers and/or beads to it.

Unfortunately, I had to leave this little dream catcher in England as I was travelling back to Spain. Also my mum really loved the colours and wanted me to complete it so that she can hang it in her room.. of course I obliged!

However, I can tell you what I did next with it.. just without visuals sadly 😢

I then cut out small silver coloured stars from glitter paper that you can find in any arts and craft store. I brought mine from a shop called The Works. Usually I just order most of my supplies from Amazon.

I dotted them around in the hoop on various places, creating a very dreamy boho look. I then reached for a crystal (that I had lying around in my jewellery cupboard) and hung it with a thread right in the middle of the hoop.

We put it outside on the tree in the garden and every time the wind blows, it just looks so enchanting.

Sadly, I just wasn’t able to take any pictures of the process as I had to complete it really quickly as I was flying back to Spain.. It’s actually one of my favourite dream catcher that I had created for this project. The final product was so lovely but I’ll share it next time I’m back home.

I’m also going to share another simple design that I created.

This time around, I managed to get my hands on some glittery purple sequin string which I wanted to add with the ribbons to give it some character. I also had an old necklace that was broken but I had kept the charms safely in my drawer. I decided to reuse them for this project. I added a string to the charm and hung it nearly to my dream-catcher.

Top Tip: If you have any broken jewellery pieces or charms stored away, please do use them for this project as I did. The fun part is that you can add whatever you like and there’s no stopping you. Break all rules!

P.s – I added the ribbon around this hoop right at the end (not shown in the pic above). This was taken before I had completed it. Ideally it should be done at the beginning as it’s much easier this way.

This was just a quick one to give you a rough idea of the design.

Oh darn, you really can’t see the charms hanging down below. The hand palm and other jingly bells and charms have been added to give it some character. It’s almost like a wind chime especially when the wind blows. I’ve hung this one close to my kitchen window and it’s just so relaxing when it chimes occasionally.

Next, I ordered a patterned circle hoop from Amazon.

I decided to get some strong yarn and create a tasseled look to it.

I ordered these from Amazon and it was the most easiest thing to do. It really takes no time whatsoever. Trust me girl, anyone can do this!

You make a figure 8 with this yarn (or whichever is easier) on your fingers. The more you use, the fuller the tassel will be. I was wanting to achieve a fuller look with the tassels as the circle is a medium sized shape.

Here’s a quick tip for you; if you want to make an even bigger tassel, then replace your fingers with a cardboard box cut out instead. If you cut a rectangular size cardboard box, wrap the yarn around it and once you’ve achieved the desired fullness, secure tightly and cut.

It is all trial and error so please don’t worry too much if it doesn’t work the first time around. There’s also no right way of doing it, so do what you feel comfortable with.

Once you’ve got enough yarn, take another piece of string and wrap it around the top of your yarn to make a head or tassel bobble you get at the top. Now you can get a different coloured yarn to create an interesting effect. I kept mine the same colour for this one.

I then cut of all the ends as they were folded together right. Don’t worry if some are longer or shorter than the other. It really doesn’t matter at all.

Finally, secure tightly and cut. Your homemade tassel is now finished.. Woohoo!

Wasn’t this so easy!

I also picked up some summery fruit shaped templates (below) from Amazon. I decided as I had so many of the sequin ribbon, I wanted to add the fringes to these to make a dream catcher look.

If you remember I also had a lot of the glittery ribbon from my previous chokers DIY, so I added those to these ones below. I also created a ribbon hoop at the top so that they could be hung anywhere. They just look so colourful, vibrant and fun. Take a look below!

You may recognise the glittery ribbons from my previous DIY project. It’s all about reusing old materials and incorporating them into this new project. If you want a bohemian look, then add tons of different lengths, beads, charms.. do whatever your heart desires!

So which one is your favourite? Do let me know below..

Until next time,

Sheema xoxo