DIY Dreamcatcher

Earlier this year, Mimi over at A Tray of Bliss posted about the Dreamcatcher she had just made. I hadn’t really seen them made like this before, and thought it was just beautiful – and would make a lovely Christmas gift for a niece or two 😉

Of course, now I see them everywhere, including all over Pinterest! I know, sometimes it takes me a little while to catch up…lol

So I started amassing doyleys. I picked up a few at an Op Shop for just a couple of dollars, but then discovered that there were plenty of them within the family!

I located some hoops on eBay, although I’m still looking for some larger ones to accommodate the bigger doileys.

And I found a bag of beautiful yarn at the Op Shop, which I knew would be perfect!

And then I stopped.

You know when you’ve got a new craft or skill to learn, and you know it will be amazing…but you just can’t bring yourself to start, just in case it doesn’t work out to be quite as amazing as you’d envisioned?

I had the bits and pieces waiting to be creative, I just needed a push. And since Christmas is fast approaching, that was the push I needed!

So yesterday I created this fabulous (to my eyes!) Dreamcatcher, and wondered why I’d waited so long!

I started by covering the metal ring. I didn’t want to use ribbon (too expensive), or cut up old fabric (it will fray – although that might not be such a bad look!), so I cut a strip from an old tulle curtain (the same one I used for our Halloween ghost). A few dabs of glue around the ring held it in place nicely.

I positioned my doyley, and tied some anchor points with cotton. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to attach it, but I ended up sewing it all the way around. It was easy to sew through the tulle I had just applied.

Then it was just on to adding the streamers.

I cut a few more strips of the tulle, plenty of white feather yarn, and a couple of strands of brown feather yarn. This was to give a bit of interest, and tie in with a few gold beads I was planning on also including.

It was easy to loop the strands through the holes around the edge of the doyley. I forgot to take photos as I was doing it, but here you can see how I did it with a strand of cotton.

You need to cut your lengths twice as long as you want them. Fold them in half, neatly or roughly depending on the look you’re after. Poke the loop through the hole in the doyley, then pull the ends through the loop. Once they are tight they should stay, but you can add a drop of glue if you prefer.

To finish it off, I threaded some crystals and gold beads onto 3 strands of cotton thread, and attached them evenly through the rest of the streamers. They should catch the light nicely! I was going to sew a couple onto the doyley as well, but decided to leave it as is.

You could trim the streamers to an even length, or leave them random as I have done. I think it adds to the boho look 🙂

The ribbon to hang it with came from a top I bought. You know when tops come with the loops to help them stay on the coat hangers in the store? When you cut them off, keep them! They make perfect hangers for ornaments 🙂

Now I’m not so worried about doing another one, and I’m sure it will be much quicker next time! I hope my niece likes it!

UPDATE! – Since I made the first one above, and realised I could actually do it (!), I’ve now made a pink and a blue dreamcatcher. These ones aren’t embellished with crystals, but I think the colours introduce enough interest 🙂

Linking up with:

Lou Lou Girls, Our Home Away From Home – Tuesdays at Our Home, Being a Wordsmith – Turn it Up Tuesday, The Dedicated House – Make it Pretty Monday, Cedar Hill Farmhouse – The Scoop, Oh My Heartsie Girl – Wonderful Wednesday, The DIY Dreamer – From Dream to Reality, Savvy Southern Style – Wow us Wednesday, Domesblissity – Thriving on Thursdays, 21 Rosemary Lane – Share Your Style, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson – Share Your Cup, Sincerely, Paula – No Rules Weekend Blog Hop, The Life of Jennifer Dawn – A Little Bird Told Me, A Tray of Bliss – Five Star Frou Frou, Simply Sweet Home – Friday Favorites, White House Crafts – The Crafty Corner, Shoestring Elegance – What to do Weekends, Oh My Heartsie Girl – Friday Features, Strawberry Butterscotch – Saturday Shuffle, The Pinterested Parent – Sunday’s Best, Love of Home – Sundays at Home, My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies – Snickerdoodle Sunday, Nifty Thrifty Things, That Recipe – Happiness is Homemade, Plucky’s Second Thought – Cooking and Crafting With J&J, My Pinterventures – Merry Monday, Claire Justine – Creative Mondays, Create With Joy – Inspire Me Monday, I Should Be Mopping the Floor – Inspiration Monday, Yesterday on Tuesday – Project Inspired, The DIY Mommy – The Creative Corner, Posed Perfection – Creative Ways,