Doily Dream Catchers - Wishing You Happy Thoughts and Sweet Dreams

Dream catchers are handmade objects hung near the bed or the place where one sleeps to protect a sleeping person from bad dreams. It is said that bad dreams will be caught in the web and only good dreams will pass through making the person nightmare free through the night. The bad dreams that were trapped will disappear when the sun rises. For its origin, you may want to seek the help of our dear friend Google as I only just looked it up and I must say that it's fascinating. The Native Americans from whose culture this craft originated have a beautiful and spiritual story to tell about dream catchers.

I've also read that nowadays, some people hang dream catchers by a window or a door to make it work like a filtering system so that only positive energy gets inside their homes. Well, wether we believe in it or not, we respect the culture where it came from. It is a fascinating tradition, a superstition if you will, and the thought of giving someone a dream catcher is like wishing them to always have a peace of mind and good dreams, plus, it is decorative.

This design using doily is a modern take on the traditional dream catcher, even the materials used are different. I also tried weaving but I only know the basic style and there are others that are so beautiful and intricate but look really complicated and I couldn't make out the pattern by just scrutinizing it on my own, I need a pattern or a tutorial. Anyway, I love crochet and making doilies for dream catchers would allow me to have various different designs for the web as there are hundreds of patterns available online.

First, you have to gather the materials needed. There are a lot of different materials that you can use to make a dream catcher, a hoop made from cardboard, an embroidery hoop, or a metal ring as a substitute for the wooden hoop, for wrapping the hoop, a leather cord or any ribbon will do, and you can go and have fun with the tails and other decorations, you can use lace, ribbons, charms, beads, or pearls. Well, these are for the modern ones, if you want to have the look of the authentic dream catchers by Native Americans, you may need different materials and do a little research.

Anyway, with my version, the following materials are needed:

Hoop (your choice of size)
Yarn or crochet thread
Lace, ribbon, feather, beads
Glue
Needle
Scissors
Crochet hook

Crochet a doily that would fit on your hoop. You can check out these sites for free patterns, FaveCrafts, Crochet Pattern Central, and All Free Crochet. If the pattern would result to a doily bigger than the size of your hoop, you just have to end your work up to the the round that best fit the ring.

This pattern I used calls for several more rows but I stopped at the 5th row because I'm using a small hoop. As an added decoration, I put a bead at the center. Keep in mind that the doily would still stretch so it should be smaller than the inside of the ring to get a nice tension.

Position the doily and attach it to the hoop. I used a tapestry needle to wrap the crochet thread around the hoop and into the spaces in the doily. This thread is only temporary, just to keep the doily in place while I wrap and cover the hoop completely with a different color thread.

Carefully wrap the hoop with yarn or crochet thread, remove the temporary thread as you go along. A lengthy piece of thread is needed to cover the entire hoop and you might not want to thread the needle with the full length at once for it will be hard to work with, just put in about 3 feet each time or the length that you're comfortable with. Glue the start of the thread to the hoop make the rounds and also glue the end, do the same with the next lengths of thread until the hoop is entirely wrapped.

I find it nicer looking when the hoop is completely covered and no wood is showing as much as possible so make each round tight and close to each other. Apply a small dot of glue after every few rounds, this may not be necessary, just an additional trick to secure the thread and keep it in place.

I attached a crocheted chain and had it covered together with the hoop. With my other dream catchers, I attached the strings on top of the covered hoop, so it's your choice, it would look just as nice.

Then, it's time for the tails and decorations. I braided and crocheted a few ribbons, made a tassel, attached a feather to a crocheted chain, and added a little metal charm. But like what I've said, you can use whatever materials you want that you think would make your dream catcher look lovely. Attach your chosen pieces to the hoop

This is the first one I made. I used white and light shades of blue crochet thread. This is a bit small, the hoop is just about a little over 3 inches in diameter.

These are the ones I've finished so far. I'll be making more and probably play with some bold color combinations. I hope to finish about twenty pieces in time for the holidays, I think these will make good Christmas gifts.

These may not be the authentic and traditional dream catchers but my thoughts of giving them to my loved ones have the same purpose, wishing them sweet dreams.

Hope you enjoyed reading. Have a nice day!