Craft Club: Meeting No:2 Dream Catchers

Our second craft club meeting took place on Tuesday, and although numbers still dwindle, we still always have a lovely time. I think this was the last we will be able to have in the park as the sun is setting earlier and earlier, but it was a beautiful evening and I'm glad we made the most of the nice weather.

So this months craft was dream catchers. The Ojibwe people have an ancient legend about the origin of the dreamcatcher. Storytellers speak of the Spider Woman, known as Asibikaashi; she took care of the children and the people on the land. Eventually, the Ojibwe Nation spread to the corners of North America and it became difficult for Asibikaashi to reach all the children. So the mothers and grandmothers would weave magical webs for the children, using willow hoops and sinew, or cordage made from plants. The dreamcatchers would filter out all bad dreams and only allow good thoughts to enter our mind. Once the sun rises, all bad dreams just disappear.

You will need:

A hoop
Wool, string, rope, cord, similar
Bit of lace, chains, buttons, etc to decorate
Wire
Scissors 

1. I used a embroidery hoop and string to form my dream catching web. I initially tied the string to the hoop and then made loops around the edge, knotting in between to hold in place. 

2. Once you have gone all the way around, move onto the inner circle by knotting in the middle of the outer hoops. 

3. Once you can't go around anymore tie is a double knot and cut off the excess. 

4. Hang all sorts of things from the bottom on the dream catcher. I used lace,, more string, fur cones, and twigs. 

5.I'm going for a rustic, neutral look and it tend to make a few more of various size and hang them off a big branch, inspired by the image below that I saw on Pinterest. via yoho yoho.

If you can make it come to the next craft club, keep an eye on the Facebook page to see when it is and what we will be crafting. We were thinking along the lines of something Halloween themed, get in touch on the blog or on the Facebook page if you have any ideas.