Welcome to another Wacky Workshops project – making dreamcatchers.

OK, so I’m not going to guarantee they will stop nightmares, but that is the legend behind them.

Dreamcatchers originated with the Ojibwe people of North America.

Legend has it the Spider Woman, Asibikaashi, took care of the people, especially the children, of the land.

Eventually, the Ojibwe nation grew so large it was difficult for her to reach all the children so the mothers and grandmothers started weaving magical webs for them.

The webs, made from willow hoops and sinew were thought to filter out all bad dreams and only allow good thoughts into the mind. The bad dreams caught in the web would disappear when the sun rose.

These days you can buy them just about anywhere, or make your own.

Many people use wooden embroidery hoops to make these but my project, being ever conscious of keeping costs down, uses wire, wool and feathers.

My art class recently made their own dreamcatchers with great success.

DREAMCATCHERS – LET’S GET STARTED

MATERIALS

• Wire – not too thin as it won’t keep its shape.
• Wire cutters
• Form – it’s easier to make the circle if you wind the wire around something. I used a bamboo steamer.

• Craft glue
• Wool – assorted colours
• Ribbon – assorted colours
• Feathers – assorted colours
• Beads – optional

METHOD

• Make a circle with the wire and wind the ends together.
• Cover a small section of the circle with craft glue and start winding the ribbon around the wire circle.
• Continue until the entire circle is covered in ribbon.
• Tie an end of the wool anywhere on the wire circle.
• Wind the wool back and forth and up and down around the circle to form a web. NOTE: It’s important to wind the wool around the wire twice at each turn so that it doesn’t slip, destroying the web.

• When you are happy with the web, tie the end of the wool around the wire to secure it.
• Tie lengths of wool to the bottom of your dreamcatchers – how many is up to you.
• Decorate the wool by tying on colourful feathers, and beads if you desire.
• Enjoy your creativity and sleep tight.

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Happy crafting and have a gleeful week, Tamuria.