Dream Catchers

    Dream catchers are one of the most fascinating traditions of Native Americans. The traditional dream catcher was intended to protect the sleeping individual from negative dreams while letting positive dreams through. The positive dreams would slip through the hole in the center of the dream catcher, and glide down the feathers to the sleeping person below. The negative dreams would get caught up in the web and expire when the first rays of the sun struck them.

    The dream catcher has been a part of Native American culture for generations. One element of the Native American dream catcher relates to the tradition of the hoop. Some Native Americans of North America held the hoop in the highest esteem because it symbolized strength and unity. Many symbols started around the hoop, and one of these symbols is the dream catcher.

    Dream catchers are the arts and crafts of the Native American people. The original web dream catcher of the Ojibwa was intended to teach natural wisdom. Nature is a profound teacher. Dream catchers of twigs, sinew, and feathers have been woven since ancient times by the Ojibwa people. They were woven by the grandfathers and grandmothers for newborn children and hung above the cradleboard to give the infants peaceful, beautiful dreams. The night air is filled with dreams. Good dreams are clear and know the way to the dreamer, descending through the feathers. The slightest movement of the feathers indicated the passage of yet another beautiful dream. Bad dreams, however, are confusing. They cannot find their way through the web and are trapped there until the sun rises and evaporates them like the morning dew.

Dream Catcher Lore:

    Native Americans believe that the night air is filled with dreams both good and bad. The dream catcher when hung over or near your bed swinging freely in the air, catches the dreams as they flow by. The good dreams know how to pass through the dream catcher, slipping through the outer holes and slide down the soft feathers so gently that many times the sleeper does not know that he/she is dreaming. The bad dreams not knowing the way get tangled in the dream catcher and perish with the first light of the new day.

How the Dream Catcher is made:

    Using a hoop of willow, and decorating it with findings, bits, and pieces of everyday life, (feathers, arrowheads, beads, etc.) the dream catcher is believed to have the power to catch all of a person’s dreams, trapping the bad ones, and letting only the good dreams pass through the dream catcher.

    Originally the Native American dream catcher was woven on twigs of the red willow using thread from the stalk of the stinging nettle. The red willow and twigs from other trees of the willow family, as well as red twig dogwood, gemstones can be found in many parts of the United States. These twigs are gathered fresh and dried in a circle or pulled into a spiral shape depending upon their intended use. They used natural feathers and semi-precious gemstones, one gemstone to each web because there is only one creator in the web of life.

How to Make a Dream Catcher

    1. Using 2 – 6 ft. of soaked willow (or grapevine), carefully bend the vine around to form a circle with a 3 – 8 in. diameter. You decide on the diameter, but traditionally dream catchers are no

    2. Twist the piece you are bending, around the circle you have made to strengthen the vine hoop.

    3. Use 4-16 ft. of strong but thin string (the length is determined by the diameter of the hoop). Knot a loop in one end from which you will hang your dream catcher when it is done.

    4. Tie the hanging loop around the top of your dream catcher (or at the weakest point of your hoop).

    5. The dream catcher repeats the same stitch from start to finish. To start, hold the string and place it loosely over the top of the hoop. Move the string around to the back of the hoop (forming a hole) and pull the string back through the hole you just made.

    6. Pull each stitch taught but not too tight or it will warp the hoop of the dream catcher and it will not lie flat when it is done.

    7. Continue the same stitch for the first round around the hoop of the dream catcher. Space the stitches evenly, about 1 1/2 to 2 in. apart (making 7 to 13 stitches around the hoop).

    8. The last stitch of the first round should be placed about a half-inch away from the hanging loop.

    Stitch for the second round:

    9. On the second and subsequent stitching rounds, place the string around the center of each stitch from the previous round (rather than around the hoop).

    10. As you pull each stitch tight, the string from the previous round should bend towards the center of the hoop slightly, forming a diamond shape.
You should see the spider web beginning to form.

    11. On the third or fourth round add a bead to represent the spider in the web. Simply place the bead on your string and continue stitching as usual.

    12. Continue stitching towards the center of the hoop. Eventually, the stitches become so small that it is difficult to pass the string through. Make sure you leave a hole in the center of the dream catcher.

    13. Stop stitching at the bottom of the hole in the center of the dream catcher. End by stitching twice in the same place, forming a knot, and pull tight.

    14. You should have 6 – 8 in. of string to tie 2 or 3 feathers that dangle from the center of the dream catcher. Tie on 2 or 3 feathers and knot.

    15. Wrap a 1 in. square of felt around the knot of string and over the base of the feathers. Tie two 4 In. pieces string around the wrapped felt. (Your dream catcher is now complete)