Tuesday 4 November 2014

Sweet Dreams are made of this.....


Hello.......... Last week I had a phone call from a friend asking if I could crochet her little girl a dreamcatcher.  'Err yes !!'  was my reply while thinking, I have no idea how to make one but there must be a way.

You see this little girl 'C' who I'm Guide Mother to has been having some very bad dreams lately. So it was time to put my crafty thinking cap on and see if I could help chase those nightmares away.  Surely there must be a way to crochet a dreamcatcher. 

But where to start, my first line of thinking was they are kind of like a Mandala, right??

So disclaimer time, in no way is this going to be a traditional dreamcatcher, just a bit of yarny goodness with good intent.



So after a bit of looking about online trying to find a pattern, without any luck I decided I was just going to have to make it up as I went along.

As I said I was thinking Mandala's but it needed to be more lacy and web like. So after playing around one afternoon, last week I came up with this.

Next up, I needed some sort of ring, so I used what I had, the inner part of a six inch embroidery hoop,



Next I tried to figure out how to attach it to the hoop, first I tried to crochet it on but it was just too tricky so in the end I just threaded the yarn through the crocheted loops and around the ring trying to keep the tension steady so it was evenly spaced.

Yippee, from this working prototype I could see it would work as a concept, hopefully!!


So I took it apart again and set to work covering the hoop. I simply wound some turquoise yarn around the hoop holding it in place with some double sided tape at the beginning and end before tying in place but not cutting the yarn end.


Then using the same yarn,  I placed the crocheted web into position and wound  the yarn around threading through each of the loops on the last round of crochet. Tying it off at the end and leaving a loop to hang it by. (Sorry about the lighting in some of the shots, the grey days of November are truly upon us)


After a bit of online research I discovered that every Dreamcatcher needs some beads and feathers. 'C's' favourite colours are blues and turquoise's hence the colour scheme so I added some blue metallic beads to the centre of the dreamcatcher.


Next up were the feathers eek, how was I going to manage that in crochet.  I thought about adding some actual feathers but I one, I didn't have any and two, I'm not so keen on dyed feather I think they can look a little on the tacky side. 

So in the end I knitted two feathers using a leaf pattern I have and hopefully turned upside down they look a little like feathers


I then crocheted three chains and added a few more beads before stitching the feathers into place.


Now do you remember the flower from last weeks post 'here' well now you know what I was making.


After adding a cute little button I stitched it to one of the chains


 The feathers and flower were to attached to the bottom of the hoop, simply just tying them into place


Ta-Dah

My Dreamcatcher was complete. It's all ready now to go off in the post, hopefully keeping the nightmares at bay and only bringing the sweetest of dreams.

 I'm not sure if anyone else would like to make one, but if so, leave a comment and I write the pattern up and share it in a separate post.

'
I've almost finished 'Thirteen moons Octobers read and so far I'm enjoying it, plus I nearly finished it on time,  joining in with Ginny's 'Yarn Along'
Happy Crafting

Clare xx

23 comments:

  1. What a beautiful dream catcher perfect for a little girl, what a great achievement.

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  2. Really beautiful, we made one a while ago but not in crochet and it looks fantastic. Im sure she will love it too!

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  3. That's a great dream catcher! My friend and bridesmaid to be loves dream catchers! I'd like the pattern please :) x

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  4. You are so clever! I wanted to make one of these for my girls but they look so complicated. Yours looks beautiful and I am sure the little girl will love it!

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  5. Your dreamcatcher is so pretty. I remember making them in Girl Scouts, not crocheted, but they were nice to make and I think I had it hanging in my room for a few years.

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  6. It is lovely and I hope that it does the trick with regard to the dreams! xx

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  7. Very prety and very nice from you to give the how-to ! Have a sweet day !

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  8. You did an amazing job, it's beautiful!

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  9. It is wonderful, and she is going to love it.
    Meredith

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  10. How wonderful! and yes I would love a pattern if you would please. Bookmarking this post so I can see it again!

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  11. So pretty! I especially like the details like those beautiful leafs and the pearls you added! Lena x

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  12. Love the colors and beads on the dream catcher.

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  13. I love this it's so pretty. :)

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  14. I love, love, love this! It is definitely on my list of things to make as I've seen so many pretty ones out there, but like you, was wondering how I would make a lacy center. Would love the pattern. :) Best wishes, Tammy

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  15. What a lovely, well intentioned project. May little C rest easy.

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  16. That is amazing - she will be one happy little girl!

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  17. Oh, I love this dreamcatcher! I've been thinking about making a dreamcatcher for my sister for Christmas and this gives me a place to start. Maybe I could use a vintage doily and add some beads or sequins. Thanks for sharing. I'm excited to give it a try.

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  18. Hopping over through Lindas stashbusting November. I love this dreamcatcher. You did a great job. I have been wanting to make some for my kids but I guess I wasn´t sure where to start. I am sure this dreamcatcher is going to be chasing some bad dreams away. Lucky girl to have you as a Guide mama.

    Birgitta xx

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