Dreamcatchers and teepees, they just go together, don’t you think? When I was putting together Ruby’s playroom design, I spotted this dreamcatcher and thought it would be perfect for her teepee. But before I ordered it, I came across this kit to make one and figured why not? I could totally make a DIY dreamcatcher. I thought it would be a fun project for an evening. And it would make me feel productive and less guilty for watching tv, while lying in bed. Win/win.
The kits are about $15, and come with everything you need. I chose a teal one to give the gray and white teepee a little pop. While the concept is pretty simple, the directions in the package were completely useless. They were confusing and not easy to follow, so here are my step by step directions. And forgive the angle of the photos. I was literally sitting in bed, under a blanket, catching up on Project Runway while getting my indian art on.
I started off by using a little fabric glue (I like Fabri-tac) to stick the end of the leather to the ring provided, then added a little more glue to the leather itself, and wrapped it around itself so it was stuck together. I then wrapped the leather in a single layer all the way around, adding a bit of fabric glue to the ring occasionally as I went.
When I got all the way around, I dabbed a little glue, then looped it into a knot. The glue helped hold it in place permanently.
Next I started wrapping the sinew. Again, it came with the kit. I had never worked with it before and it caught me a little off guard. It’s sticky and leaves a residue on your fingers. It also sticks to itself, so no need for the glue here. I wrapped it around itself a couple of times, and it was holding firm. I then left a little slack, and went about an inch, and double wrapped it. Then I repeated until I was all the way around again. Once I got around, I went to the inner layer of the sinew. I threaded it through the loop, then through the loop to the left of it, then pulled it taut. It sort of made a little “x”, if that makes sense. I was sure to pull it taut as I went. Then I just repeated the pattern: through the loop, then around the loop to the left, then pulled it taut. I went around and around until I had a small circle open in the center.
To make a knot, I looped it the same way I had before, only I threaded it through itself to make a knot on the last one, then cut off the excess. Then it was time to tie the leather onto the bottom and top. I made a “U” shape with the leather strip, laid it flat on top of the ring, then threaded the ends through the loop. It looked like this:
For the top loop, I just made a simple knot. Nothing fancy. Wow, you can really see how badly I needed a manicure in this shot. Sweet. Oh, and yes that’s my laundry basket in the background. I’m just keeping it real, people.
The feathers and beads were easy. Just put on the beads, then hold the feather in place with the leather, and pull the bead over the top of both of them. I added a little feather charm to the center of the web and there you have it. The entire thing took me about an hour to complete. One episode of Project Runway and I was “making it work” people.
Such a fun finishing touch in the room that makes my teepee feel a bit more legit.
If you want to make your own, here are a few of the kits I recommend:
Fun post coming up tomorrow. Have a wonderful week!