DIY Lace Dream Catchers

LEARN how to make your very own lace dream catcher! Using various ribbons, lace, and trims to make your piece distinctly you! 

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

WRITTEN TUTORIAL BELOW:


There are various size crochet doilies you can use. We will show you techniques for both a large doily that fills the ring and another for one that is slightly smaller. When it comes to this craft, use your imagination. We will provide you some instruction here but there are a gazillion other ways you can do it :)



Cut a piece of yarn/string about 4 arms lengths of the color you want to use to wrap around the gold ring (this equals to about 4 yards). If it is thinner yarn/string you will need more than this.



Tie a double knot around the gold ring. Leave a bit of a tail because you will be using that later on. Super glue the knot so it doesn't come undone and also super glue the ring where the knot and ring meet so it doesn't slide around when you are wrapping.

Wrap the other end (the long end) of yarn/string with invisible tape and then cut it at a diagonal. This will help the yarn from unraveling and act as your "needle" as you poke the yarn through the holes in the lace.




EXAMPLE 1: All doilies will stretch. So when we use this doily that is slightly larger than the ring, one option is to overlap the edge of the doily around the ring and using the taped "needle" end of your yarn, start to go through the two layers of the lace doily securing it around the ring (pictured right above). Go all the way and the ring.

The second option is to do like the picture above that (of my beautiful friend Michaela) where she did not overlap the doily over the ring but instead went hole by hole matching the doily edge to the gold ring edge as she wrapped.

Check out the next example to understand the wrapping and how to finish it off. Also, watch the video above, it might help in understanding this.



EXAMPLE 2: Using the smaller doily. When I use a doily that I think might be tricky to figure out spacing as I wrap, I tie down each point with some string or yarn stretching it and fine-tuning the spacing before I wrap the ring.



Like the example before, using about 4 arm's length of yarn, tie a double knot around the gold ring at one end. Leave a bit of a tail because you will be using that later on. Super glue the knot so it doesn't come undone and also super glue the ring where the knot and ring meet so it doesn't slide around when you are wrapping.

Also, like the example before, wrap tape around the other end (long-end) of the yarn and cut at a diagonal helping it not to fray and to use as your "needle".



Start to wrap the yarn around the gold ring tightly, pushing it towards the knot to make it super tight. Keep going until you reach one of the lace doily points.




When you reach one of the tied points, cut the knot off being careful you do not cut the doily. Remove the string that you just cut. Using the "needle" end of your yarn, push it through one of the holes at the point of the doily and then continue wrapping your yarn around the ring securing the lace doily point to the ring.

Doilies have all different numbers of holes, this doily, in particular, had two holes at each point so I wrapped both holes to the ring. Continue this until you have secured all points and have wrapped the entire ring.



When you get back to your starting point, tie the remaining yarn to the tail of the initial knot you made. Super glue the knot. Once super glue is dry, cut both ends off.


 
Next, we are going to make the loop where your dream catcher will hang from. If you have yarn left from before cut about a 10" piece. If not, grab some new yarn and do the same. Fold over the piece of yarn and overhand knot the ends together.



Choose where your top center will be. At that spot take the string you just knotted, loop side up and knotted side down, place ring on top. Take the knotted end and push through the loop and pull. The knotted end should now be at the top and hat is where you can hang your dream catcher from.



Next, we are going to start visualizing what we want the trims to look like. You will be placing these on the oppisite side from your "top center".



For all the trims, you will attach them in the same way. Think about how long you want them to be (I like to make them a little longer and possibly trim them later). Whatever the length is, double it and cut your trim. You will then fold it in half, laying the folded side over the bottom part of the hoop. Reach two fingers through the top, around the ring, grab the two tails, and pull through. Pull tight and there you go! You have attached your first trim. You will continue this step for the rest.



If you would like to use some thin strips of fabric, my favorite way to get fabric trims is pictured above. At the edge of your fabric, cut about a one-inch cut and then just pull apart. It will rip easier than you think. Clean off all the extra loose threads. It will create a raw wavy edge that will be perfect for your dream catcher.



Attach it the same way as we did the yarn trim.



Once all trims are attached, if you desire, trim it. I sometimes leave it long, I sometimes leave them all the same length, but this time I decided to do a V. You can lay it on the table to cut it or even hang it up to see your cuts in the way they will hang.



To attach beads my favorite way to do it is to use a skewer to push fabric/trim through the hole of the bead and then pull the fabric through. A lot of the time the fabric will be thick enough to hold the bead in place. If not, place a little hot glue where you want the bead to be and then push it over the hot glue mark.



To attach feathers there are no right or wrong ways, use your imagination! I will show you one of my ways here. In this example, I want to ultimately cover the ends of the feathers with a bead. Find a bead that will fit the feathers end. Thread the bead on to the fabric that you want to attach the feathers to. 

Then put some hot glue on to the feather's end and glue it on to the end of the fabric. Slide the bead down covering where the feathers are glued to the fabric. Some hot glue might show, however, let it cool and you can pick it off.

Add any other beads, decorations, or trims to make it distinctly YOU!