A decorative object that I always love to make and that looks super cute is the dreamcatcher. As you may know, this mystical hoop was created in the aboriginal culture to trap nightmares and evil spirits.
In my opinion, it is a beautiful gift to give, either as a kind of talisman of protection or just as something decorative.
They are usually placed on a porch or entrance of the house, near windows or above the bed, but I’ve even seen key chains with this design.
There are several ways to create and decorate them, but today I will show you the easiest, cheapest way to do it, and the best of all is that you can do it with plastic bottles that you do not use…
By the way, by recycling the bottles you are helping against environmental pollution, here I leave you a link so that you can find out about the damage we are causing every time we throw away a plastic bottle.
You are probably wondering how to make one with this shape, but keep reading and I will tell you all of the 5 easy steps of how to make a dreamcatcher in a sustainable and easy way.
Let’s start step by step!
Tutorial for how to make a dreamcatcher
First I want to start with the warnings and care, it is important that only adults do this technique, as we will use an iron and cutting elements like a cutter or knife.
So my recommendation is to do it very carefully, to avoid burns and/or cuts, and that children do not do it.
Now let’s see what items we need for how to make dream catchers:
- Plastic bottles(preferably liter but can be any size).
- Waxed thread (the color you would like to decorate with)
- Cutter or knife
- Scissors
- Iron
- Feathers, beads (any decorative element you like to include in the dreamcatcher)
- Lighter
- Glue
Step 1: Plastic bottle rings
Take a 1 liter bottle (or whatever you have available) and wash it inside and out. Then you take the cutter or knife and cut the tail of the bottle. To make the cut edge even, use scissors to trim and level it.Step 2: Assemble your own ring
Once you have the bottle ready, iron it at a minimum temperature. Then carefully place the cut part of the bottle on the hot iron and turn it on its axis.Repeat the process until it looks like a plastic bracelet and remove the bottle. The process is done in seconds, so it won’t take you that long to notice the bracelet. Then calculate 2 cm from the bracelet to the center of the bottle and trim again.
Take this end of the bottle again and repeat the process to make another plastic bracelet with the iron.
The important thing here is that the two plastic bracelets or rings are joined together as one. When they have been formed, remove the iron and you have your ring to be worked.
Remember to let it cool a little so you don’t burn yourself and you can work better on the decoration part.
Step 3: Decorate your dream catchers!
You can decorate your hoop with jute thread, waxed thread, wool, fabric or whatever you think will work. In this case we will use waxed thread, as they come in various colors and its texture seems to me the ideal for dream catchers.With a 1 liter bottle, I get a hoop of about 9 cm, so you will use about 7 meters of thread. Remember that if the hoop is smaller or larger, the use of thread will vary.
Once you have the thread, tie a knot in the middle of the hoop. Then carefully and neatly wind the thread around the hoop. Do this process until the entire hoop is covered with thread.
At the end, with the last end of the thread you have left, tie a knot on the hoop to keep it tight and rolled up. If you have some yarn left, you can cut it and put a drop of glue on the knot to secure it better.
Step 4: The net of your dream.
To make the inner net of the dreamcatcher, or of the hoop in question, we also use waxed thread, but in this case, we only use 2 meters.Here you can choose another color for your thread or simply repeat the same one. Everything will depend on the design you have in mind.
When you have the chosen color ready, take the thread and tie a knot over the hoop, then calculate the distance of a thumb or so and pass the thread over the hoop and then through the inside of the hoop.
When you finish the whole process, you do the same thing but through the fabric you already made with the thread.
Repeat the method over and over again until you reach the center of the hoop, where you can tie a knot and burn it with a lighter to fix it. The important thing is that it looks like a net, so you have to make sure that the thread is tight inside the hoop.
If you need to see the technique in this part, you can watch this video about DIY Dreamcatcher:
Step 5: “DIY dream catcher” with Feathers and bowls.
In this last step, what you have to do is to separate 3 feathers, 3 beads, and 3 ends of thread.The length of the thread will depend on you. In my case I choose about 20 centimeters of thread, I pass them through the hoop, make a knot, and then pass the bead.
Finally, I cut the tip of the feather and insert it inside the bead, also gluing it to some thread. Then I repeat the process twice with the separate elements.
And that’s it; you know how to make a dreamcatcher with a bottle!
I hope you liked doing it! You can repeat the process several times because with one bottle you can make many hoops and therefore many dreamcatchers.
You can also see this article about a Step by step on how to make paper flowers in 3 different ways 🙂