DIY Dreamcatcher Necklace

You may have noticed my Dreamcatcher Necklace in the post before last.

Well, I indeedly did make it myself. :)

I'd been planning on posting this DIY for quite some time but to be honest, I was kinda procrastinating. I have to be upfront and say that these are a bit tedious! BUT the finished result is gorgeous and oh-so-worth-it. However, if you don't feel like making these puppies yourself, I may start selling them on My Etsy at some point. They aren't terribly expensive to make though. Most of the things I needed to make them I already had on hand. If you see the prices on the materials below, just note that they came two and three to a pack so you can make more than one, which is what I did. So here's what you'll need:

• 1 Medium-Sized Gemstone Pendant for the center (It doesn't have to be a real gem, just any jewelry-making pendant that you like, with a loop already attached)

• 8 Feet of Leather or Faux-Leather Cording, Any color(s)

• Feathers made for jewelry making, as few or many as you want (Just make sure they're already crimped at the ends and have a metal loop for easy attatching)

• Approx. 7" Baling Wire (Or any sturdy wire that won't bend too easily, Any color -- It'll be covered up)

• Clear-drying Glue (I happened to have Fabric Adhesive but you can use anything else you have on hand)

• Wire Cutters

• Nylon Sewing Thread (Any color of your choosing; I would suggest coordinating it with the Leather Cording and Gemstone Pendant to make a color scheme)

• Pill Bottle or Small Drinking Cup, about 2" in diameter

• Medical Tape

• (Optional) Small Decorative Beads that can be threaded onto the spiderweb-like center

And that's it! Before we get started, just know that if I seem to be over-explaining things, I am! I do that for those who have a hard time putting words into actions. I'm a creative type, a visual-learner, so I try to include lots of pictures and make my instructions specific, for those of you who are also like me. :P Constructing the Base:

Step 1: Cut about 10" of wire off of the spool, just to make it easier to work with. Step 2: Straighten out the wire as best as you can.

Step 3: Wrap the wire around the pill bottle or cup. It should be overlapping.

Step 4: Slide the bottle or cup out of the wire ring. Use the wire cutters to cut where it overlaps. This will make sure that the ends line up.

Step 5: Cut the medical tape in about a 3/4" strip. Press the ends of the wire ring together to meet and then overlap a tiny bit. Wrap the strip of medical tape around tightly to secure it in place. This first piece of tape is the most important step. It's the foundation for a sturdy base. If you take this step lightly, it may come undone and you'll have to start over in the middle of the project like I did! :X

Step 6: Repeat Step 5 until the entire ring is evenly covered in medical tape.

Step 7: Set the ring aside. Wrap all but about 15" of the leather cord loosely around two of your fingers and use a safety pin or something similar like a bobby pin to hold it in a bundle. You can also just tie it with the end to keep it in place if you don't have anything else. It's an optional step, but it makes the next steps a lot easier. Also, you'll need to redo this periodically as you use up the cord.

Step 8: Cut a small strip of medical tape and use it to secure the "non-bundled" end of leather cord to the ring, starting anywhere on the ring.

Then, start wrapping the leather cord around it. It works best if you don't overlap the cord on itself.

You can probably tell by the orange on the medical tape that I had to redo this.

If there are any gaps in the cording, just use your fingernail to squish them together. Otherwise, just keep wrapping until right before you get to the halfway point -- across from where you started. In the picture below, mine is about four "wraps" too many. The reason we won't stop at the exact halfway point is because we want the next step to be directly across from the "chain" that will attach the ring to your neck, and the chain will take up about three "wraps" of space. If you don't understand this yet, it's okay. You'll see what I mean later.

Step 9: Undo the bundle of excess cord and thread the loop-end of the feathers onto the cord. Pull it all the way to the bottom of the half-wrapped ring, to your stopping point in Step 8. You can use a paperweight or something heavy like the spool of wire to hold the ring down to keep the leather cord in place if you need to use both hands to do this, or if you need to take a break.

Step 10: Rebundle the excess cording. Continue wrapping it around the ring until you reach the beginning, but stop three "wraps" before it's completely wrapped. This is the space I was talking about in Step 8. We'll cover it up with the "chain" later.

Check for gaps and if there are any, use your fingernail to close them.

Step 11: To tie off the leather cording and keep it from unravelling later, pretend like you're going to wrap it one more time.

But instead, hold onto a loop of cord with one hand (pictured below on the left), and then push the bundle of excess cord through the middle of the ring, while still holding onto the loop...

Then, pull the bundle up through the loop.

Keep pulling on the bundle of cord until this happens:

Make sure this stays at the end of wrapping, still leaving a gap of medical tape peeking through about three "wraps" worth. Pull the cord back and forth to make sure it's really tight. When you're sure that it won't come loose, snip away the excess while leaving about an 1/8" which we will tuck under the chain later. Set the rest of the leather cord aside for later.

Weaving the Web:

With the nylon thread we will be weaving exactly four hexagons (six-sided shapes) within one another, inside the ring to form the web. The 6 arrows pictured above indicate where the thread will form each "corner" of the first and third hexagon. Make note of their positions. I will refer to this as Position 1. Step 1: To form the first hexagon, cut a piece of thread about 15" long.

Starting on the left side of the exposed medical tape, wedge one end of the thread (leaving about an 1 1/2" of thread to spare) between the gap in the leather cord, where the arrow indicates in Position 1.

Make a loop with the thread and double-knot it. Make sure it's really tight and won't change positions.

Take the longer end of the thread and moving clockwise to the arrow that is on the other side of where the medical tape is exposed, wedge it in between the gap in the cord where the arrow indicates, just like before. Do not move entirely across the ring, just to the one adjacent. Pull tightly to create a lot of tension with the thread and double-knot it. The tension in this particular step is also very important in order to make sure the next three hexagons hold their shape. Just be careful that you don't pull too hard and bend the wire ring. If you do, snip the thread, carefully bend the ring back into a circle, and redo the last steps.

You're basically going to keep doing this, moving clockwise, following the arrows until you reach the beginning. It can get kinda confusing to do and explain later on, when you start getting more and more thread going, so here's a close-up in case you're already confused by the tying part. Wedge:

Loop it through the "small part". Then tie it in a plain old knot, with itself. Make sure to do this twice to double-knot it.

Once you get 5 of first hexagon's corners done, you'll almost be back at the beginning. This is where you will tie the beginning thread with the longer one (the side you've been working with) and double knot it. Then, trim the excess thread. Like this:

Now we're done with the first hexagon. You can already see the Dreamcatcher beginning to take shape. Now we'll start on the second hexagon. This will be virtually the same process of wedging and tying, just at a different arrow position -- referred to as Position 2. Position 2 will be for this hexagon as well as for the 4th (last) hexagon. But instead of tying the thread to the ring itself, this time and here on out we will be tying it onto the previous hexagon, halfway between the corners. That's why the positions alternate.

Step 2: Starting at the top of the first hexagon in the middle, tie the thread in a double-knot, leaving about 1 1/2" of thread on the short end like before. Add a small dot of glue on top of the knot to help keep it in place.

Again, moving clockwise, using the long end of the thread, tie between the corners of the previous hexgaon where the arrow indicates in Position 2, creating tension. Be careful not to move the first knot. Pinching it between your fingers while doing this will help.

Another dot of glue, and continue this process until you get back to the beginning. And like with the first hexagon, tie the ends together, glue, and snip the excess. *If you wanted to add those optional small decorative beads, you can add them on this and/or the next three hexagons. Just thread them on between random knots.

Step 3: The next (3rd) hexagon you will tie the first double-knot in the same place as the first (Position 1), except before tying the second double-knot, you will thread the gemstone pendant onto the thread.

To make the gemstone to sit between the first and second knot, estimate the amount of space that will be halfway between and double-knot it there. Add a small drop of glue. If the thread supporting the pendant doesn't have enough tension to hold it up, you can move the knots on either side of it to create it.

Otherwise, continue double-knotting the rest of the third hexagon until you get back to the beginning. Tie the ends, glue, and trim excess.

Step 4: For the last hexagon, using the arrows in Position 2 for reference, tie your first double-knot.

Then, because the loop of the gemstone is sitting where we would normally tie the second double-knot, you must now make a knot using said loop. Do this by threading the thread into the gemstone's loop and then up and around the middle of the 3rd hexagon's edge. You're basically going over the knot that holds the gemstone onto the Dreamcatcher.

Double-knot it, then continue making knots in a clockwise position until you reach the end. Another important note, because this hexagon is the smallest one, make sure that the gemstone is facing forward on the correct side of the web before finishing it.

A dot of glue and trim.

Now that the Dreamcatcher part itself is complete, all that's left to do is... Attaching the Chain: Step 1: Measure out 38 1/2" of that excess leather cord from before. Or if you want, you can use a different color like I am.

Fold the cord in half but hold onto the loop end.

Like this:

Step 2: With the right-side facing away from you, from the back, put the loop of leather cord through the small part of the Dreamcatcher where the medical tape is exposed.

Pull the cut-end of the leather cord through the loop until it's tight against the Dreamcatcher. Make sure to tuck in that tiny bit of cord that's sticking out from wrapping the ring.

When you flip it over, it should look like this from the front:

Step 3: Double-knot the leather cord directly above the Dreamcatcher. This will help keep it facing the front when worn.

Step 4: Finish your Dreamcatcher necklace either by tying the cut-ends of the leather cord together, or by tying each to a clasp and loop.

You can use any kind you want. On a different Dreamcatcher Necklace, I used a Lobster Claw clasp, but it's really not necessary since the chain is long enough to put over your head.

And there it is! Your very own Dreamcatcher Necklace.

Now, next time you go to a Farmer's Market or a little mom-and-pop boutique and see jewelry like this for sale and the price is $25 or $30, and gasp because the price seems outrageous, just remember all the love that you put into making this and know that the price is worth it, because it's a part of your time and their time that is devoted to making something special. It's not mass-produced in a factory by people who don't get paid enough for their jobs to be considered humane.

And time is precious no matter how little because you can never get it back. These make great gifts, too, because it's like saying, here is a part of my life that I am giving to you. Something I can never get back, but I want you to have it because I think you're worth it. Just like this knowledge I share with you. It's my gift so I hope you treasure it and pay it forward. Thanks again for reading! :)

~Leggy Jane

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