And if so, you could invite only pleasant dreams ... and you would be protected against nightmares? For a long time, tribal Indians from North America believed that this is possible thanks to the use of an amulet in the form of a dreamcatcher. It was credited with the secret power of protection against bad dreams, as well as any negative powers.
A typical dreamcatcher is a hanging ornament, consisting of a woven net in a circle and freely hanging feathers, beads or ribbons. Each part of the catcher has its own function. It was believed that the amulet hung over the bed was supposed to protect the sleeper from nightmares. Bad dreams were to be filtered through the catcher's net, and then, along with the first rays of the sun, flow down freely on the feathers and become non-existent. According to some beliefs, catchers are also supposed to help in remembering dreams and even become a shield, protecting the household from all evil that would cross the threshold of the house (that's why some hang them at the entrance). It is also said that the round ring of the dream catcher symbolizes the closed circle of life, the Earth, four sides of the world. The network is to be the equivalent of family ties, blood connections, unity in a group of closest people.
Source: fit-joga
In addition to functionality (who knows, maybe it really works? ;) ) I really like the look of the dreamcatchers and some time ago I decided to make my first dreamcatcher.
For this purpose, I bought a lot of colorful embroidery floss, beads, feathers, a metal hoop (but you can also use a thick wire, or as I learned later - an old hanger). There are many ideas for the rim. It can also be made from twigs, both hard (connected with a string) or flexible, which can be formed into a circle.
The process of creating a dreamcatcher was as follows. First, I surrounded the metal rim with black embroidery floss. Then I created a pattern inside the catcher. It is quite easy to do. We tie a loop in one place, then choose a distance and measure it with a piece of embroidery floss (remembering how many sides the pattern we want to create, you can mark the number of sides with a pencil in advance). After imagining a decagon, or other figure that we have in mind, we create a loop in the middle of the first side from which we started and repeat the cycle until we get inside. If my description is difficult to understand, I recommend youtube videos where you can see how to do it, e.g. the one by Emilie Lefler:
You can put a bead or something else inside the catcher, depending on the idea. The next step is to create hanging elements with feathers. I wondered how to attach the feathers so that they would not fall off. At the beginning I thought about solid adhesives Super Glue, but they did not work. These glues damaged the tips of the feathers, covered them with a strange color. The magic glue turned out to be the best. It was much safer than the previously mentioned adhesives and had a convenient applicator.
This is the final effect. I'm happy with him. However, next time I am going to make a more natural dreamcatcher, in earth tones - brown, combined with blue. I also want to use more natural elements, i.e. twigs, cones, etc.
Have you ever made dream catchers? What do you think about them? If you have yours, I encourage you to share their photos in the comments :)
// This post is taking part in the Photo Friday competition.