Earrings with Crystal Passions® Beads and Turquoise Beads
Hover over to zoom.
Design Idea 8237
Dream Catcher Earrings
-- Designer --
Esther, Jewelry Designer, Exclusively for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®
To learn more about Esther Pollock, read her jewelry artist success story here.
: : : Materials : : :
Please take the creative opportunity to select the products of your choice for this design, offered here at Fire Mountain Gems and Beads.
Instructions
In the Native American tradition, stories are told about the night air being filled with dreams, both good and bad. The dream catcher is a gift from the spider and the willow tree. Dream catchers were often given to a child at birth for protection from bad dreams. It was hung above where one slept. The bad dreams would get caught in the web. The bad dreams become trapped in the beads and the good dreams flow through the center of the web into you as you sleep. In the morning, when the sun came up, the bad dreams were destroyed.
The hoops we are using have evenly spaced notches, which makes the knotting process easier. However, you must deal with the fact that the top of the hoop has a loop rather than a notch. If desired, hang a dangle on a headpin from this loop.
Step 1
Cut a piece of cord 2 feet long. Leaving a 2-inch tail, tie one end to the left of the loop at the top of the hoop with a half-hitch knot. The challenge is to keep the thread very tight at all times, so place a left-hand finger on the knot to keep it from sliding as you go to the next step. If you're left-handed, reverse the directions.
Step 2
Keeping the cord inside the hoop, bring it to the first notch on the right-hand side of the hoop by carrying it from back to front over the rim. Go down through the hoop on the inside of the space created by the cord.
Step 3
Place your finger on the knot in the first notch to keep it from sliding and knot around the next notch. Continue around the circle, always shifting your finger to hold the last knot. After the last notch, tie the thread on the right-hand side of the hoop just past the loop. Make a secure knot by tying the working thread to the tail.
Step 4 - Starting the second row in the hoop
For an even pattern, you need to start the second row from the middle of the first stitch. Loop around the thread of the stitch two times to bring you to the middle of the stitch. Continue around the circle, tying each stitch around the middle of the next stitch on the previous row.
Step 5
After making the last stitch of row 2, tie the next stitch to the middle of the first row 1 stitch (where you wrapped twice). From here on, continue around the circle, always tying your next stitch to the middle of the next stitch on the previous row.
Step 6
Continue around until there's only a small circle in the middle of the hoop and tie a knot to secure the web. You can add beads to the cord tails or glue the knots with Hypo Tube Cement and cut off the tails Some people tie a feather in the middle to help the good dreams glide gently down to the dreamer. Experiment and have fun!
Have a question regarding this project? Email Customer Service.
Copyright Permissions
The pieces featured in the Gallery of Designs are copyrighted designs and are provided for inspiration only. We encourage you to substitute different colors, products and techniques to make the design your own.
All works of authorship (articles, videos, tutorials and other creative works) are from the Fire Mountain Gems and Beads® Collection, and permission to copy is granted for non-commercial educational purposes only. All other reproduction requires written permission. For more information, please email copyrightpermission@firemtn.com.
