Make a Dreamcatcher with Different Motifs

 

The Dreamcatcher shown above was made by crocheting different motifs and joining them together to fit inside the hoop. Then the joined motifs are attached to the hoop using yarn and a yarn needle. Below I describe how I made this dreamcatcher. You can modify and use different motifs to fit the hoop you are using or to make the size you want.

For this dreamcatcher I used motifs from MOD Zhurnal crochet magazine. I have several of these magazines from http://www.duplet-crochet.com/ and they are an amazing resource.  This is the magazine that I used.

These two pages, I have marked in yellow the motifs that I used for my dreamcatcher. The hoop I am using is 12 inches in diameter and the yarn I use is fingering weight yarn and the hook I used is 3-3.5mm. I used a total of 5 motifs that fit in my hoop.

Here are the motifs arranged inside the hoop. I try to make an arrangement that is interesting to look at, dynamic and not symmetrical. There are some spaces or gaps where it may be possible to add smaller motifs. I decided not to sue smaller motifs and thought that I could fill in some spaces by crocheting inside these spaced. The lay-out also does not have to be completely circular. I think it is more interesting this way.

 

After determining the arrangement, I need to decide where I should start crocheting to join and fill in the gaps between the motifs and in what direction. My goal was to crochet as many of the motifs together in one go. When many of the motifs are joined, the entire arrangement becomes more stabilized and it is easier to work in the rest of the spaces and the rest of the points that need to be joined.

In the photo below I have started crocheting using yellow yarn. I decided that if I crochet along that leaves motif, I could join 4 motifs in one go. The red lines indicate the points that I think joins can be made. 

Below I continue crocheting along the top edge of the leaves motif, joining the flower motifs as I go. As you can see, 4 out of 5 motifs are already joined together. This stabilizes the piece better and makes it easier to continue working. There is a big gap along the leaves motif between the pink and the white flower motifs. But I don't let that bother me. I can go back and change it or I can continue working and repair areas which don't look good later with a yarn and needle.

Some people crochet motifs together by pinning them first on a surface such as a stiff fabric or a board or wood or styro-board. However, I am too lazy to do that. Instead, I pick up the pieces and crochet as usual, joining the first two motifs, then lay down the piece, see which points need to be joined and how far they are (so I can decide what stitches to use), remember those points and distances, then pick up the motifs and work again. I work faster this way, by just looking at the pieces, deciding where to join, remembering that as I continue crocheting. For some people, it might be easier to pin the motifs first. Try and see what works best for you.

Below, I have started to go around the lower edge of the leaves motif and have now joined the 5th motif to it. All the motifs are now joined together. So it is just a matter of filling in all the gaps.

Notice below that as I progressed with my work, I decided to make the leaves motif into an S curve and not a simple U curve. When crocheting this way, remember that nothing is cast in stone and the fun part is in making various design decisions along the way.

Also, bear in mind that you can cut the yarn and continue working in another area. You don't have to work with the yarn joined all the time! This way, anything is possible with crochet!

Below, all the motifs are joined, stabilized and some gaps filled in. The next step is to fill in more gaps at the sides so I can attach the motifs to the hoop. I want to use a different colour for this.

I selected blue and red for filling in colours. Below are photos showing the areas where I work in these colours. I don't have to fill in completely nor do I need to attach to the hoop right away.

Here is the piece so far, with the red and blue areas filled in. I am happy with this and I don't need to worry about irregular edges because I can stretch edges as needed once I start attaching the piece to the hoop.

Here, below I started attaching the piece to the hoop using two strands of white crochet cotton thread size 10 and a large needle. I don't need to work all around the piece in regular fashion. What matters is that the piece is stretched appropriately so the design looks good and the piece is secure.

The red areas, I decided to attach to the hoop with the same red yarn and leave tassels to decorate. Below is a close view of the red area with tassels attached to the hoop. I used yarn and needle to make this.

And here's the finished dreamcatcher. I am happy with it and it's a great design and mental exercise. I hope you will find some time to try working in this manner. Enjoy crocheting! I hope you are doing well.