How to Make a Dream Catcher 1. Using 2 - 6 ft. of soaked willow (or grapevine), carefully bend the vine around to form a circle with a 3 - 8 in. diameter. You decide on the diameter, but traditionally dream catchers are no 2. Twist the piece you are bending, around the circle you have made to strengthen the vine hoop. 3. Use 4-16 ft. of strong but thin string (the length is determined by the diameter of the hoop). Knot a loop in one end from which you will hang your dream catcher when it is done. 4. Tie the hanging loop around the top of your dream catcher (or at the weakest point of your hoop). 5. The dream catcher repeats the same stitch from start to finish. To start, hold the string and place it loosely over the top of the hoop. Move the string around to the back of the hoop (forming a hole) and pull the string back through the hole you just made. 6. Pull each stitch taught but not too tight or it will warp the hoop of the dream catcher and it will not lie flat when it is done. 7. Continue the same stitch for the first round around the hoop of the dream catcher. Space the stitches evenly, about 1 1/2 to 2 in. apart (making 7 to 13 stitches around the hoop). 8. The last stitch of the first round should be placed about a half inch away from the the hanging loop. Stitch for the second round: 9. On the second and subsequent stitching rounds, place the string around the center of each stitch from the previous round (rather than around the hoop). 10. As you pull each stitch tight, the string from the previous round should bend towards the center of the hoop slightly, forming a diamond shape. You should see the spider web beginning to form. 11. On the third or fourth round add a bead to represent the spider in the web. Simply place the bead on your string and continue stitching as usual. 12. Continue stitching towards the center of the hoop. Eventually, the stitches become so small that it is difficult to pass the string through. Make sure you leave a hole in the center of the dream catcher. 13. Stop stitching at the bottom of the hole in the center of the dream catcher. End by stitching twice in the same place, forming a knot, and pull tight. 14. You should have 6 - 8 in. of string to tie 2 or 3 feathers which dangle from the center of the dream catcher. Tie on 2 or 3 feathers and knot. 15. Wrap a 1 in. square of felt around the knot of string and over the base of the feathers. Tie two 4 In. pieces string around the wrapped felt. (Your dream catcher is now complete)

Shadow of a Dream"

"Long ago when the world was young, an old man sat on a high mountain and had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and teacher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred language that only the old man could understand. 

As he spoke, Iktomi the spider took the elder's willow hoop which had feathers, horse hairs, beads and offerings on it and began to spin a web. He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life.... how we begin our lives as infants and we move on to childhood, and then to adulthood. 

Finally,  we go to old age where we must be taken care of as infants, completing the cycle. Iktomi said, "In each time of life there are many forces and different directions that can help or interfere with the harmony of nature, and also with the Great Spirit and all of his wonderful teachings." Iktomi gave the web to the Lakota elder and said, "See, the web is a perfect circle but there is a hole in the center of the circle. If you believe in the Great Spirit, the web will catch your good dreams and ideas - - and the bad ones will go through the hole. Use the web to help yourself and your people to reach your goals and make good use of your people's ideas, dreams and visions." 

The elder passed on his vision to his people and even today, many of us use the dreamcatcher as the web of our life. It is hung above our beds or in the home to sift dreams and visions. The good of our dreams are captured in the web of life and carried with them...but any bad dreams escape through the center hole." 

It's said that the dream catcher holds the destiny of the future.