A dreamcatcher prick and stitch design has been added to the pattern collection at Stitching Cards. The design is inspired by the traditional handmade Native American object. The dream catcher consists of a willow hoop, on which is woven a loose net or web. It is then decorated with personal and sacred items such as feathers and beads.
The dream-catcher is often hung above a bed as a charm to protect sleeping children from nightmares by trapping bad dreams.
Dreamcatchers are said to have originated in the Ojibwa Nation during the 1960s and 1970s and have since been adopted by Native Americans of a number of different Nations.
The Ojibwa construct dreamcatchers by tying sinew strands in a web around a small round or tear-shaped willow frame. This construction method is quite similar to their method for making snowshoe webbing.
The resulting “dream-catcher” is said to protect sleeping children from nightmares. Terri J. Andrews, author of “Living by the Dream” wrote that the Ojibwa believe that “Only good dreams would be allowed to filter through . . . Bad dreams would stay in the net, disappearing with the light of day. Good dreams would pass through and slide down the feathers to the sleeper.”