Mikanakawa Native American Village - Circle Ten Council

Directions:Remove any twigs from sticks. Use sandpaper to smooth anyrough spots. For a diamond God’s eye, use sticks of unequallength; for a square one, use sticks of equal length.Cut off a piece of yarn about the length of one of the sticks.Cross the sticks and bind them together tightly with the yarn.Crisscross the yarn over the sticks several times (as shown).Tie a knot to hold them firmly in place. Snip off the looseyarn.Take the ball of yarn and knot the loose end onto one of thecrossbars close to the center of the sticks. Now pull the strandof yarn over the next crossbar; circle back underneath andthen over the top again. Pull the strand over the third crossbarand do the same. Continue wrapping each crossbar andmoving on to the next, always working in the same direction.The yarn will stretch between the crossbars and create thedesign.To change to another color, snip the strand leaving a 1” endpiece. Tuck the small piece through the last wrap on thecrossbar and pull tightly. Snip off the loose end. Tie on anew color and begin wrapping.Continue wrapping and changing colors until the crossbars are completely covered. Or leavethe ends of the crossbars bare, tie a piece of yarn onto each, and cover each one separatelywith wrapped yarn. When each is wrapped, snip off the strand, tuck the end piece into thelast wrap, pull tightly and snip again.Glue a small mirror or foil disk over the center of the cross.Make tassels for the ends of the horizontal crossbars by wrapping yarn loosely around yourfingers 5 or 6 times. Slip a small piece of yarn through the top of the loops and tie it tightly.Snip the bottom of the loops. Then tie the tassels onto the crossbars. Small feathers can betied to the tassels with yarn, or fluffy feathers can be glued to the ends of the crossbars.Tie a small yarn loop to the top of the God’s eye to hang it.