Blogger / 6 July, 2026 / Nanny Anita

Pony Bead Sun Catcher

It has been a while since I have done a craft or activity that is aimed at older ones.  That’s what happens when you only have one toddler to look after.  Over the last bank holiday weekend, I took some time to do this pony bead sun catcher, which I think would be a fun summer craft.  Reminds me of something you might do at summer camp.

Make sure you follow my crafts board on Pinterest for more ideas.  Don’t forget to save the pin for later.

To make this pony bead sun catcher you will need:

• Pony beads
• String
• Straw or stick
• Piece of paper
• Coloured pencils to match the pony beads (optional)
• Scissors

First off, you need to decide how big you want this to be.  Then you need to make a grid on your piece of paper that will be the size of your finished sun catcher.

Use that grid to plan out your pattern for the sun catcher.  For younger children they could simply thread them straight onto the string if they don’t want to plan it out or if they find it too hard to do.

When that is finished, cut enough strings for each strand.  Make sure that you leave enough string at the top and bottom to tie things off and create a tassel.

Although the threading part is easy, making sure that the knots are all at the same place on each string is time consuming.  When you have that sorted thread the beads on to each string column by column.  After I had done each column, I tied a loose knot at the top of each string to prevent any of the beads coming off.

The next time-consuming part is tying each string to your straw or stick.  You want them to all hang at the same level so that your pattern comes out.  I tied mine using a clove hitch knot and then dapped each knot with some glue to prevent them from coming undone.  The final thing I did to each string was to unwrap the string under the knot at the bottom to create a tassel.

Finally add some string to your stick/straw to create a loop that you can use to hand it up with.

This was a fun craft to do to keep me from doom scrolling on Instagram.  I enjoyed it so much I actually made two.

If you enjoyed this pony bead sun catcher, be sure to check out my how to make a morsbag, God’s eye craft, and acrylic sun printed t-shirts.

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