Making a Rattle is quite simple, and requires only a small amount of very easily acquired materials.
As a Rattle of some kind is needed by students of 'SHAMANAN', and by most people working within Shamanism, I've written this article so that those whom want to undertake this kind of project can do so.
The instructions I've given are very 'Blue Peterish', and don't include any kind of ritual approach or framework. From this you can simply take this basic methodology and expand and enrich it to suit your own predilections, and set it all into whatever ritual framework you favour. For instance, a piece of wild wood gathered under ritual circumstances is far preferable to a sawn off piece of broom handle, but using the broom handle for your first effort will give you the confidence to use sacred materials when you choose to do so.
Apart from that, if you make a Rattle according to these instructions, no matter the materials you use, you will have a good serviceable Rattle to use while you do gather materials to make a better one.
MATERIALS
You will need the following basic materials to complete this project, but obviously if you wish to decorate your Rattle you will need various additional materials to do so. We will look at decoration at the end of this article.
Rawhide
Cord
Fine sand
Stick of approx.' 11" length and 1" dia'.
Araldite glue. (optional)
Strong thread
Pebbles to put inside the Rattle

The simplest available source of Rawhide is from dog chews sold in pet shops. These are made from small sheets of raw hide left over from the leather industry. Obviously this is an animal product that you may not like to use, so you will need to decide this for yourself.
For the cord buy piping cord from a Haberdashery shop in a colour that you like if possible, so that it can form part of the decoration of the piece. Half a yard/metre is sufficient.
Fine sand can be bought from DIY shops, or from aquarium or pet shops. You will need sufficient to fill a pint measure.
The stick can be wild wood of the appropriate size, a piece of dowel from a DIY shop, or even a piece sawn from a broom handle.
Araldite glue can be used to fix the rawhide head to the handle, but if you wish to avoid artificial aides, simply ensure that at the appropriate stage, you bind the head as tightly as possible. We'll return to this further on.
Pebbles to put inside the head will need to be acquired from a beach, or again from an aquarium shop. It is possible to use dried peas, lentils or similar, but they don't really yield a strong enough sound, and do break down over a period of time so that gradually the sound from the rattle becomes muted.

THE MAKING
Take your rawhide, soak it in cold water until it becomes floppy, then lay it out flat somewhere to dry sufficient to be able to draw on it with a pencil.
Put these shapes back into the water to soak.
Take your handle and shape it as shown in the diagram. Use a craft knife for this, and sand it down if you want a fully smooth finish.
You could varnish or wax it at this point if you aren't going to carve it or decorate it.
Now take your two rawhide shapes from the water and sew them together, edge to edge. Don't sew up the neck- the narrow end, as that is where the handle will go, and in through which you will stuff the sand shortly to shape the head. Use a good strong thread for this- either waxed cobblers thread, or strong button thread. These can be bought from Woolworth's or cobblers shops, and usually come with strong needles in a kit. You might need to use a thimble and pliers to get the needle through the rawhide. If this takes a while and the rawhide begins to dry out, simply put it back into the water for a while till it becomes floppy again.
Once you have the head sewn together, it has become a bag with a narrow opening like a balloon. Use a spoon to pour sand into the head, and a stick or some other tool with a rounded end, such as a screwdriver handle, to stuff the sand into the head and force it to 'inflate'. As you do so it will form into the shape that you need, and if it bulges anywhere, simply squeeze it into shape with your fingers. Stuff sand into the head until it is properly shaped, then stand it neck uppermost somewhere warm to dry out. Ensure that the rawhide head is supported so that the sand doesn't fall out, and leave it to dry.
Once it is sufficiently hard and dry so that you can pour the sand out, and the head remains firm and hard, do so.
Put pebbles into the head, insert your thumb into the hole to keep the pebbles in, and experiment with shaking the Rattle to hear what sound it makes. Try different amounts till you have a sound that you feel is right. Pour these pebbles out and keep them to one side ready for use.
Stand the head in a cup of water, so that only the neck is in the water as you want to make the neck flexible, but not soak the rest of the head and deform its shape. Once the neck is sufficiently flexible to be pliable, put your saved pebbles back in, then put the head-neck over the handle.
You'll see that the handle is cunningly shaped so that once the neck of the rattle head dries hard it should stay firmly in place on the handle, but if you are in doubt, apply araldite to the join.
Whether you use glue or not is optional, but once the head is on the handle, and while it's still wet, bind the cord around the neck as tightly as you can. This will help hold it all together. You could use strips of wet rawhide for this; cut from your original sheet; and they will actually work better than cord as they tighten as they dry. Wet rawhide is though slippery and difficult to grip, so perhaps you'd like to experiment with this.
Put your Rattle somewhere to dry for a couple of day, and then put it into a paper bag, hold the handle and give it a good shake. Quite a lot of sand will stick inside the head from when you stuffed it, and despite all your best efforts will stay there, and only come out when you use the rattle for a while. It's best to get rid of this early, or sand in the carpet will cause negative energy with your vacuum cleaner!

That very simply is it. Some hints now.

If you put paper templates for the rattle head onto wet rawhide they'll tear easily, so I advise making templates from either thin plywood or plastic to use. The side of a large plastic milk carton should be big enough to make a plastic template from, and which you can use at a future date if you wish to make more rattles. The lid from a large margarine tub would also be about the right size.
Sew the Rattle head together as tightly as possible, and double sew it for extra security- as the head dries a lot of pressure will be put on the thread. It might snap, or the head pieces will pull apart to leave gaps if you sew loosely. An alternative to cobblers thread is embroidery silk. Which comes in all manner of colours for you to choose from.
Above all, be patient with the drying process. If you dry the head too quickly it might distort, and so it's better to control the process rather than rushing it.
I find that pebbles about a quarter inch diameter are best. Smaller ones make more of a shushing sound, and larger ones yield too harsh a sound. Experiment.

DECORATION
For decorating the Rattle head, a wide range of paints can be used. Water based modelling paints are good, enamel paints are also usable. Simple bold designs will go on better than complex artwork, as rawhide will vary in its smoothness and absorption qualities quite a lot over a small area. If you commit yourself to a complex design and find that the paint runs badly in some places and soaks in at others, you will find yourself having to clean off and start over- much frustration and cursing will arise. Acrylic paints are good to use as they are fairly easily removed if things go astray.
Beads and such like can be bought from craft suppliers. If you use shells or similar materials, I advise gathering them yourself from a beach rather than buying from craft or souvenir shops as imported shells are often initially gathered to the extreme detriment of their original owners and location. Feathers also: Get out and about and gather feathers rather than buying them. Bear in mind in relation to decorations and 'dangles' on a Rattle, that at time you will be shaking it vigorously, and if you smother it with all manner of things they are likely to either be rapping your knuckles as you do so, or might fly off at inappropriate moments. Don't gild the lily- the single most important aspect of a Rattle is its sound and its effect on you, the energy fields around you, and how that all affects and interacts with your consciousness.