Christmas Spider Tutorial

There are many stories about the Christmas Spider; the most popular being something like this story about why we use tinsel, or this one. Here's a page about the origins of the legends.


Here's what you need for this project:

Ruler
Needle nose pliers
Wire cutters
Round nose pliers (if available)







Craft wire (22 gauge)
1 Large bead
1 Medium bead
1 Small bead
Bugle beads





Body:

1. Cut 5 lengths of wire about 4 inches in length.

2. String the small bead onto the middle of 1 length of wire.

3. Wrap the wire around the top of the bead until the ends are pointing in opposite directions from where they started.

4. Using the needle nose pliers, bend both ends of the wire 90 degrees till they are parallel with each other.

5. String the large and medium beads onto BOTH ends of the wire.

6. Bend the ends of the wire up to form a "V", without making the beads too tight together.

7. String one bugle bead onto each end of the wire.

8. Using the wire cutters, trim the wire to about 1/2 inch from the end of the bugle bead.

9. Using the round nose pliers, bend the ends of the wire into small loops, or use the needle nose pliers to bend the wire back over the bugle bead.

Legs:

1. Hold the 4 remaining lengths of wire together, find the center & firmly wrap them around the wire between the large and medium beads.

2. String bugle beads onto one of the 8 legs until there is about 1/2 inch of wire left (about 7 or 8 beads).

3. Using either the round or needle nose pliers, bend the end of the wire into a loop or over the last bead to secure.

4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 (using the same number bugle beads on each leg & trimming wire as needed) until all 8 legs are finished.

5. Bend the legs so your spider can stand!

Optionally, you can tie some fishing wire around the body to hang it from the ceiling or a tree limb.

A handsome Christmas Spider! No Christmas decor is complete without one!

Enjoy!

I love to have feedback, so let me know your thoughts. :o)