I originally designed this spider as a best friend for Nellie the Pig. She was made of light grey felt with a friendly smiling face - not scary at all. It's the perfect little spider to send up the water spout when you're singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider with a group of preschoolers. :-) I named her Aranea after one of Charlotte's daughters who decided to stay behind with Wilbur.

However - I decided that a spider pattern just wouldn't be right without a slightly spookier version. I wanted to show you another version that would be perfect for Halloween decorations - something you could scatter around a table. :-) This version skips the embroidered face and uses Licorice felt for a slightly-hairy-looking, almost-black spider.  This is definitely NOT the spider to use with your preschool class. It's surprisingly realistic looking! Jo suggested adding a hair clip to the bottom of the body for a spooky barrette. :-)

You Get. . .

• A digital pattern delivered by email. (If you're not sure what a PDF pattern is, you'll find more info here.)
• A full-sized pattern – no enlarging needed.
• Detailed instructions with lots and lots of step-by-step photos. You’ll never feel lost or wonder if you’re doing things right.
• Links to videos teaching you every skill you’ll need to make your own spider – from embroidering the face to whipstitching the pieces together. You can totally do this! It’s a workshop in a pattern!

Size

So how big is the Not-So-Itsy-Bitsy spider? Not HUGE. With the legs all bent up as shown it's about 3 1/3 inches across. That will pretty much fill up the palm of an adult's hand.

Difficulty

Super easy! This spider uses just two super simple stitches to make – whipstitch and backstitch. And if you skip the face it's only whipstitch! Those stitches are so easy I teach them to kids as young as six.

Seriously – cutting the pieces out is harder than sewing this guy up. You can do it!

You’ll need. . .

• 1/4 sheet wool felt for the body (I used Smoky Marble for the friendly spider and Licorice for the spooky one)
• a pipecleaner
• black embroidery thread for the face (optional)
• matching embroidery thread for the felt (I used DMC #535 to match the Smoky Marble and DMC #3799 to match the Licorice)
• a tiny pinch of polyester fiberfill (you can use a cotton ball instead)

You might also want. . .

• freezer paper (optional, but recommended)