Enjoy making this hairy spider with your kids this Halloween weekend, courtesy of Making Simple Needle Felts by Steffi Stern. This project is suitable for young children as you don’t have to needle felt it. Use black pipe cleaners so it will not matter if a little bit of pipe cleaner remains uncovered by wool.
Hairy spider
YOU WILL NEED
- 2 × 30cm pipe cleaners (I used white extra-strong pipe cleaners)
- 5g black wool batts (I used dyed black New Zealand Merino but natural black Stonesheep works well too)
- Pair small scissors or pliers to cut wire
Optional:
- Foam mat
- Medium and fine felting needle
The spider I made here measures about 6× 6cm.
1. Cut your pipe cleaner lengths into four 7–8cm pieces then fasten them together by twisting them around each other in the middle. Only twist them round once and make sure that you end up with similar length legs.
2. Tear off a pinch of the black wool, tease it into thin strands and start wrapping the wool about 1cm in from the end of one leg, out towards the end. Then bend the end over (to make a foot) and continue wrapping the wool up towards the body. Make sure your wrapping is tight so that the wool ‘sticks’ to itself, and keep it flat like a ribbon (see Techniques p 21, for more details).
3. Wrap the end of the strand around the body, being mindful that each leg will have the ends of wool wrapped around the body so make sure you do not build up too much bulk. Tie the wispy ends of each strand tightly around the body so they fasten themselves into the wool or pipe cleaner. When each leg has been covered, bend the legs into shape.
Making Simple Needle Felts: 40 Inspiring Seasonal Projects
Steffi Stern
Steffi Stern brings her inimitable energy and enthusiasm to her second book after the success of Making Needle Felted Animals. Here is a back-to-basics guide to making needle-felted objects. Read more…
