You might think that the Spider Hand Puppet pattern was inspired by the upcoming Halloween. You would be wrong. I actually don’t like Halloween at all. I guess, in that regard, I don’t fit in all that well with the artistic community. 🙂 Everywhere I look on Instagram right now, people are doing so many creative Halloween things! I’m over here getting ready for Christmas! haha But we can still be friends!!
This spider was actually inspired by my recent reading of Charlotte’s Web. I actually don’t like spiders any more than I like Halloween. Yet somehow, E.B. White made me feel real emotions for this unlikely hero. That must be the mark of a great writer!
While this story is not yet in the public domain, no one can really lay claim to classic farm animals and bugs! So you can pair this pattern up with the Pig Hand Puppet from The Three Little Pigs, and have yourself a little Charlotte’s Web puppet show.
If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the Spider Hand Puppet Pattern, you can find the design in my Ravelry or Etsy shops! If you prefer to use the free blog copy below, I still appreciate you being here! And another great way to support my blog is simply by sharing! Thank you for supporting my business!
Materials:
Worsted Weight Yarn:
Red Heart Super Saver, Black (A) – approximately 140 yds
Red Heart Super Saver, White (B) – approximately 16 yds
Crochet Hook, size H – 5mm
Stitch marker
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Terms and abbreviations to know:
magic ring
rnd, rnds – round, rounds
st, sts – stitch, stitches
ch, chs – chain, chains
sl st – slip stitch
sk – skip
sc – single crochet
hdc – half double crochet
dc – double crochet
inc – increase, 2 sc sts in same st
invsc2tog – invisible single crochet 2 together; this is essentially a decrease, but done in such a way as to make the continuous stitching smoother, and the decrease not as noticeable.
- Insert hook into front loop only of next stitch, DO NOT yarn over.
- Insert hook into front loop of second stitch.
- Yarn over. Pull through 2 loops.
- Yarn over and pull through last 2 loops.
Notes:
The body of the Spider Hand Puppet is worked from the top down, in the rnd, with no joining. The legs and eyes are made separately and sewn on.
Size: This is one size, fitting child through adult, but if you wish to make it smaller for a smaller child to play with, simply tighten the gauge or go down a hook size.
Gauge: 7 sts across and 7 rnds down = approximately 2 inches
Spider Hand Puppet
Body – beginning at the head, with black
Begin with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: inc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 3: (inc, sc in next st)6x; 18 sts
Rnd 4: (inc, sc in next 2 sts)6x; 24 sts
Rnd 5: (3 inc, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnds 6-14: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 15: (3 invsctog, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 24 sts
Change colors here if you want the body of the spider to be a different color. Otherwise, just continue in black. I made the body of one of them gray here, inspired by the description of Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web. 🙂
Rnd 16: (3 inc, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnd 17: (ch 7, sk next 4 sts, sc in next 11 sts)2x; 36 sts, counting the chs
Rnd 18: (sc into each of the 7 chs, sc in next 11 sts)2x; 36 sts
Rnds 19-24: sc in each st around; 36 sts
Rnd 25: (3 invsc2tog, sc in next 12 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnds 26-29: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 30: sc in next 2 sts, invsc2tog, sc in next 13 sts, invsc2tog, sc in next 11 sts; 28 sts
Rnd 31: sc in next 2 sts, invsc2tog, sc in next 12 sts, invsc2tog, sc in next 10 sts; 26 sts
Rnd 32: sc in next 2 sts, invsc2tog, sc in next 11 sts, invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts; 24 sts
Rnd 33: sc in next 16 sts, leave the rest unworked, and begin turning rows; 15 sts
Row 34: ch 1 and turn, sk first st, sc in next 10 sts, sk next st, sc in next st, leave the remaining sts unworked; 11 sts
Row 35: ch 1 and turn, sk first st, sc in next 8 sts, sk next st, sc in last st; 9 sts
Row 36: ch 1 and turn, sk first st, sc in next 6 sts, sk next st, sc in last st; 7 sts
Row 37: ch 1 and turn, sk first st, sc in next 4 sts, sk next st, sc in last st; 5 sts
Row 38: ch 1 and turn, sk first st, sc in next 2 sts, sk next st, sc in last st; 3 sts
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Top Legs, in black (For the arm holes they will be made a bit larger), in black – make 2
Note: It is easier to sew the eyes and fangs on first, before attaching all the legs!
Begin with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: sc 4 in magic ring; 4 sts
Rnd 2: inc, sc in next 3 sts; 5 sts
Rnd 3: inc, sc in next 4 sts; 6 sts
Rnd 4: sc in each st around; 6 sts
Rnd 5: 2 inc, sc in next st, invsc2tog, sc in last st; 7 sts
Rnd 6: sc in next st, inc, sc in next 2 sts, invsc2tog, sc in last st; 7 sts
Rnd 7: sc in next 2 sts, inc, sc in next 2 sts, invsc2tog; 7 sts
Rnd 8: sc in next 2 sts, 2 inc, sc in next st, invsc2tog; 8 sts
Rnd 9: sc in each st around; 8 sts
Rnd 10: sc in next 2 sts, 2 inc, sc in next 2 sts, invsc2tog; 9 sts
Rnd 11: sc in next 3 sts, 2 inc, sc in next 2 sts, invsc2tog; 10 sts
Rnd 12: sc in next 3 sts, 2 inc, sc in next 3 sts, invsc2tog; 11 sts
Rnd 13: sc in each st around; 11 sts
Rnd 14: sc in next 4 sts, 2 inc, sc in next 3 sts, invsc2tog; 12 sts
Rnd 15: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 16: sc in next 5 sts, inc, sc in next 4 sts, invsc2tog; 12 sts
Rnd 17: invsc2tog, sc in next 4 sts, inc, sc in next 5 sts; 12 sts
Sl st into the first st of the rnd to fasten off, and leave a long tail for sewing. Sew the arms into the arm holes with the legs bending downward. Weave in ends.
Side Legs, in black – make 6
Begin with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: sc 4 in magic ring; 4 sts
Rnd 2: inc, sc in next 3 sts; 5 sts
Rnd 3: inc, sc in next 4 sts; 6 sts
Rnd 4: sc in each st around; 6 sts
Rnd 5: 2 inc, sc in next st, invsc2tog, sc in last st; 7 sts
Rnd 6: sc in next st, inc, sc in next 2 sts, invsc2tog, sc in last st; 7 sts
Rnd 7: sc in next 2 sts, inc, sc in next 2 sts, invsc2tog; 7 sts
Rnd 8: sc in next 2 sts, 2 inc, sc in next st, invsc2tog; 8 sts
Rnd 9: sc in each st around; 8 sts
Rnd 10: sc in next 2 sts, 2 inc, sc in next 2 sts, invsc2tog; 9 sts
Rnds 11-12: sc in next 3 sts, inc, sc in next 3 sts, invsc2tog; 9 sts
Rnd 13: sc in next 4 sts, inc, sc in next 2 sts, invsc2tog; 9 sts
Rnds 14-15: invsc2tog, sc in next 3 sts, inc, sc in next 3 sts; 9 sts
Rnds 16-18: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the legs down, three to a side, below each arm, with the legs pointing downward. Weave in ends.
Eyes
You have options below! Listed from smallest to largest.
I have made many many different eye sizes for this pattern, in the hopes that one size and style might look right to me. The final outcome is obviously what I chose, but I am leaving all the different sizes here for you to choose from!
Tiny Round Eyes, in white (If you want all 8 eyes, makes 6 of these, and pair with 2 of the small round eyes.)
Rnd 1: 4 sc in magic ring; 4 sts
Pull to close, fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing, and weave in the beginning tail. With a small amount of black yarn, add the pupil by sewing it over a stitch about 2 times, and knot the black off in the back.
Sew them to the face and weave in ends. I centered the two small round eyes, and then sewed the tiny round eyes around them.
Small Round Eyes, in white (If you want all 8 eyes, make 2 of these and pair them with the 6 tiny eyes.)
Rnd 1: 6 hdc in magic ring; 6 sts
Pull to close, fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing, and weave in the beginning tail. With a small amount of black yarn, add the pupil by sewing it over a stitch about 3 times, and knot the black off in the back.
Sew them to the face and weave in ends. I centered the two small round eyes, and then sewed the tiny round eyes around them.
Small Oval Eyes, in white (Best with the 4-eyed option, paired with the medium oval eyes.) make 2
Begin with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: sc, hdc, 2 dc, hdc, sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Pull to close. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Weave in the beginning tail. With a small amount of black yarn, add the pupil by sewing it over a stitch 2 or 3 times, and knot the black off in the back.
Sew them onto the face and weave in ends. I centered the medium oval eyes low on the face, and then sewed the small oval eyes above and to the outside of each of them.
Medium Oval Eyes in, white (Best with the 4-eyed option, paired with the small oval eyes.) – make 2
Begin with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: ch 2, dc, 3 hdc, 2 dc, 3 hdc, dc, in magic ring; 10 sts
Pull to close. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Weave in the beginning tail. With a small amount of black yarn, add the pupil by sewing it over a stitch about 3 or 4 times, and knot the black off in the back.
Sew them onto the face and weave in ends. I centered the medium oval eyes low on the face, and then sewed the small oval eyes above and to the outside of each of them.
Large Oval Eyes, in white (Big enough to be by themselves for just 2 eyes.)
Begin with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: 2 sc, 2 hdc, dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc in magic ring, join with sl st to the first st; 9 sts
Rnd 2: ch 1, 2 sc in each of the next 2 sts, 2 hdc in each of the next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st, 2 hdc in each of the next 2 sts, 2 sc in each of the last 2 sts, join with sl st to the first st; 18 sts
Pull ring to close. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Weave in the beginning tail. With a small amount of black yarn, add the pupil by sewing it over a stitch about 4 to 5 times, and knot the black off in the back.
Sew these low and centered to the face, and weave in ends.
Fangs, in white – make 2
These are optional!
With a small amount of white yarn, sew the fangs centered in between the top two legs, making tiny triangles with them and filling them in. Knot and weave in ends inside the puppet.
I hope you have enjoyed making the Spider Hand Puppet! If you love this design, be sure to check out some of my other free patterns on the blog! Follow me along on Instagram for more sneak peeks and new pattern releases! If you loved making any of my patterns, and show them off on Instagram, please be sure to tag @ekaygdesigns to let me know, and I will share in my stories!