Sewing Webs

We bought some spiders to hang from our trees for Halloween and our daughter wanted to make little webs.  As you can tell, she got quite into this, donning a costume!

Materials

• Plastic lid
• Drill (to be used by an adult)
• Scissors
• Yarn
• Black paint
• Sponge (You could also use your finger or thumbprint)
• Thick paper such as cardstock
• Thin black pen
• Craft tray

We always find a smock helpful too:

Directions

• Have an adult drill holes in your plastic lid for you.  We did this over a sample square of carpet, but you could use a scrap of wood etc.  We recommend that you use safety googles for this process and follow the equipment directions.

• Cut your yarn into a manageable piece.  We find for children that this is about one arm’s length.  Tie a large knot in one end and thread the other through your needle.

• Start on the underside of your lid to hide your knot and then begin sewing your web in a pattern you like.  You can go up and down through the holes, around the edges etc.  You can use a hole more than once.  You may find it helpful to have an adult hold the lid steady while you sew.  Once you are done, secure a knot on the underside and trim off any excess yarn.

• Now to add your spider!  Don your smock.  Put a little squirt of black paint into your tray, dip you sponge or the pad of one of your fingers into the paint and apply it to your paper.  Allow to dry.

• Once dry, add some legs to your spider with your thin black pen.  Then glue your spider onto your web or punch a hole in it and dangle it from your web with your yarn!

• Hang up your web or attach it to a Halloween gift and enjoy!

Purpose

• Developing one’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
• Learning a real life skill.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and adult supervision.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.