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House Spider (R3)

knitted house spider

I knitted this (more or less) life size house spider and it hasn't made me jump yet. The the pile of trimmed yarn I left on the arm of the sofa did though, so it balances out.

A printable version of this pattern is available.

You will need:

  • double knit yarn in brown
  • toy stuffing
  • 4 x double ended knitting needles (3mm)
  • tapestry needle
  • scissors

Pattern:

Body

Cast on 4 and join into the round.

(A list of abbreviations is available.)

  1. Round 1: k –
  2. Round 2: [kfb, k1] x 2 (6)
  3. Round 3: k –
  4. Round 4: [kfb, kfb, k1] x 2 (10)
  5. Round 5 & 6: k –

Add a small amount of stuffing to the lower part of the body.

  1. Round 7: k2tog x 5 (5)
  2. Round 8: kfb x 5 (10)
  3. Round 9 to 11: k –

Add another little bit of stuffing to the body.

  1. Round 12: [k1, k2tog, k2tog] x 2

Thread yarn through remaining stitches and pull tight.

Legs

Cast on 2 and i-cord 8 rows.

Turn and knit across the row (as for work in the flat) twice. At the end of the second row do not turn.

I-cord 20 rows.

Turn and knit across the row twice. At the end of the second row do not turn.

I-cord 8 rows. Thread yarn through remaining sts.

Making Up:

Weave in the loose ends of the i-cord legs. Lay the legs out flat and run a length of yarn through the centres (image right). Pull the cord tight enough that the ends of the legs splay out slightly from the central point.

Diagram showing how the legs are sewed together.

Arrange the legs underneath the top/less pointy part of the spider body. Try to twist each leg so that the breaks in the i-cord naturally bend upwards on the top two legs and downwards on the others. Sew into position

Diagram showing how the legs are sewn to the body.

Embroider two french knots on the body between the top two legs. Sew in any remaining loose ends to finish.

Diagram showing where the french knots are added.

Notes:

Needle/Yarn Size

As with most ODDknit patterns the yarn and needle sizes in the "you will need" section are just a guide. Feel free to improvise with whatever needles and yarn you have lying around - that's half the fun!