DIY Spider Webs

Now that school has started, we have just started thinking about Halloween at our house. We aren’t really into anything super scary, but we do like to have a little fun with the holiday. Now that she’s pretty much past the trick-or-treating age, my daughter would tell you this is her chance to cover the house with bats. I haven’t come up with a way to make bats yet (craft goals!), but I did come up with a way to make spider webs and spiders. She seems pretty satisfied with them so far. Today we’ll focus on the webs.

Check out these not-so-scary spiders to go with your web!

When my kids were really little, I decided right before Halloween to make a spider web out of some string we had stuck in a drawer. It was a big one, and I just laid out the string on the carpet. It worked, but it was tricky trying to keep everything straight and get the spacing even. 

One of my kids actually gave me the idea recently to use a frame to make it easier, and I thought it was brilliant. What would make a big enough circular frame? A hula hoop! This has worked perfectly for me. I found the biggest one I could—34” in diameter, which makes a nice, big web. You could also use a floral ring or an embroidery hoop to make a smaller web.

Besides for the hoop, the only other supplies I use are white string and scissors. Any scissors will do, but the string should be something that isn’t slippery. You’ll want your knots to stay in place once you tie them. That was an issue with the string I used for my very first one (it had a sheen to it). This time I used baker’s twine, and it worked perfectly.

Let’s get started!

Pick a spot on your hula hoop and tie your string in a knot around it. Stretch the string tight across the hoop and tie a knot opposite the first.

If you want 8 spokes of your web, stretch a second string across the first one, and then stretch two more diagonally—like you’re slicing a pizza into 8 slices! Make sure that the strings all cross in the middle.

Once you have all of your strands strung, take a small piece of string and tie them all together at the point where they intersect.

Now it’s time to make the rings of the web. How many you make is up to you. Of the two I just made, one has 8 rings, and the other has 11. Pick a place to start, and tie a knot 1-1.5” from the center.

Move on to the next strand and tie a knot around it. Now, you can either cut off a piece of string to do this, or you can hang on to the spool the whole time. I found it easy enough just to hold on to the spool. Keep going around until you’re back to the start, and tie a knot next to the first one you made.

Because the first knot is always going to be bigger, I like to space them out on different spokes. If you want to do the same, you can start your next row on the next strand over. I tried to keep my spacing between rows as even as possible, but I just eyeballed it. I later had the thought that I could have measured and marked the strings if I wanted to, so that’s always an option.

I also kept my strings as tight as possible, but I really don’t think it matters too much, because once you take it off of the hoop there will be a lot of slack unless you pull it tight when you hang it up.

Once you’re happy with your web, you can remove it from the hoop. You can either cut the strings or untie them. I untied both of mine, and I like that it gave me a little extra string to work with.

If you have any excess string around your knots, trim those now. You’re ready to decorate!

My kids love these webs so much that I doubt these will be the last I make this year. Here’s what we’ve done with the two I’ve made so far though. 

Clear Command hooks are perfect for hanging them. I needed longer strings in a couple of places, so I just tied some extra.

Possible variations…

If you want an even bigger web, I can think of a couple of ways to do it. One way would be to not use a hoop at all. Another way would be to use the hoop but leave a lot of slack in each of the strands of string string that you tie around the hoop. Once you take it off the hoop—by untying it—you could lay it out and string some additional rings around the web.

Another idea that my mother-in-law just gave me is that you don’t even have to take the web off of the hoop if you don’t want to. If you could find an inexpensive hula hoop (dollar store, perhaps?), you could paint it black or white or whatever color you want and just leave the web on it. It would be easy to hang that way.

What about stringing some little clear/white/iridescent beads in some places (or the whole thing) to look like dew? I would look for small beads that have a big enough opening for the string to fit through.

Everything is better with fairy lights, right? Well, almost everything. In this case, I think a web would look beautiful all lit up. Just another thought. 

Whatever kind of web you make, have fun with it!

Next up: spiders!