Making a beaded spider

One of my favorite crafts is making beaded spiders. They are simple and fun to make. Recently I have been asked by a number of people how I make mine, so I am attempting a quick tutorial. This is my method, there many other ways to make spiders, but I find this the easiest.

You will need:

2 large beads for the torso and the head.

Seed and bugle beads for the legs as well as larger beads for added interest. I prefer 4 or 6 mm bicones.

24 or 26 gauge beading wire.

Round nose pliers and wire cutters.

Optional: Head pins - these are great for using with skull shaped beads.

Super glue to help stabilize the legs.

To begin:

Cut a length of wire and shape into a U and string tow seed beads on. These will form the eyes of the spider. Then string on the head and torso beads, with the wires exiting out of the torso. Then use the wire cutters to cut the excess wire to a bout a half inch and use the round nose pliers to create a loop.

If you are using head pins just string the head and torso beads on and use round nose pliers to make a loop.

Legs:
For the legs cut four equal sized lengths of wire.

Gather them up together and bend into a U shape.

Wrap them around the spider body in the gap between the head and torso.

You can them begin beading the legs in whatever pattern you want. To finish a leg just cut the excess wire till the end is no longer that half an inch and make a loop with the round nose pliers.

Repeat for all eight legs and you are done. Bend the legs to your desired shape. For extra stability I like to put a drop of super glue on the bottom of the spider where the legs join.