https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/spider-4 • Posted by Teresa H.
grapevine ball spider. This was made with some wire clothes hangers, a grapevine ball and some scaps of velvet and trims. I did not take pictures as I went but think I can tell you how it was done. IF you have questions feel free to PM me.
grapevine ball spider. This was made with some wire clothes hangers, a grapevine ball and some scaps of velvet and trims. I did not take pictures as I went but think I can tell you how it was done. IF you have questions feel free to PM me.
I spray painted the grapevine ball gloss black and allowed it to dry. While it was drying I cut two circles out of some scrap velvet. One about two inches larger than the other.
Laying the velvet circles right side together I sewed them on the sewing machine leaving about a two inch opening. Turn the circles right side out and stuff firmly with batting. You want to leave a bit of wiggle room because you sculpt it later. Close up the opening and start to sculpt the face with black thread and doll needle.
When deciding where you want the sculpting to start, look at the face and start to press your fingers where the eyes will be, the chin and checks etc.. I always start with the eyes and then move to the nose. Then on to the checks and finish with the mouth. Once you have decided where the indentations should be. Start with a long needle and STRONG thread. Come in from the back of the head and up through the point where you want the indentation to be. Go back through the face coming out at the back of the head as close to the starting point as possible. You want to make several stitches to make sure that the indentation holds. Make sure you knot the final stitch finishing in the back and securing well.
Once the face is sculpted you can start your embroidery. I embroidered the mouth on her and embellished the rest. You can do the whole thing with embroidery or the whole thing with beading and embellishments. Her eyes are peacock feather eyes. Her nose was an old black clip on earring. I beaded a bindi on her and added the eye lashes. They were a trim that I got in Germany but real fake eye lashes would work well.
Next you want to decided how long you want the legs. Once you decide, cut eight thin strips of black fabric. I used felt for this so I didn’t have to worry about unraveling. I made them about an inch thick. Sew them into eight tubes leaving both ends open. Next cut wire coat hangers the about two inches longer than the tubes.
Now, again with very strong thread and a very long needle you want to sew the head onto the grapevine ball. This is not easy to get through the small openings. You can force the openings slightly larger to get your fingers in there but use caution as you can break it if you force it too hard. Next you want to add the legs on. Using two sets of needle nose pliers push the wire through and wind the wire around several stands of the grape vine. You want them to be secure but also be able to move them in the position that you want them in.
Now slip the tubes over each leg. Whip stitching the top and bottoms closed. The top you want to pull a bit of the material through the grape vine before you whip stitch it to cover up the knotted wire of the legs. Add some kind of scarf and bling. I used eyelash yarn for her knees. Hair knees are all the range in the spider world. A feather boa gave it's life to be her feet. You can also add small lights to the inside of the ball to have a really hip Halloween lamp as well.