Six-Foot Wide Spider Decorations!

This spider laid flat is actually 7'4". With the legs bent is just under 6'.

This isn't cheaper than the spiders you can buy online but I think it looks better and it's a fun project to work on with your family.

This spider has 3' long legs with a 16" diameter body and 8" diameter head.

($1.53) 1/2 in. x 6 ft. Foam Pipe Insulation - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-2-in-x-6-f...

($44) Klein Tools HD2000-9NE Side Cutter Linemans 9-Inch Electrical Pliers - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002RI9Y0/re... (These came highly recommended to cut and bend the 12 gauge wire easily.)

($27) 14 Gauge Galvanized Steel Wire - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046ECYOQ/re...

($14) 12 Gauge Steel Galvanized Wire - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046ECYOQ/re...

($6) Electrical Tape Black (5-Pack) - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046ECYOQ/re...

($9) Fishing Line – 30 lb - https://smile.amazon.com/Stren-SHIQS30-15-High-Im...

($8.50) Single Barrel Crimp Sleeves - 0.055 Inch Inside Diameter - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B003GFAYOS/re...

($10) Pocket size crimping and cutting tool - 5 1/2 -Inch - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B003GFAYOS/re... or ($18.40) Crimping Pliers with Built-in Wire Cutters - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B003GFAYOS/re... (The smaller crimping tool works fine but I bought these bigger ones for bigger crimp sleeves for another project and these are so much nicer and make the crimping easier.)

($80 for 3 yards) FabricLA Shaggy Faux Fur Fabric - 60" X 72" Inches - Dark Brown - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0844Z2DT4/re... (There is probably much cheaper faux fur to be found if you shop earlier in the year. I spent more $ on this than expected because it was the fur I could get in time to make this project)

($8.50) LED Finger Lights - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UL543R0/re...

Small or medium needle-nose pliers

Scissors

X-acto knife or utility knife

Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Tape measure

Cutting mat (optional)

Black trash bag (optional)

Safety goggles or glasses

Each wire will need to be cut a few inches longer for making loops and to twist around each other in the build.

ALWAYS wear safety goggles or glasses when cutting wire, it will snap back at you especially at the longer lengths. BE VERY CAREFUL when opening the spools of wire for the first time, they are wound very tightly and will unwind quickly and can cut you.

Cut wires into the following lengths:

12 gauge wire - this is a very strong and thick wire which is difficult to bend so it's only used for the base of the head and body.:

For roughly a 16” diameter body you will need to make a 50” circle so cut 52”.

For an 8” diameter head you will need to make a 25” circle so cut 27”.

14 gauge wire - this gauge is strong enough to hold the shape but easier to bend and twist into place:

For the body cut 5 pieces at 27”

For the head cut 3 pieces at 14.5”

For the legs cut 8 pieces at 40”

Loop the ends of the 12 gauge body wire together and close the ends as tightly as possible.

Repeat with the head wire.

Mark with small pieces of electrical tape where you want to attach the legs. The loops at the end of the circles is where I connected the head and body together. The legs look better starting close to the head. The tape will also help hold the wires in place during the build.

Attach the five 27" 14 gauge wires to the body base.

Here’s a rough diagram of where I connected the body wires.
I wanted to not have too many body wires and I also wanted the tail end of the spider to be easier to bend so I could adjust the body shape.

So 1 thru 8 are where the legs will be attached to the body wires.

Attach wires from:

1 to 8

2 to A (no leg will attach at A)

3 to 7

4 to 5

6 to B (no leg will attach at B)

Loop wire at attach points and pinch closed.

Use electrical tape at each loop point. This will keep the loops from moving and will also protect from being poked or cut by the sharp end of the wires.

Tape at the top middle of all the wires to hold them in place. (optional)

Repeat the same procedure with the wires for the head. The wires are spaced out evenly avoiding the area where the loops on the circle are. The two circles will be wired together at this point.

Makes small loops at the end of each 40" 14 gauge leg wire.

From the end of the loop measure 36” (length of leg) and mark it with a piece of electrical tape. From the tape to the unlooped end is where the wire will be wrapped around the body to attach the legs.

Wrap the wire up the body wires, bending the ends to tighten in place. And wrap with electrical tape to keep them from slipping and also to protect from the sharp ends of the wire.

Wire the head and body parts together at their joints. Joining here gives extra support and it’s easier to wrap the wire around with the loops. Then wrap it with electrical tape to give more support and cover the sharp wire ends.

Cut 8 pieces of fishing line 6” long.

Make a bow-tie loop through the crimp sleeve with one loop going through the loop at the end of each leg wire.

Cut four 6’ pipe foam insulation tubes in half. So now you have eight 36” pieces - that's 3'.

These tubes have a slit in them. This isn’t a problem but if the leg wire does start to slip through close the slit with a little bit of hot glue.

Feed the leg wires through the pipe insulation.

Pull the fishing line loop through the end and secure with a small piece of electrical tape to the inside. This will keep the loop from slipping back into the leg and will also keep the end of the leg wire from poking out.

Cut the fake fur into two circles.

27” circle

14” circle

These don’t have to be perfect circles.

Align the fur so it goes from front to back.

Wrap the fur around the body and head and hot glue into place.

Determine the best placement for the eyes.

Hot glue the finger lights into place under the fur with the lights up against the fabric. These are LEDs so they won't get hot and they will shine through the fabric. If the fabric you use is too thick for the light to shine through then cut a small hole to let the light show through better. Make sure to not get hot glue on the switch but use plenty of hot glue to hold them in place. Hold them steady until the hot glue completely dries.

I used fishing line and eye hooks at the roof line to attach the spider to the low roof.

Then used fishing line to tie the spider to different branches of the small tree/bush.

And fishing line on just a few of the legs to attach to the spider web strung from the upper window and two legs attached to the bush behind it and two legs attached to the spike holding the web into the ground. I'm also going to add some fishing line from the head to the web to secure it better.

I attached part of a black trash bag with hot glue to the back of the spider that is hanging on the web in front of the front door so the wires wouldn’t be seen. This will probably collect water in it when it rains so I did not put a back on the spiders on the roof and shrub.