Spinning Spider Webs

Have you seen yarn glue lanterns? Well, I decided to apply the same technique to make custom spider webs for my Halloween decorations this year. Create the shape you want, let it dry, do a little spray painting, and you have spider webs of your very own!

To create these custom spider webs, you will need:

• Elmer's glue
• Water
• Corn starch
• Black yarn
• Chunky glitter
• Wax paper
• Black spray paint (optional)

and also a:

• Pair of scissors
• Paintbrush
• Disposable cup
• Piece of paper

Combine the Elmer's glue, cornstarch, & water in a disposable cup. The ratios I used were:

• 1/2 a 7.625 fl oz bottle of Elmer's Glue
• 1/4th cup water
• 1/2 cup corn starch

Cut three pieces of yarn ~1ft in length. Then, cut two that are ~2ft long. Dip them into the glue-cornstarch mixture. I decided to dip them one a time. Use the paintbrush to swirl it around in the cup, becoming completely covered in the mixture.

Grab the end of one piece of yarn and slowly pull it out of the cup. Use the paint brush to slowly scrape off the glue-cornstarch. This keeps the yarn edges clean when it dries (vs white, crunchy edges that you will want to trim with scissors like I had to do).

Take the two shorter pieces of yarn and place one vertically on the wax paper. Then, take the second and place it horizontally. Make sure they overlap a little in the corner. After it dries, you can trim away any extra pieces.

Take the longer pieces of yarn and create curves. Make sure the yarn overlaps along the ends.

Create as many spider webs as you need! I had enough of the glue-cornstarch mixture to make two smaller webs and one really large one.

Put them in a safe place to dry. I ended up letting mine dry overnight.

While the spider webs are drying, you have time for some fun details! I made some glitter spiders to hang & dangle from the webs.

First, cover a portion of the spider in Elmer's glue. Then, pour some chunky glitter over it, covering it completely. Lift up the spider and shake off any extra glitter.

Experiment by layering some different colors and patterns!

After the spider webs have dried, start at one end and slowly peel the yarn away from the wax paper. I placed my hand flush with the wax paper and slowly slid it towards the center, using my hand as a wedge.

I noticed that I left too much extra glue-cornstarch on the yarn when I made the webs, which created a messy edge.

Use a small pair of scissors to trim along the sides and create a nice, clean edge.

Place the spider webs on some pieces of cardboard. Cover them with a layer of black spray paint and let them dry.

Cut a small piece of yarn and glue one end to the spider and one end to an edge of the spider web.

Hang your spider webs in the corners of your rooms or in a window frame. I used some double sided tape to secure mine in place.

Happy Halloween!