The friendliest spider you will ever make — one round little body, eight legs worked as you go, and a smile that is more cute than creepy. This mini spider was made to join your Halloween set without a sewing marathon: the ghost, bat, pumpkin and black cat finally get their missing friend, and you get a scrappy one-evening make that also works beautifully as a bag charm or a dangling garland piece.
Why this spider works for beginners
A spider sounds complicated until you look at the shape. The body is one simple ball worked in continuous rounds — the same increases and invisible decreases you have already practised on a pumpkin or an owl, just a little smaller. The legs are not fiddly separate pieces to pin and sew. You chain out and slip-stitch back right in the round where they belong, four on each side, so when the body is finished, the spider is already standing.
That makes this an honest low-sew pattern. You will sew in the ends, and if you choose embroidered eyes you will stitch those on, but you do not have to attach eight tiny legs one by one. It is also kind on yarn: a small scrap of black or charcoal worsted is all a single spider really needs.
What You'll Need
- Worsted-weight (Category 4) yarn: about 30–40 g in black or charcoal for the body and legs, plus a tiny scrap of white for eye highlights if you like
- 3.5 mm (E-4) crochet hook
- 8 mm safety eyes, 2 — OR black or white embroidery thread / yarn for embroidered eyes (embroidered eyes are the baby-safe choice)
- Polyester fiberfill: about 10–15 g
- Stitch marker
- Tapestry needle
- Scissors
- Optional: pipe cleaners, cut short, to pose the legs
- Optional: split keychain ring or lobster clasp for a bag-charm version
Stitches used
Magic ring, chain (ch), single crochet (sc), increase (2 sc in one stitch), invisible decrease worked through the front loops only, and slip stitch (sl st). Keep your tension snug, as always with amigurumi — with a 3.5 mm hook on worsted yarn, no stuffing should peek through.
Let's make your spider
Work the body from the top down in a continuous spiral. Mark the first stitch of every round and move the marker up as you go. My finished spider sits about 3–4 in (8–10 cm) across the body, not counting the legs.
Body rounds
Round 1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6).
Round 2: Increase in every stitch (12).
Round 3: (sc, increase) repeat around (18).
Round 4: (2 sc, increase) repeat around (24).
Round 5: (3 sc, increase) repeat around (30).
Rounds 6–7: sc in every stitch (30).
Round 8 is your first leg round — take it slowly. Sc in the next 6 stitches, then make a leg: ch 10, sl st back along the chain (or sc back for a thicker leg), sc into the next body stitch to anchor it. Sc across 2 stitches and repeat for a second, third and fourth leg on this side. Work across the back of the body, then make the matching set of four legs on the second side, mirroring the spacing so they sit roughly evenly. It does not need to be perfect — real spiders are not perfectly symmetrical either, and eight chained legs instantly read as "spider".
Rounds 9–10: sc in every stitch (30). Skip neatly around the base of each leg as you come to it so the legs stick out rather than getting trapped flat against the body.
Face and stuffing
Place 8 mm safety eyes between rounds 6 and 7, about 5 stitches apart, and secure the backs before any stuffing goes in. For the baby-safe version, embroider two small eyes and a tiny smile now or after stuffing — whichever is easier for you to keep straight. I love the woven smile: two or three short horizontal stitches, no fangs, maximum friendliness.
Round 11: (3 sc, invisible decrease) repeat around (24). Stuff the body firmly but not hard — enough that it holds a round shape and sits without rolling.
Round 12: (2 sc, invisible decrease) repeat around (18).
Round 13: (sc, invisible decrease) repeat around (12). Add a last pinch of stuffing here if the bottom looks hollow.
Round 14: Decrease around until closed (6), fasten off, and weave the tail through the front loops to close the hole.
A second leg row (optional, for fluffier spiders)
If you like your spiders a little shaggier, repeat the leg chain in Round 10 as well, offsetting each new leg by one stitch from the row below. That gives you a fuller silhouette without any sewing at all. If your legs curl — they will, a little — thread a short length of pipe cleaner into each one before the final rounds, or lay them flat under a book overnight and they will settle.
Finishing touches
Bend each leg down once in the middle so the spider "stands". A short loop of black yarn at the top turns him into a hanging decoration: thread it through the top of the body, tie it off, and hang him on a yarn "web" strand next to your ghost and bat. Add the keychain ring through the same loop stage if you are making the bag-charm version.
Colour and styling ideas
Classic black is the most Halloween of all, but charcoal is kinder to work with in evening light and photographs beautifully. Deep plum, midnight blue and smoky grey all look modern next to an orange pumpkin. Work him in cream with black eyes and he becomes a year-round "not-so-spooky" shelf friend rather than a holiday-only toy. For a set, make one spider for the top of the pumpkin, one to hang, and one as a bag charm — three evenings, three uses, one small ball of yarn.
Ways to display your spider
Perch him on top of your No-Sew Pumpkin like he lives there. String him with your No-Sew Ghost, Bat and Black Cat on a garland of chain stitches as a web. Clip him to a tote next to your Candy Corn and Owl for the full October parade. As a gift he is perfect tucked on top of a wrapped present instead of a bow, or tied to a teacher's Halloween treat bag.
Quick troubleshooting
Legs curling into spirals? That is normal chain behaviour — block them lightly with your fingers or use the pipe cleaner trick. Body looks lopsided or leaning? Stuff in small handfuls and push it to the edges rather than packing one big lump in the centre. Gaps showing between stitches? Drop to a 3.25 mm hook and keep your yarn tension snug, especially on the decrease rounds. Eyes wandering off-centre? Pin or mark the centre front before you place them and check the face straight-on before securing the backs.
Ready to complete your Halloween set?
If you have already met the Ghost, the Bat, the Pumpkin in 3 sizes, the Black Cat, the Candy Corn and the Mini Owl here on Lolo Crochet, this little spider is the piece that ties the whole set together — hang them in a row and you have an instant Halloween garland made entirely by you. Start with one tonight with whatever black or charcoal yarn is already in your basket, and let him keep watch over your pumpkin patch. Happy crocheting.