Now, here’s a critter I never thought I’d be cooing over – a tarantula! But, hear me out… this ain’t your usual eight-legged crawler. Imagine, if you will, a fuzzy tarantula taking a twist into the whimsical world of Halloween – sporting a pumpkin for its rear! I’ve got to admit, I had a good chuckle the moment I laid eyes on this design. Whimsy and creativity like this? It’s what crochet dreams are made of.
The pumpkin butt – oh, how it shines! It gives our spooky friend such a delightful, festive touch. I could just picture it, perched on my window sill, its legs all sprawly, with that big ol’ pumpkin bottom gleaming in the October sun. It’s quite the conversation starter, lemme tell ya.
Every stitch, every loop, every yarn-over in this pattern brings you closer to a unique Halloween decor piece. And trust me on this, your friends will be doing a double-take. It’s eerie but cute… an unexpected duo that’s sure to capture hearts (and maybe give a little startle)!
Designer: Little Maudlings
Materials
- Scheepjes Catona
- 10g peach – Yarn A
- 20g sage – Yarn B
- 20g anthracite – Yarn C
- 2 mm crochet hook
- Darning and sewing needles
- Toy stuffing
- 1 mm wire for lehs
- Pipecleaner and pva glue for pedipalps
Abbreviations
Mr – magic ring
Ch – chain
Sc – single crocet
Sc blo – work sc into back loop only of stith
Hdc – half double crochet
Sl st– slip stitch
Inc – increase
Dec – decrease
( ) – make all stitches specified in brackets into the same stitch
Pumpkin Bun
Yarn A.
19 ch
Rnd 1: 1 hdc into 3rd chain from hook, and then 1 hdc into each following ch. This will give a total of 17 hdcs for the row; 2 ch and turn (turning chs do not count as a stitch) (17)
Rnd 2-17: 17 hdc; ch 2 and turn (17)
Rnd 18: 17 hdcs (17)
- Fold the rectange in half so that the 2 short sides meet.
- Now join short sides together with a row of 17 sl sts.
- Insert your hook through both loops of each hdc and also through its aligned chain to make the sl sts.
Try yo keep your tension fairly loose when making these sl sts, so that the joining row remains the same length as the hdc rows.
Body
Yarn B.
Rnd 1: 6 sc (6)
Rnd 2: 2 sc, (3 sc), 2 dc, (3 dc) (10)
Rnd 3: 3 sc, (3 sc), 4 sc, (3 sc), 1 sc (14)
Rnd 4: 4 sc, inc, 6 sc, inc, 2 sc (16)
Rnd 5-6: 16 sc (16)
Rnd 7: 4 scm inc, 1 dc, 5 sc BLO, 1 sc, inc, 1 sc, dec (17)
Rnd 8: [dec] x 3, 1 sc, [inc] x 5, 1 sc, [dec] x 2
Stuff the body.
Now turn the tube inside-out, so that the sl st seam is on the inside.
Continue working in rounds.
Rnd 1: ch 1, then work 1 sc into the end of each row of hdcs. (insert your hook between the 1st and 2nd hdcs/the turning chs and 1 st hdc)
Rnd 2: [1 sc, 1 dec] x 6 (12)
Rnd 3: [dec] x 6. Change to yarn B as you work the final dec (6)
Rnd 9: [dec] x 2, 11 sc, dec (14)
Insert more stuffing – be sure to fill the ridge created by the inc in round 7
Rnd 10: [dec] x 7 (7)
Fasten off (if you’re going to make pedipals, leave a tail approx 30 cm). CLose hoke by weabing yarn through front loops of scs. Pull tight and push needle through center and out anywhere on body.
Legs x4
Yarn C.
Rnd 1: 6 sc into Mr (6)
Rnd 2-17: 6 sc (6) (approx 7cm)
Don’t cut Yarn C – carry it up the inside of leg.
Yarn B.
Rnd 17-34: 6 sc (6) (approx 6 cm)
Fasten off Yarn B.
Yarn C.
Rnd 34-51: 6 sc (6) (approx 7 cm)
Fasten off, leaving a tail to close hole later.
Assembling Spider
Legs
- Cut a piece of wire to the same length as the leg.
- Blend the tip of the wire over to prevent it poking through your stitches, and then push it down through to the bottom of the leg.
- Bend the top of the wire over so that it fits snuggly inside the leg, and then close the hole in the same way as before.
Bum Shaping
Stuff the burn tube – not too firmly as you need some give ti allow for shaping. Thread a darning needle with Yarn A and secure it with a couple of invisible stitches on the inside edge of the tube.
- Now weave in and out the ends of each row – aim to catch 1 or 2 thread of each hdc/turning chain.
- Pull tight tot close the bumhole – it won’t close fully, so finish by making 2 stitches in an X to close completely.
Now you’re going to transform a plain old bum into a pumpkin! To perform this cosmetic surgery you need to make 9 bum-shaping stitches – 1 in each “valley” between the ridges formed by the hdcs.
- Thread the needle with approx 70 cm of Yarn A and secure with a 2 stitches at the bumhole end of a valley.
- Bring the thread along the valley surface.
- Then insert the needle through the top stitch of the valley, exiting through the bottom end.
- Pull tight to create an identation and secure with a stitch. THen push needle through to the next valley and repeat.
Attaching the Legs
- Fold each leg in half to create four pairs of legs.
- Turn each pair of legs so that the Yarn C end is pointing downwards – looks weird at this stage, but make sense one you pose the legs.
- Angle the front pairs so that they point forwards slightly and the rear pairs so that they point backwards slightly.
- Make 3 small stitches through the top a pair of front legs and into the body.
- Then push the needle through the body so that it exits at the point where you’re going to attach the 2nd pair of front legs, and attach this pair with 3 small stitches.
- Now push the needle back through the body so that it exits where you’re going to attach the 1st pair of rear legs. Attach borh pairs of rear legs using the same method and fasten off.
- Make another couple of stitches here on each pair of legs, to ensure they’re fixed firmly in an upwards position
Eyes
Spiders have 8 eyes. You may well decide not tot go full-on ners, and our spider will look fine with just larger eyes along the top of the ridge. Embroider eyes using Yarn C.
Pedipalps
- To make your spider a pair of pedipals, cut a 4 cm length of pipecleaner, then trim the fuzz off, leaving a stibble.
- Insert the pipecleane through the base of the spider’s head – use your crochet hook to make the hole.
- Using the tail your left when closing the hole, wrap the yarn around the pipecleaner until you get to the end.
- Bend over approx 1/2 cm and wrap the yarn over this section and back down to the base.
- Push needle through to the base of the 2nd pedipalp and repeat.
- Bend pedipals into shape give them a quick coat of PVA glue and admire their spideriness.
Scare Factor
If you want your spider to be truly terrifying, you’ll need to bend its legs onto realistic poses.
Make the first ben at the join between the Yarn B and C sections, another bend midway along the Yarn C section and then a final bend at the end of the leg to create a small foot.