Bag Yourself Some Halloween Spiders

You know how I love my purses, over the past couple years I've made book purses, placemat purses, popsicle stick purses, orchid purses, you name it but you know I never thought I'd be making spider purses.

However, my affection for these little critters has grown as Halloween approaches and I have to say . . . they're really cute! Perfect for your little witch who knows her fashion accessories--it could even make a cute trick or treating bag.

You'll need:
2 black shoelaces
2 pieces of black 12 X 9 inch felt
2 large googly eyes
a scrap of yellow or red felt
8 black pipe cleaners
thread and a sewing machine
glue

I was going to go with black yarn for the handle but I couldn't find my black yarn anywhere, it's somewhere stored away until the remodel is over and has found it's way into the black hole that my house has become. Plan B was the shoelaces and they actually they worked better, just knot the ends to keep them from slipping through the stitches.

I also made a little loop in the end of each of the eight pipe cleaners so that they wouldn't slip through either or that the rough ends of the wire wouldn't stick hands reaching into the purse.

First, using the felt cut the basic spider shape out of two matching pieces. With wrong sides together, stitch around the body from the side of the head all the way around the body to the other side of the head. As you stitch along lay the ends of the handles and the pipe cleaner legs in place between the pieces then sew over the pieces of the body to secure things. Make sure the knots are on the inside of the stitch so that they won't slip through.

After you sew everything together bend the legs into spider leg shapes and loop the ends into little feet (once again so that the wire isn't sticking out to scratch someone or snag on a costume).

Glue the googly eyes and mouth in place--you could also add fangs or a smile depending on the level of menace you're going for.

This same idea could easily be adapted for a ghost or pumpkin bag as well. If you don't have time to make your own I'm throwing an extra bag into my Etsy shop for your shopping convenience. Happy Halloween honeys!

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And while you're getting ready for Halloween here are some other links you might check out:

* Chronicle Books' site titled A Vunce in a Lifetime Adventure which is full of Halloween activities for kids.

* Knit a Halloween spider hat that is truly horrifying from Anti Craft.

* Make a haunted house with Styrofoam Brand Products site.

* Knit a pumpkin hat from Crafty Crafty

If you know of other sites out there feel free to leave them in the comments so the rest of us can enjoy them too.

Sponsored by Oaki at Outdoor Adventure Kid Company--Gear for kids who live outside.

Technorati tags: Halloween, spiders, purses, holidays