My daughter loves her dolls. She would spend hours entertaining herself and I remember, before she was born, telling her Dad that I hoped she’s wouldn’t be a Barbie kinda girl. I couldn’t picture myself being a Mom to a little person who did the “pink thing” and played with dolls. Well, guess what happened. When she was about two, all she wanted for Christmas was Barbie and Ken!!! :-| So that’s what she got. And I watched her play with them. Barbie and Ken walked hand in hand to the edge of the pool to get married. Or so I thought anyway. But then my little girl did the most amazing thing. She took both their heads off and swopped them around and Ken, who was now Barbie, and Barbie who was now Ken, skipped away from the brink of Barbie Mania. That’s my girl. So, to honor all those little people out there who don’t do the normal thing, I decided to give one, or three ;-) of her Barbie-like dolls a makeover and turn them into Spider-Girl.

Okay, I know she won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but I think she’s the coolest doll EVER. You see, not only am I a tomboy I’m also an arachnophile, and if they had dolls like this when I was growing up, I probably would have played with them.

And my daughter, who’s a little scared of spiders, thinks Spider-Girl is pretty cool too ;-)
Right, before we get to the tutorial, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll never miss a post!
What you need to give Barbie a Spider-Girl makeover
- 3 Cheap plastic dolls
- A rubber ball 3” (7 cm)
- Black spray paint
- Black Straws
- Wooden skewers
- Super Glue and Pins
- Masking tape or painter’s tape
- Hacksaw

Optional
- Scrap piece of tulle or ribbon
- Barbie shoes or boots
- Jewelry wire
How to give Doll a Spider-Girl Makeover
Warning. The following images may affect sensitive Barbie lovers. I apologize in advance but I’m getting my Dexter on :D
Remove the bottom of the plastic dolls’ legs and save them for later. You’ll need 6 legs. Place a plastic bag over one of the plastic doll’s heads to protect her from what comes next ;-) Use some painter’s tape to mask off her chest area and paint it black.

Cut the bottom part of her torso off with a hacksaw.

Impale her on a skewer. Glue a skewer inside her body cavity. OMW it’s starting to sound like a horror movie :D

Then glue and stick her torso onto the rubber ball with some super glue. Insert six skewer sticks evenly around the bottom of the rubber ball to create the upper portion of her spider legs.

Mask off the bottom part of Barbie’s legs ;-) as shown below.

And give everything a coat of black spray paint.

Once the paint dries you can start making the “mechanism” that will join the bottom of doll’s legs to the rest of the soon to be Spider-Girl.
Making The Leg Mechanism
Did you know that spiders have 48 knees? Imagine how tough your job must be if you’re part of the spider mafia :D Our Spider-Girl only has 8 (6 knees and two elbows). To join the bottom of her legs insert a straw into the knee joint and stick a pin through the joint and the straw to secure. Cut the pin and add a drop of super glue to hold it in place.

Add some super glue to the skewer and slide the straw over the skewer. To make it easier to balance Spider-Girl’s body while adding the legs, I used an empty tin can that I cut to the same height as her legs.

I added a small strip of tulle around the part where her cephalothorax joins her abdomen to hide the join.

And used a sharpie to color her bangs black. She also got some kick-ass boots :D When I sent my daughter this piccy on WhatsApp, her response was “Oh my gosh I really like her. Is she one of mine?”

Well, she was darling, but she’s mine now ;-)

And those legs with their pin-knee-joint hinges still work too.

So what do you think? Would you give a plastic doll a Spider-Girl makeover?

Or is she too freaky? BTW if you have any spare legs lying around somewhere, you can use them to make these wickedly, wonderful witch’s legs in a cauldron. They’re sure to put a smile on your face. And if your Barbie has a pretty face you can always use her to make one of these gorgeous wood nymphs.

If you like the idea of giving a doll a Spider-Girl makeover for Halloween, don’t forget to pin her for later.

Oh and if you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more amazing craft ideas to share with you ;-)
Or if you prefer to buy rather than DIY
And as always, here’s wishing you a spooktacular crafty week. Thank you for popping around for a visit.

21 comments
Spider-Barbie, Spider-Barbie, does whatever a Spider-Barbie does…
Also, I wonder if this could be done with action figures (like making Spider-Man into a literal Spider Man)
:D oh no, now that song’s stuck in my head :D and your idea of turning Spiderman into a real spider man is brilliant, Alicia
I’m not scared of spiders but don’t much care for them , but this spider girl is way cool.
Thanks so much Linda. I think she’s pretty cool too ;-)
Now I think this is a bit too weird which obviously makes it fantastic for Halloween. Very creative.
:D weird is good right??!! :D
I don’t know what I enjoyed more, the Barbie horror story or her makeover ? What a fun idea
As long as you enjoyed them both Inge, that makes me happy. Thank you
I think she needs her own cartoon! I think she’ll have a wicked sense of humor…love it.
If she starts her own cartoon Kim, I’m hiring you to do the wordy bits. Love your style of writing ?
This doll is awesome! My daughter (age 27 now) would love this!!! Her Barbies, because she had so many of them from birthday gifts (back in the 1990’s/early 2000’s), we had a plastic box that was called the Barbie coffin.
Enjoy your doll and yes, you’ll have to make another one for your daughter! Lol!!!
Hugs,
Barb :)
? LOL I love that, Barbie coffin ? and yes, I probably will make one more for my daughter,so Ken better start getting ready for his makeover ?
I wish I kept my old Barbies now. This is so adorable and a fun craft for anyone! I just love it!
Thanks so much Carolann and thank goodness for little girls who play with dolls ??
Oh… this is crazy fun! What a great idea… and so smart, too. Reminds me to Toy Story! ;-)
? Thanks so much Julie
Okay, I NEVER add comments to comments, but since I know both of you… Julie, I love your thought about Toy Story!!! Yes, I could see that neighbor kid making one.
Hugs,
Barb :)
Hahaha!! My daughter would love this. She is also an arachnophobe but she really appreciates macrabe humor and this is the epitome Michelle. Plus Halloween is her favorite holiday! I kept of thinking of the Toy Story with that kid who would transform his toys into weird little things.
Oh I remember that little kid and he made a freaky cool spider doll too ? Babyface is one of my favorite movie characters. He looks frightening but has such a good heart
She’s great! Now she needs to star in her own comic book :)
LOL Sara, yes she does ?