A lot of people have asked me to share a wire art tutorial on how we made Matilda and her web. Matilda is the little spider that keeps kept our spooktacular skull company. Well, she used to anyway.
We’ve moved her outside so she can start making some real arachnoidish friends. I must admit their plotting was driving me insane 😀
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Beginner wire art tutorial – Making a spider web
She’s really easy to make. All you need is some 14 gauge jewelry wire (we had some leftovers after making the Tree of Life), 26 gauge jewelry wire, an empty frame, and two beads. I didn’t have a spare frame, so we just made one using pallet offcuts and an old rusty hinge. I couldn’t find my frame clamps the day we made the frame, so I had to use a brick to weigh the offcuts down while the wood glue was drying.
Once the frame was dry, we could start making the web. Using the 14 gauge jewelry wire we cut:
- 2 pieces of wire 50 cm long (19.5″)
- 1 piece of wire 26 cm long (10 2/8″)
The length of the wire depends on your frame size (ours is roughly 36 cm by 30 cm) so adapt the lengths to suit. Bend the two 50 cm pieces in half and then lay them out as shown below.
Take the shortest middle wire and wrap it around both the bent longer pieces to form the outer strands of the spider’s web. Rearrange the pieces in the corner of your frame and pull them apart until you’re happy with the spacing.
When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion. Ethiopian proverb
Use the thinner 26 gauge jewelry wire to add the cross strands. I’m not even sure if that’s the right word, I don’t do spider speak 😉 Anyways, start at the top about 2 .5 cm down from where the 14 gauge wires join and wrap the 26 gauge around each strand.
Leave a long enough piece of wire on either side so you can attach the web to the frame when you’re done. Repeat the process as you move down the strands to complete the web.
When all the cross strands have been added, use a staple gun to staple those loose bits on the end of the web to the frame. Trim off any scraggly bits.
Making Matilda the Spider
To make Matilda, we used black beads from a broken necklace and leftover bits of wire. We cut 4 pieces about 8 cm long for the legs and a longer piece to join the beads together. I started by pushing the wire through the smaller bead and then wrapping it around the 4 leg pieces.
Once the legs were attached to the head, I pushed the wire through the larger bead to add a body.
Matilda really came to life when I started bending her legs. I never knew that spider legs actually have seven different sections. I looked it up on Google. The femur, tibia metatarsus, and tarsus are the longer bits, and the coxa, trochanter, and patella are the joints in between. To make Matilda as realistic as possible, I adjusted the legs accordingly and gave them three bends each where I thought the joints should go.
To hang Matilda the spider, use some fishing line.
When I first hung her, I did it all wrong. It was only when hubby said, “You do know that spiders spin out of their bums,” that I realized my mistake 😀 Geez, I can name a spider’s leg bits but completely forgot where her spinnerets are. So much for trying to make her look realistic.
We hung her and her frame outside using twine and an old hinge.
I think she turned out pretty cool, and I really hope she makes some new friends. What do you think?
Once you get the hang of using wire to make art, you might want to try something a little more complicated, like this beautiful tree of life made from a bent and buckled bicycle wheel. Or if you’re looking for a whole bunch of tips on making wire art, then you’ll love this post.
Don’t forget to pin it for later if you like this easy wire art tutorial.
So quick question, are you an arachnophobe or an arachnophile? Me, I’m definitely an arachnophile, I love them; my favorite is probably the rain spider. We have three in our house at the moment. Guess we’ll be getting some rain soon 😉
Oh BTW, for your convenience, I’ve added some affiliate links below. Disclosure: If you click on them, 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 crafty ideas to share with you 😉
And if you prefer to buy rather than DIY, then maybe these beauties will appeal.
As always sending you much love and tons of blessings. Thank you for popping in for a visit.
Last update on 2026-04-23 / Source Amazon Affiliates
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