Spiderweb Mother and Sock Spider Baby Costume

To make the spider baby legs, turn each of the three pairs of black dress socks inside out. Tuck each ankle by 1 inch and safety-pin them to make the finished legs have sharper angles. Then turn the socks right side out and stuff them with polyester-fiber stuffing.

If the safety pins show, blacken them with a permanent marker. Use the shaded part of our template to cut out the body from the cardboard and punch holes. To attach the legs, thread a 24-gauge wire through the holes, place the sock on the cardboard, and twist the wire to secure.

Using the template, including the unshaded part, cut the body from the black fake fur. Put some polyester-fiber stuffing on top of the cardboard, place the fur body over it, and hot glue the fur flaps underneath the cardboard. Place the spider on the baby's back with Velcro-ribbon ties.

To make the spiderweb skirt, you can use a long black skirt with white yarn or a long white skirt with black yarn—both look great—and wear a matching top. You may want to add a crinoline petticoat under the skirt for extra puff.

The knotting and pinning of the yarn is easier if it's done when the skirt is on a dress-form or on a person. Next, cut eight pieces of yarn, each the length of the skirt plus 4 inches—these will become the vertical spokes of the web. Tie a small loop at both ends of each length of yarn. With small safety pins, attach loops of yarn to the inside of the waistband and underneath the hem, sliding pins through the loops to secure, and evenly spacing the yarn around the skirt.

For the horizontal lines of the web, cut five or more pieces of yarn, each of them measured to be at least twice as long as the width of the skirt at the point where you will place it; the yarn you fasten at the waist will be shorter than the yarn at the hem.

Starting from the waistband, tie each piece of yarn to the spokes, letting it sag slightly between them. Dab white craft glue on the knots so they won't slip down the spokes. Then space the horizontal yarns farther apart toward the bottom of the skirt, and add more sag.