Oh you guys, my sewing room is oozing with costume supplies….so don’t be surprised if most of October is dedicated to DIY costumes. But I haven’t quite started with my kids’ real costumes yet….I’ve just been working on a few quick ideas that I wanted to hurry and share before I get to my kids’ actual costume requests (shhh….always a secret!).
Anyway, today’s costume tutorial is actually part of this month’s Michaels Makers challenge for October and is an EASY NO-SEW SPIDER COSTUME….that takes maybe 20 MINUTES to make!!! (And, more info about how I’m giving this one away, down below!)
And let me tell you…..Oliver has been so funny to watch the past few months, playing dress-up with the bigger kids and actually understanding that he’s “pretending” to be something he’s not. (And yep, they STILL all play dress-up — 9 & 10 year old Connor and Ellie included….and I LOVE it!) So, when I started putting this Spider Costume together and told him that this long fuzzy bendable stuff was for SPIDER LEGS, he got so excited!
Then, once he got to try on the finished Spider Costume, he was so giggly and did his best to “pretend”.
Before starting this project, I knew I wanted to make a No-Sew costume, to help those of you who don’t quite feel confident enough to sew a whole outfit…..but still want to DIY a Halloween costume this year! So when I came across this furry bendable wire (kinda like oversized pipe cleaner), a fuzzy spider with big ol’ bendable legs came right to mind! And you wear those big ol’ fuzzy legs (that aren’t heavy at all) on your back, like a backpack.
There are 2 elastic straps that are worn on each shoulder….and keep those cute furry legs right in place!
And the “spider head” is just a plain black hat that you add these super jumbo sized googly eyes to the front. Funny, right??
And in case you’re wondering, those furry wire legs are actually pretty sturdy and hold their shape really well. I wondered if they would droop after a while, but nope! And each leg kinda bounces around while you’re walking around, which makes it kinda hilarious! They are even able to withstand all sorts of spider-like acrobatics, like jumping off of ledges (because spiders have to do that sometimes, you know!).
See how those legs have movement and kinda bobble around? Well, once Oliver was finished with his spider jump, the legs went right back to position. Ha!
They even hang nicely if your little spider gets down on his “extra legs” and tries crawling around like a true spider! Good thing he has such big bulging eyes to help lead the way. Ha!
This is one of those costumes that just cracks me up! And maybe it’s because Oliver had so much fun testing it out! But just look at that cute little spider….making his way down the ledge of our bricks! (I’m just glad real spiders aren’t really this big! ACK!)
Anyway, want to see how easy this is to make on your own? In any size??
But first…..we have so many costumes around here, is there possibly anyone out there who would like this one? If not, no biggee. But if so, you have to be okay with me kind of rolling up each leg to make shipping easier….and then unrolling and unbending the legs and then re-bending to the correct shape. Deal?? Oh, and this costume was made to fit a 3 year old but could be used all the way up to a 12 year old or maybe even a teen/adult….because those legs are nice and big (they’ll just look smaller by comparison on a bigger person)! You would just need to add bigger arm straps by hot gluing some black elastic…but that is a quick fix!
TO ENTER: leave a comment below, letting me know who you would use this costume for! (Be sure you add your email to the comment form, so I can contact you if you win. No one can see it but me!)
***Must be 18 to enter and live in the U.S. or Canada.
Now, onto the tutorial, for those of you who would just like to make your own!
First gather up your supplies. And remember, you can either buy a black beanie, or make a quick one using the tutorial linked in the supply list.
First, cut one of your your 9 foot pieces of fuzzy wire in half but take note that these ends you cut are now sharp. So to fix that, bend over the end you cut back onto itself just a tiny bit, to get rid of the sharp end.
One 4 1/2 foot piece will be enough for a 2 leg section. To create the shape of this 2 leg section….fold one of your wires almost in half to create a “V” shape at the bottom point and then bend each side of the wire away about halfway down, to create a 90 degree angle. Then bend each tip up a few inches, at another 90 degree angle….to give each leg little feet.
Now repeat 3 more times with the rest of your wire…..making 4 feet sections total.
Now, cut 2 pieces of cardboard that are equal in size and that are slightly more narrow than your subject’s back and about as tall as the top of their shoulders, down to their waist. Open the center “V” bend of each of the leg sections just a bit and arrange the legs on one of the cardboard pieces to see how it will look.
Then starting with the top wire, and keeping a definite “V” shape to your wire, hot glue it in place with plenty of hot glue! (Keeping the “V” shape seemed to give the legs some stability and help them keep their shape.) Repeat with the other 3 leg sections.
Now, create a circle with your elastic (you can tie it in a knot rather than sewing the ends together) and overlap the ends of your elastic off the edge of your cardboard….with big enough loops to fit your subject’s arm. (Hold it up with the cardboard and test the length you need before cutting it.) You could just create individual loops of elastic on each side but I figured keeping it all connected would keep it from pulling out of the side if it was pulled on too hard.
Now, place your other piece of cardboard on top, sandwiching it all together….using plenty of hot glue.
Now, cut a piece of felt or fleece that’s about 1 inch bigger than your cardboard on all sides and hot glue it down.
Then, turn it over and make a cut in your felt/fleece right where each leg (and elastic) protrudes from the cardboard and then glue each flap of felt/fleece over and onto the back of the cardboard.
Continue all the way around.
Then cut another piece of felt/fleece that’s the exact size of the cardboard….and glue it down to cover all your raw edges and cardboard.
Now, remember you can either buy a black beanie or make your own using the fleece tutorial linked up in the supply list. If you’re making the hat for a larger head, just add an inch or so of fabric around all edges, to make the hat pieces bigger. (Test on scrap fabric if needed.) Then use some hot glue to attach each of your googly eyes to the front of your hat!
Now, put the black shirt and leggings on, add the legs and hat, and your cute little spider is ready to go!!!
Enjoy!
-Ashley
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Need more No-Sew Costume ideas???
Check out a few of these…
Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!
Bought the materials to make this for my son and daughter for Halloween. So cute!
Thank you for the tutorial and the opportunity to win!
My 4 year old son is so afraid of spiders but says “I want to be one to show you they aren’t so stary (can’t say the “c” sound 🥰) and maybe then I won’t be so stared either”
We would be very appreciative and pass it on after Halloween for the next one next year try to help people overcome their fears!
My 6 year old grandson has always been fascinated with bugs and I try to keep him interested, he’s not afraid of them at all. A few weeks ago he told me he doesn’t like moths but after a few pictures and a chat he’s fine now. He wants to be a spider for Halloween this year because he likes spiders, me? I hate them, but he will never know that. So Happy Halloween! Hope he wins
Thanks for posting this easy costume! We're using it for a play my son is in and it's perfect! I just have one question please. When you attach the elastic, do you only glue one side of it down or do you glue both the "top" and "bottom" strips down to create two circles for the arms or do you only glue the "bottom" down which would create just one continuous circle?
Thanks for the help!
Greetings from France!
I was inspired by this to make a costume for my son for an event at daycare… Couldn't find the huge furry wire, so I bought a giant Halloween spider and used its legs instead! This turned into a fun activity for the whole family and my son is absolutely in LOVE with his costume!!! On a side note, I also couldn't find the jumbo eyes, so I cut 2 circles out of shiny photo paper, then cut a clown nose in half and used the 2 pieces as pupils :P
Many thanks for this awesome tutorial!!
I made this exactly as you suggested for my son's 4k Halloween costume. Your directions and suggestions were fantastic, it turned out better than I could imagine! The legs were magic and lasted a bus ride, school and being shoved in a back pack and many future play dates. Thank you so much!
Thanks for this tutorial. It is perfect for me to make for my son's musical play costume I have to make!
Thank you for the wonderful idea! I made the spider using your instructions. It looks great!
My three year old wants to be a spider like Aragog from Harry Potter because is big neither is going as Harry Potter. I love this!
My 3 year old son said he wants to be a spider pumpkin for Halloween. He loves spiders because we had a spider friend that made a web in his cozy truck so we learned about sharing our things so the spider can help us by eating the icky bugs.
OMG! My 5yr old son just told me he wanted to be a tarantula for Halloween. I thought how am I going to make that. Thanks for the no sew instructions. I can’t wait to see his face when I’m done.
Any chance you have one of these super cute spider costumes available for sale???!!! Even just the legs part ~ I can make the beanie myself. Of course I’d pay all costs including shipping to Albany, NY. My 7 year old would love to wear this for Halloween but I have ZERO crafting skills.
I would love this costume for my 5 year old son! All he wants to be is a spider and this is perfect!!!
My friend could really use if for Halloween for her 2 year old… they both would love it… and this year she can’t really afford too buy a costume for her daughter
My 3yr old Andy just loves spider webs and spiders. So wants desperately to be a spider for Halloween. I’ll also make your legs costume for me to be Mummy spider.We live in New York, but originally from Australia- the land of big spiders.( Andy was almost an OLIVER too, it is his middle name, as Dad won the war for Andy). Happy Halloween.
I would love this for my grandson who is 3 and says he wants to be a spooky spider for Halloween. He’s been practicing saying “trick or Treat” in the car😊
I’d love this costume!
This is my first time really making anything. Your directions were easy to follow and it turned out great! With my beautiful brown baby’s braids atop her head, I used a wide cloth (stretchable) headband to glue the eyes on and it worked perfectly. Thank you.
Hey Ashley! I don’t know if i have ever been more happy to find a DIY post, more then I am after finding this one.
My little guy Wyatt is 3 also. He loves spiders and all bugs. He would love this costume so very much. That is if you haven’t given it away already. He has specially requested to be a spider this year. Not that he wouldn’t be fine w whatever. But he really wants to be a spider. So I have planned now to have him and his 6 year old sister Rayleigh be “little miss muffet and the spider that scares her away”.
Little did I realize how horrible the spider costumes are out there. Not to mention that price. So i love dit and figures I’d make him one. Then found a dog one that i liked on mom swap. Figured I could alter it and that would be much easier on me, physically and time wise. I have EDS and crafting like i love to kill my hands neck and back. But i love crafting! Its frustrating.
Anyway! I lost the chance to get the dog costume! So now I’m back to doing it 100%.
And your post just cleared my brain off how to get them to stay on and not to go overboard.
So weather we win it or not, thanks a bunch!!!
Now I can focus on Miss Murder since big sissy school trunk or treat is this thursday. Im sure ill find some he’ll tips from your page.
Thanks!!
Any tips on getting the googlie eyes to stick to hot glue on hat? They peeled right off when I tried. Glue sticks to hat and impossible to get off but glue didn’t stick to the eyes.
I would love to have this for my Little Dude! 4 1/2 years old!
My niece just called me today to see if i could help her make her 3 year old son a spider costume. She said she has found some costumes but they are all so expensive. She is a single mom and this would help her out, plus she would get the chance to help make the costume.
This costume is AWESOME! My 7–1/2 year old daughter (Charlotte) wants to be “CHARLOTTE” the spider from “Charlotte’s Web!” Now I just need to find big eyelashes so we can distinguish that she is a girl spider! Thank you!
My son was born on Halloween! He will be 6 this year and is obsessed with spiders! yuck. Every year we do a theme and this year we will all be bugs! I was going to make this costume but I would love to win it!
Love, love, love!!! My 3 year old granddaughter is assigning roles for Halloween. She wants to be a bat with sharp teeth, grandpa is to be a wolf (Go figure!), and she wants me to be a spider. I have never chosen a spooky costume for Halloween, but this one is great. This old grandma would rock in this cute costume.
This DIY spider costume is the ultimate best ever! I raised 4 kids which zapped my Halloween creativity to the Max!! Now I am called upon for grandkids and feel blah-blank. This spider costume would make my 6 yr old grandson magnificently happy if he were to win it.
This looks amazing. I want to make it for my 5 year old son who wants to be an entomologist and his favorite bug is spiders. What size elastic do you recommend? 1/2 inch? 1 inch?
Thank you!
Hi Ashley, I live in the UK and my daughter Hayley lives in Vancouver.I would love your spider costume for my little Granddaughter Elsinoor. Although only 17 months old Im sure Hayley could adapt it for her. I miss them so much and only wish I could be there to make this for them. It would be such a wonderful Halloween surprise.
Janice…
My son is 5 years old and he told me recently that he would like to be a spider. I have been searching for a spider costume that is economical because I do not have much money. The costume that you are giving away is perfect. He is really excited about being a spider and I do not want to let him down. He would be so happy if he could wear your costume.
Hi Ashley,
My 4 y/o dtr wants to be a spider in the worst way this year for Halloween!!! We have been searching for spider costumes (not easy to find?) and while searching again today stumbled on your post and she went NUTS for this costume! She was yelling “mommy mommy that’s the spider costume I want, can we get it can we get it, pleeeeease” Lol
I am NOT a crafty person, even the easiest of crafts seem to be difficult for me. This costume is super cute and we both just love it!!!!
Love this idea!! Will definitely have to make it unless you still have this one left? My son is obsessed with spiders. You don’t by any chance have a shark outfit do you. My other son wants to be one and I don’t know where to start with planning that’s outfit.
Thanks.
My son is going to be in a play for his school. This is the perfect costume!
Thanks for the fun idea! How long should we make the elastic part be? I just bought a generic pack but don’t know how much of it I need to use! Thanks!
Great idea on how to fix spider costume. My 3 year old grandson Benjamin wants to be a spider so I’ll try this out. Can you get supplies only at Michaels? Thanks for the great idea.
My 3 year old grandson wants to be a “pider” (spider) for Halloween! This would be adorable for him.
I would love this costume for my son hes been talking being a spider but I have no clue where to be begin & I hope supplies arent expensive
I have been scouring the internet looking for a DIY spider costume that doesn’t involve stuffed tights/socks! Thank you!
I need this costume!! So cute!
P.S. My son wants to be a scuba diver this year…. I have seen lots of cute pictures on pinterest and other places, but I haven’t found any great tutorials that have pictures and show the steps. If you happened to need any other costume ideas (ha! I’m sure you don’t), I’d love one of your amazing tutorials for it! :)
My three-year-old would love this costume!! Such a fun idea!
What an adorable model for such a cute costume! I would love it if you stopped by my blog Monday and shared this and your other costumes on my More the Merrier Monday link party! diyhshp.blogspot.com
My 5 year old son!
Love it!
I would use this for myself, and I would also love to make a version of this for my dogs (they are black, and would make great spiders).
My 3 year old would LOVE this, and I would LOVE it if I won it! As a busy mom of 5, I’m finding no time to make them the costumes they want!
Ha! I have a little boy who would love to be a spider :)
My 3 year old would be SO excited for this costume! He has been asking me for weeks if he can be “a black spider with huge eyes” for Halloween. It’s like this was made exactly for him! Please please pick me!! I can just picture the look on his face when he sees this for the first time! SO PERFECT!!
My 5 yr old would love this!! She always gets a spider face painting and calls it itsy….it’s one of her favorites! Super cute and easy. I’m going to look into those fuzzy wires.
My kiddos would LOVE scaring their Dad with this costume. I bet the 7 yr old and 3 yr old would fight over it! SO CUTE!
My two year old foster baby would love to have this costume! He pretty big for his age, so I think it would fit and he loves ANY bug!
Oh, I just saw the rain cloud costume and I am definitely going to try that for his sister as well!
So cute!! My 5 year old son would LOVE this costume!
This is the best! My almost 3yo boy is going to be a spider. He always runs around saying “spider get you!” Thank you for this tutorial! Brother is a mummy and I will be a bat. Classic costumes this year for us
My super-skinny 6yo boy wants to be a spider for Halloween, which is why I was searching Pinterest for ideas like this anyway. You’d save me a load of trouble–I have four other kids to create costumes for, too!
My 3 year old son Jack just told me yesterday he wanted to be a “pider” so he could scare everyone.
This is such a cute costume! Our 4 year old daughter is obsessed with spiders (!!!!!) and she would love it!! Thank you for being so generous!
One of the grandson’s would love to wear this spider costume.
How cute!!! I love simple costumes. I would love this for my son.
I’d love the spider costume! Still trying to do family themes and my daughter wants to be a butterfly (love your tutorial) so little brother is going to be a spider.
My 6 year old daughter loves bugs of all kinds and has said she wants to be an entomologist since she was 2. She recently was given a little stuffed spider for a gift and decided that’s what she wants to be for halloween! I’ve been looking at ideas but love how cute this turned out. I would only need to add some furry purple knees!!!!!
Soo cute!! I love it! I would us it for one of my kids… either my 8 yr old daughter or my 2 yr old son! My 4 yr old daughter is going to be a flamingo so we are trying to go with an animal theme this year!
When I win, I’d like Spider Boy to be shipped along with his crazy legs, please!
My children and nieces are grown now, but I always made intricate Halloween costumes for them, so much fun!Ii
I would love to win this spider for my son’s 100 pound dog – it would be too much fun! I can make him a hat with places for his ears:)
So cute. My granddaughter wants to be a spider and this is perfect.
My 7 year old wants to be a spider for Halloween! This is perfect!
Too cute! My daughter loves spiders and would love to jump out at people to scare them!
I always look forward to drooling over your adorable annual Halloween costumes and your easy tutorials have actually made me feel like ‘I could do that’ and inspire me to dig out the craft supplies and sewing machine. My 7 year old boy would LOVE this costume!
Oh my goodness! Was just talking to my coworker this morning about my daughters “Black Widow” costume that she wants. My coworker told me I should make spider legs for it and then I got this email!!! So if I win this would be for my 7 yo ;)) We’re going to use freezer paper to stencil the red mark on her shirt!
My daughter or my son will love this costume!
Such a cute idea. My daughter would wear it for Halloween.
I love this! I would use it for my 3 year old daughter. Her baby sister is going to be a lady bug so this would be perfect!
My granddaughter wants to be a spider for Halloween but we don’t have a Michael’s where we live . Any ideas on what else I use for the legs? Love the costume.
They are available through Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072RQY929/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=maitanloit0c3-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B072RQY929&linkId=6ff9d1fd831800071550c3fe5838b8b9
Ashley, I’d love a spider costume! I have a ladies vintage black pill box hat that I am hoping to put a spider on top, with something that looks like black webbing. I’m going to cover a large studio home ball with black fabric, goo goo eyes and of course legs, for a trick or treat hat.
My 5 yr old has said many times this year she wants to be a spider for Halloween this is perfect!
I would like to win this for either my son or one of the girls! Thanks for the giveaway, that is real nice of you!
My son told me yesterday he wants to be a spider! This is perfect! I’m going to buy the stuff if I don’t win!
Smithnatalier@gmail.com
October 30th and my 2.5 year-old just sprung on me that she wants to be a spider and not a pirate, as she has wanted to be all month. I don’t think I will win at this point… better get to Michael’s now!
I am going to make it for myself and my husband. our kids are going to be butterfly and a moth(food for spiders)
My 4 year old would love this costume! Thank you for the great tutorial!
So cute! I’d use it for either myself or my daughter for Bookoween at school!