I’m super excited to share my adorable free crochet tarantula pattern with you guys! This is a fun, quick crochet pattern I’ve worked up this week. All ready to decorate our house for halloween, and celebrate my favorite arachnids! You will begin each section with a magic circle, and be working in continuous rounds with repetitive single crochet stitches. I created this pattern whilst entertaining my son and pretending to be a pirate, so I’m confident that you will find it pretty straight forward to follow even in a house full of distractions!
Contents
I used the black yarn with white flecks pictured, because a black tarantula feels more Halloween themed, and the flecks gave more depth and contrast to the crochet tarantula. I’ve also used it to make a similarly styled crochet scorpion toy! However, there is nothing to stop you making your crochet tarantula look like your adorable tarantula pet. You might like to use brown wool to make a gorgeous goliath tarantula or even add color changes to make your Mexican red knee or green bottle blue tarantula!
What You’ll Need To Crochet Your Tarantula
- Black acrylic yarn for the main body and legs
- Cream acrylic yarn for the fangs
- 4mm hook
- Yarn needle
- Stitch markers
- Toy stuffing
- Safety eyes
Pattern Instructions
The stitches you’ll need to be familiar with to produce this pattern are magic circles, single crochets, and slip stitches. You’ll also need to understand how to crochet stitches together to make a decrease, the reverse of working two stitches into the same space to increase the size of the piece.
If you’re still learning to crochet you’ll find some help with the technical aspects here, and reading the pattern and understanding abbreviations here. The main abbreviations I will use in the pattern below are
- sc for single crochet
- and sc2tog for single crochet two stitches together
The Crochet Tarantula Pattern!
Before I begin a crochet session, I make sure I’ve got everything I need to hand. As well as a comfortable place to sit! Grab your hook, yarn, stitch markers, safety eyes, toy stuffing and a nice hot brew. Get comfortable, and if you are a fast crocheter then you can get this crochet tarantula put together in a single session!
You will begin by crocheting the tarantula’s head. This part is technically an aspect of the thorax,the cephalothorax to be exact, and it is the part which all of his legs will be attached to later on.
Your Crochet Tarantula’s Head
Using your black yarn and a 4mm hook, you’ll be working in a continuous round. Make sure you’ve got a stick marker handy so you don’t lose count if you get distracted or stop for a coffee!
Round 1
Magic circle of eight stitches. (8)
Round 2
2sc x 8 (16)
Round 3
(1sc, 2sc) x 8 (24)
Round 4
(1sc x 2, 2sc) x 8 (32)
Round 5 – 7
1sc x 32 (32)
Round 8
(1sc x 3, 2sc) x 8 (40)
Round 9
(1sc x 4, 2sc) x 8 (48)
Round 10 – 11
1sc x 48 (48)
Round 12
(1sc x 5, 2sc) x 8 (56)
Round 13 – 16
1sc x 56 (56)
Round 17
(1sc x 5, sc2tog) x 8 (48)
Round 18
(1sc x 4, sc2tog) x 8 (40)
Round 19 – 20
1sc x 32 (32)
Round 21
(1sc x 3, sc2tog) x 8 (32)
Round 22
(1sc x 2, sc2tog) x 8 (24)
Add safety eyes and fill with toy stuffing
Round 23
(1sc, sc2tog) x 8 (16)
Round 24
sc2tog to close.
Your Crochet Tarantula’s Abdomen
The prominent tarantula abdomen is crocheted again in simple single crochets, and worked in a round. Use your main body color, and stuff a couple of rows before closing.
Round 1
Magic circle of eight stitches. (8)
Round 2
2sc x 8 (16)
Round 3
(1sc, 2sc) x 8 (24)
Round 4
(1sc x 2, 2sc) x 8 (32)
Round 5 – 7
1sc x 32 (32)
Round 8
(1sc x 3, 2sc) x 8 (40)
Round 9
(1sc x 4, 2sc) x 8 (48)
Round 10
(1sc x 5, 2sc) x 8 (56)
Round 11
(1sc x 6, 2sc) x 8 (64)
Round 12 – 17
1sc x 64 (64)
This is a great time to sew the tarantula’s abdomen to their thorax.
Round 18
(1sc x 6, 2sc) x 8 (64)
Round 19
(1sc x 5, sc2tog) x 8 (56)
Round 20
sc x 40 (56)
Round 21
(1sc x 4, sc2tog) x 8 (40)
Round 22
sc x 40 (40)
Round 23
(1sc x 3, sc2tog) x 8 (32)
Round 24
sc x 32 (32)
Round 22
(1sc x 2, sc2tog) x 8 (24)
Fill with toy stuffing
Round 23
(1sc, sc2tog) x 8 (16)
Round 24
sc2tog to close.
Crocheting The Fangs
Tarantulas have protruding fangs that they use to catch and consume their dinner. These vary hugely in size depending upon the particular species, but for a crochet tarantula plushie I also go for a bit of a caricature. So the fangs here are fairly substantial, but you can reduce the rows or stitches per row to make them more subtle, if you would like.
Round 1
Magic circle of six stitches. (6)
Round 2
2sc x 6 (12)
Round 3 – 7
1sc x 12 (12)
Tie off at the end of the round and attach underneath the eyes.
Lots Of Legs!
To make your tarantula toy poseable, insert pipe cleaners into the legs before stuffing.
Round 1
Magic circle of eight stitches. (8)
Round 2
2sc x 8 (16)
Round 3 – 9
sc x 8 (16)
Round 10
sc2tog x 8 (8)
Round 11
2sc x 8 (16)
Round 12 – 22
sc x 16 (16)
Round 23
sc2tog x 8 (8)
Round 24 – 26
sc x 8 (8)
Round 27
2sc x 8 (16)
Round 28 – 37
sc x 16 (16)
Using the other end of your crochet hook, push stuffing down into the leg. Then sew up the end. When attaching the legs have a think about how you’d like your crochet tarantula to be posed!
Happy Crocheting!
Lucy Kate, x