The Legend Of A Christmas Spider

This is one of my favorite Christmas legends and I decided to post the story again.  Did you know that in the Ukraine it is not unusual for a family to do a thorough cleaning of their house for the Christ child's visit?  But if you come across a spider web do not destroy it. 

There is a legend that many years ago a woman was cleaning her house for Christmas and banished even the spiders away.  After everyone was in bed, the spiders came back to see the decorated tree and as they wandered along the branches they spun a web.

When the Christ child came to this house he saw the web and loved it, for he loved even the lowest creature.  He knew the woman of the house wouldn’t like it and so upon touching the web it turned to silver and gold.  So in the Ukraine, you are likely to see a spider among the decorations of a tree.

I enjoy that legend so much I make fabric yoyo spiders for my tree.  They are quick and easy ornaments to make.

You need a little fabric; the amount depends on how big you want the finished yoyo to be.  Remember from my yoyo tutorial, the fabric you cut must be 2 time +1/2” bigger than the finished yoyo.   So cut your fabric to the size you need and sew it up.

unsewn fabric

yoyo made

                     

Once it is sewn, you now have the body of the spider.   The yoyo hole will be the front of the spider (it makes it look a bit like a mouth).

Flat side of yoyo

yarn legs added

      

Turn the yoyo to the flat side; this is where you will glue the legs.  You can use pipe cleaners or yarn to be the leg.  Make them however long you want them to be. I cut them in one length and sew them across the back to each end is sticking out the side of the yoyo. You will need 4 pieces so the spider will have 8 legs.

Eyes added

Turn the yoyo around so the hole is facing up and glue two tiny beads, buttons or googly eyes above the hole for the eyes

Hanging loop added

Add a string loop at the top and you now have a Christmas yoyo spider.

© 2016, 2018  Cheryl Fillion