Once upon a time on a Christmas Eve long ago, a family was preparing

their home for the visit of the Christ child. Everything had been scrubbed and cleaned, and after the Christmas tree had been beautifully trimmed, the family went to bed.

While the family was sleep-ing, the little spiders who had

been chased from their favorite nooks and crannies crept back to wonder at the tree’s glittering beauty. They crawled on every branch to see each shining ornament, but alas, in their excitement, they forgot to stop spinning their webs. After their inspection, the tree was shroud-ed with cobwebs!

When the Christ child came

and saw what had happened, He smiled at the thought of the little spiders wanting to see His tree. As He blessed it, He touched each web to turn it into gold, and the tree shone with greater beauty than before.

Today, in many parts of the world each Christmas tree, to be complete, must have one golden spider. – Dearl Kniskern

Christmas spider

The

Every tree should have one

by Diane S. Hertzler

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©2003 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

Every year I look for a different bead-ed Christmas ornament to make and share with family and friends. Last fall my search brought me to the story of the “Golden Christmas Spider” and it inspired me to create a beaded version. Using techniques described in Carol Wilcox Wells’ book The Art and Elegance of Beadweaving (Lark Books, 2002), I covered painted wooden beads with vertical netting for the head and abdomen of the spider. Then bugles and seed beads are strung on 24-gauge wire and shaped to form the legs.

Hang the beaded spider with a thin piece of monofilament fishing line and it will appear to be dropping from a web, or set it on a branch of the tree.

You can also use this pattern to make a black-widow spider for Halloween. Paint the wood beads black and add a red hourglass to the abdomen.

stepbystepBegin by painting the wood beads. First prime the inside openings of each bead with gesso and let it dry. Cut a straw lengthwise, slide the beads on the straw, and prime the outside of the beads. Sand until smooth. Paint the inside openings and the outside of each bead with acryl-ic paint.

abdomen[1] Thread a needle with a 1 yd. (.9m) length of Nymo.[2] String 12MC beads to 6 in. (15cm) from the tail end. Sew back through the beads again in the same direction to form a ring. Tie the tail and working thread together with a square knot (see “Basics,” p. 162 and photo a).[3] Leave a 6-in. tail and cut the bead ring from the thread.[4] Repeat step 2 with the remaining thread on the needle.[5] Cut a clean straw in half and make a slit in it lengthwise. Slide a bead ring, the oval painted bead, and the other bead ring to the center of the straw (photo b).

[6] To keep track of the top and bottom of the bead as you follow the illustrations, the ring with 2 tails will be the bottom ring. Sew through the next bead on the top ring so you are not working next to the knot.[7] String 5MC, 1AC, 5MC, 1AC, 5MC, 1AC, 5MC, and pass the needle through a bead on the bottom ring (figure 1, a-b and photo c). The first couple of rows will not fit snugly against the wooden bead, but keep the thread tension tight as you work.[8] String 5MC, 1AC, and 5MC. Sew through the middle AC on the previous row (b-c). String 5MC, 1AC, 5MC, skip a bead on the top ring, and sew through the next bead (c-d). [9] String 5MC and sew through the first AC on the previous row (d-e). String 5MC, 1AC, 5MC, and sew through the third AC on the previous row (e-f). String 5MC, skip a bead on the bottom ring, and sew through the next bead (f-g).[10] Repeat steps 8-9 until there are 6AC around at the top, middle, and bot-tom of the wooden bead. As you attach each row to the top and bottom ring, remember to skip one bead on the ring and sew through the next between each vertical row. (You sew through every other bead on each ring.) On the last row, the needle will exit a bead on the bottom ring.[11] Connect the last vertical row to the first. String 5MC and go through the third AC on the first row (figure 2, a-b). String 5MC and sew through the middle AC on the last row (b-c and photo d). Continue adding 5MC between each AC and then sew through the first bead on the top ring (c-d).[12] Sew through a few more beads on the top ring. Keep the tension tight and tie half-hitch knots (Basics) between a few beads. Weave the needle down through several beads in a vertical row and tie half-hitch knots between a few more beads. Trim the excess thread and repeat with the 3 tails.

head[1] Repeat steps 1-6 for the “Abdomen,” except string the round wooden bead on the straw between the rings in step 5.[2] Sew through the next bead on the

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top ring and string 3MC, 1AC, 4MC, 1AC, and 3MC. Sew through a bead on the bottom ring (figure 3, a-b). [3] String 3MC, 1AC, 4MC, and sew through the top AC on the previous row (b-c). String 3MC, skip a bead on the top ring, and sew through the next bead (c-d).[4] String 3MC, 1AC, 4MC, and sew through the bottom AC on the previous row (d-e). String 3MC, skip a bead on the bottom ring, and sew through the next bead (e-f).[5] Repeat steps 3-4 until there are 6AC around the wood bead. On the last vertical row the thread will exit a bead on the bottom ring. [6] Connect the last vertical row to the first with MC beads. String 3MC and sew through the bottom AC on the first row (figure 4, a-b). String 4MC and sew through the top AC on the last row (b-c). String 3MC and sew through the first bead on the top ring (c-d).[7] Repeat step 12 for the “Abdomen” to tie off the threads.

legs [1] Cut a 5-in (12.7cm) length of wire.[2] Grasp the very end of the wire with the tip of roundnose pliers and wrap the wire around one jaw of the pliers to make a small loop (photo e). Open the pliers and reposition them to make 2-3 more loops next to the first loop (photo f).[3] Repeat steps 1-2 for a total of 8 legs.[4] String an alternating pattern of 110s, and bugles on the wire until you have 10 seed beads and 9 bugles. Start and end with an 110 seed bead. Repeat with the remaining 7 wires.[5] Hold 4 wires in your nondominant hand and make sure the beads on each wire are against the coil. With your dominant hand, twist the wires together directly above the beads. Tighten the twist with chainnose pliers (photo g).[6] Separate the wires into 2 pairs and bend each pair in opposite directions at a right angle to the beaded sections (photo h). [7] Repeat steps 5-6 with the remaining 4 wires.[8] Hold both leg sets together with the legs pointing in the same direction. Twist two pairs of perpendicular wires

together and repeat with the other side (photo i). Use chainnose pliers to tighten the twist gently. Be careful not to break any of the wires.[9] String the beaded abdomen bead over one of the twisted wire bundles and trim the wires to 1⁄2 in. (1.3cm) past the bead. Treat the twisted wires as one wire and use roundnose pliers to form a loop (photo j). Continue turning the loop until it is snug against the opening of the abdomen bead. The loop should

be large enough that is doesn’t slide into the bead.[10] Repeat step 9 with the remaining twisted wire bundles and the head bead.[11] Shape the legs so they curve up then down over the body of the spider.

Contact Diane at 232 Front St., Lititz, PA 17543-1602; dianehertzler@dejazzd.com; (717) 626-5205.

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materials• 1 10mm Round wood bead• 1 1⁄2 x 3⁄4 in. (1.3 x 2cm) Oval wood bead• 31⁄2 ft. (1m) 24-gauge Wire • 2g Seed beads, size 150, main color (MC)• 1g Seed beads, size 150, accent color (AC)• 72 5mm Bugle beads• 2g Seed beads, size 100 or 110• Nymo B or D beading thread• Beading needles, #12• 3 Drinking straws• Gesso (primer for acrylic paint)• Acrylic paint• Sandpaper, fine gritTools: paint brush, diagonal wire cutters, round- and chainnose pliers