My Dearest Creator,
There is a special kind of magic that arrives with the autumn chill—a desire to fill our homes with warmth, charm, and a touch of seasonal whimsy. It’s a time for cozy cups of tea, the scent of cinnamon in the air, and, of course, a delightful new project for our hooks.
Today, we are not just making a coaster; we are crafting a tiny stage for a Halloween story. We're creating a functional piece of art that will bring a smile to your face every time you set your mug down. This Arachne's Web Coaster is a celebration of the playful side of spooky, a testament to how a little yarn and imagination can transform the everyday into something enchanting. Let's begin!
🎨 A Touch of Joy for Your Home: The Project Vision
This project is designed to be a perfect blend of form and function. We will first create a sturdy, perfectly flat circular coaster, dense enough to protect your surfaces with style. Then, using a simple embroidery technique, we'll draw a striking spiderweb across its surface. The final flourish? A darling, three-dimensional amigurumi spider, which you can perch playfully on the edge, ready to delight your guests and guard your brew.
✨ Clever Crafting: Essential Skills & Tricks
This project is a wonderful little workshop for honing a few key skills. You'll perfect the art of creating a **perfectly flat circle** in single crochet, a cornerstone of many crochet projects. You'll then get to play the artist with **surface embroidery**, a simple yet powerful technique for adding graphic details to your work. Finally, you'll dabble in the basics of **amigurumi** to create our adorable spider. It's a treasure trove of techniques packed into one small, satisfying creation.
A true artisan knows that even the smallest creation is an opportunity to practice greatness. The skills you refine on this little coaster will echo in the grand masterpieces you've yet to imagine.
🧶 The Alchemist's Trove: Materials & Tools
- Yarn: Worsted weight (Category 4) cotton yarn. Cotton is ideal for coasters due to its absorbency and heat resistance.
- Color A (Coaster): Bone White or Fiery Red
- Color B (Web & Spider): Jet Black
- Color C (Spider for dark coaster): Bone White
- Color D (Optional Eyes): Scrap of Fiery Red
- Crochet Hook: 4.0 mm (G-6) or size appropriate for your yarn.
- Yarn Needle: For weaving in ends and embroidery.
- Scissors: For trimming yarn.
- Stuffing: A tiny wisp of Poly-Fil for the spider's body.
💡 The Language of the Craft: Stitches & Abbreviations
This pattern is written in US crochet terminology.
- MR: Magic Ring
- ch: Chain
- sl st: Slip Stitch
- sc: Single Crochet
- inc: Increase (2 sc in the same stitch)
- dec: Decrease (sc 2 stitches together)
- BLO: Back Loop Only
- [...]: Repeat instructions in brackets
- (...): Total stitch count for the round
💡 The Artisan's Advisor: Pro Tips & FAQs
The full, step-by-step pattern begins below.
Toothless Dragon Crochet Pattern (PDF)eBook – Easy & Adorable!
Craft your own adorable Toothless dragon with this easy-to-follow PDF pattern and bring a new friend to life.
🎁 Buy now and receive the “Wilbert the Whimsical Mushroom” PDF pattern absolutely FREE – a charming bonus to double your crochet fun!
Download Your Dragon
📖 The Blueprint: The Complete Arachne's Web Coaster Pattern
Part 1: The Coaster Base
Using Color A (Bone White or Fiery Red).
Rnd 1: 6 sc in a MR. (6)
Rnd 2: inc in each st around. (12)
Rnd 3: [sc, inc] 6 times. (18)
Rnd 4: [sc in next 2 st, inc] 6 times. (24)
Rnd 5: [sc in next 3 st, inc] 6 times. (30)
Rnd 6: [sc in next 4 st, inc] 6 times. (36)
Rnd 7: [sc in next 5 st, inc] 6 times. (42)
Rnd 8: [sc in next 6 st, inc] 6 times. (48)
Rnd 9: [sc in next 7 st, inc] 6 times. (54)
Rnd 10: In BLO, sl st in each st around. (54)
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Part 2: The Amigurumi Spider
Using Color B (Jet Black) or C (Bone White).
Rnd 1: 6 sc in a MR. (6)
Rnd 2: inc in each st around. (12)
Rnd 3: sc in each st around. (12)
Rnd 4: dec 6 times. (6)
Add a tiny amount of stuffing before closing the hole. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Before sewing the spider to the coaster, create the legs.
Legs (Make 8): Insert hook into a stitch on the side of the spider's body, yarn over and pull up a loop. Ch 6. Starting from the second chain from the hook, sl st in the next 5 ch. Sl st back into the body of the spider. Fasten off and weave in the end. Repeat to create 4 legs on each side.
🧵 The Finishing Touches: Assembly & Details
Step 1: Embroider the Web. Using Color B (Jet Black) and a yarn needle, first create the "spokes" of the web. Stitch 4 long lines that intersect at the center of the coaster, like you are cutting a pizza into 8 slices. Secure the yarn on the back.
Step 2: Connect the Web. With a new piece of black yarn, create the curved lines connecting the spokes. A simple backstitch works beautifully. I suggest two rings of connecting lines, one about halfway out from the center and another closer to the edge.
Step 3: Attach the Spider. Using the long tail from the spider's body, sew it securely onto the coaster, positioning it wherever you like. I find it most charming when it sits right on the edge, as if crawling onto the web.
Step 4 (Optional): Add two tiny stitches with red yarn for eyes to give your spider a little extra personality!
💌 Crafted with Joy, Made to Use: A Final Word
And there you have it—a small piece of functional art, imbued with the spirit of the season and the care of your own two hands. May it bring a little spark of joy to your daily rituals and serve as a reminder that creativity can be found in even the most practical of objects. I am so proud of what you've created today. Happy haunting, and even happier hooking!
Architected & Verified by
Patricia Poltera
The Crochet Architect