Spider Knitting Patterns

Spooky season begins in my house on Sept. 1, so you know all the knit pumpkins are out and I’m thinking about new ways to add yarn to our fall decor. How about some knit spiders? They can hang out among the pumpkins, be added to a holiday wreath or add some spooky flair wherever you need it.

Let’s start with the smallest ones, in case you need an instant gratification project, or a tiny spider to hide somewhere to scare someone. This one from Cute Knit Toy on Etsy is knit in the round and has I-cord legs, and quite a few eyes and other embellishments.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Lara Breese (free on Ravelry) uses DK weight yarn and also has a body worked in the round and I-cord legs. This one was designed to dangle from a knitting bag or be a small toy for a child. It’s a great use for a precious little bit of yarn, too.

Eek the Spider by Susan Claudino (on Ravelry) is super cute and relatively small, and would be a good use for some leftovers if you want to make it in different colors or with striped legs as shown. This one can be made with any weight of yarn, but the ones listed on the pattern page are worsted weight and make the spider about 6 inches/15 cm long.

Shelia Bond’s The Friendly Spider (also from Ravelry) can use any weight of yarn but the designer says they use leftover sock yarn, which is a great idea and makes them all unique and colorful. These take just a few minutes and a few yards (25-35, or 23 to 32 meters) of yarn, so it’s a great project to make with leftovers.

So Simple Knit Studio on Etsy has a cute pattern for a spider that’s just a little fuzzy thanks to the fun yarn choice. You can use any yarn with a bit of a halo or pick a smooth yarn for a different effect.

Arachnophobia Spider by Revati Poole (free on Ravelry) is probably the most involved project in this list of spider knitting patterns. It uses bulky weight yarn and the pattern notes say the body is easy but the legs are a little fiddly. If you scroll the finished projects you will see lots of different ideas for how to add legs if you need an easier way.

Finally, if you’re a circular knitting machine user, you can make this lovely spider pattern from Peace Love and Moki on Etsy. It looks like if could be made with any size machine and use small panels or an I-cord maker to make the legs.

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Beautiful people and beautiful sweaters combine in Lasse L. Matberg’s Viking Knits. The book includes more than 40 Scandinavian inspired knits for men, women and children featuring textured stitches and colorwork.

Matberg is known as The Viking and has worked as a chef, naval officer, fitness instructor and model, as well as being on a couple of reality TV shows. He comes from a long line of makers and his book was first published in Norwegian in 2021 and has since come out in an English version.

The book is divided into sections including everyday sweaters, knits for the great outdoors, stylish knitwear, Norse sweaters and accessories. Some of the patterns use the same designs in different versions for men, women and children. I counted seven projects rated for beginners, 19 for intermediate knitters and 17 for experienced knitters. The more difficult patterns tend to have allover colorwork or stitch patterning.

The pattern stitches and colorwork are shown in charts, with a little bit of text to tell you how to make the garment. Most of the book is sweaters, but there are also hats (sometimes coordinating with sweaters), scarves and a couple of sitting mats.

You can check out all the patterns on Ravelry. Some of my favorites are the more basic ones, such as the Power Sweater, a close-fitting (sized for men) ribbed sweater; the Heart Sweater, a raglan with allover lice stitch; and the Midsummer Sweater, with textured stripes and a henley neckline. I also like the Breeze designs (there are versions for men, women and children) that have colorwork diamonds on them.

Sizing on the garments varies, but there are six sizes for the men’s patterns (noted as small through XXL and then Lasse sized), six for women (XS to XL) and three for children (age 2-4, 6-8 and 10-12).

The yarns used in the book aren’t available in the United States but you can find suppliers here if you want to use the same yarns. Otherwise the book gives a lot of details about yarn content and gauge so you should be able to find good substitutes wherever you live.

If you have Norwegian or Scandinavian heritage or just like the look of cozy textured or colorful sweaters, this book is a lot of fun, and the eye candy is pretty great, too.

About the book: 192 pages, hardcover, 43 patterns. Published in English in 2023 by Search Press. Suggested retail price $29.95.

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