Spider Web Table Runner

OK. So I am so, so pleased with this project. The idea popped into my head while I was trying to sleep (I take forever to fall asleep at night, it is ridiculous) and I wanted to jump on it ASAP.

{First off, I know it is still September. But we Arizonians don't get Fall, so decorating with leaves and acorns and scarecrows is just weird to me when you walk outside and it is still 104 degrees. Halloween, however, is so fun that I'll just start early this year. :)}

Go get some black 72" felt from your fabric store. 3/8 yard of it, actually, for this runner! Bring it home and make sure it is cut a lovely, straight 16" wide.

Get yerself a spiderweb design. I drew this one up (8 1/2" square) to trace but didn't end up tracing every single web strand because, lets face it, that would be too much work for a lazy person like me.

Trace the outline of your spider web all over your piece of felt, and use your template as a reference for how to draw the webbing, if you are lazy like me. Otherwise, trace everything from your template. I found a white crayon was much easier to use and see than my other white pencils. I made sure to connect the spiderwebs together through their own little strands... just look at the picture :) Then, time to cut!

You will cut out all the "negative" space from the spiderweb designs, leaving a "border" around the whole thing. Or you could not have a border and it would be all over cool. You will be covered in tiny black felt cuttings, and your children may or may not decide that these would be fun to stick in their ears. Just warning you.

After all that cutting (mine took a few hours... but it was totally worth it!! And to think I was too lazy to cut out the template...) you should have some nifty spiderwebbing going on.

But, alas, the spiderweb is hard to see against my dark table!! Time for Halloween fabric!! Or, orange, since it was cheaper than the actual Halloween stuff at the fabric store. I just got 1 yard, cut it in half long-ways, and sewed the ends together to make a long, narrow(er) runner. Hem all the sides, and add any decorative things you might want. I had the hubs pick up the fabric, and he went the extra mile and picked up some giant black ric-rac. Gold stars in heaven for that one, people. However, after looking at it for a few hours, we decided to chop off the ends. After more time, we took off the ric-rac and stuck to simple. We're weird like that. I'm sure if I had cut more spiderwebs for a longer runner, this look would have been fine, but I wanted to keep my baby's hands from reaching onto the table and yanking it down. That would be a sad day!

I am thrilled! Overjoyed!! Pleased as punch!! And I can't wait for this weekend, when I gather thrifted items to become a spooky display. Stay tuned!

**ETA: The spiderweb template I drew is now available to you if you like! Click here for the PDF. The spiderweb is not nice and symmetrical on purpose; if it were, it would be a snowflake (which, as Robyn already pointed out, would be equally as cool for winter)!!