1 Build the star shape that will act as a frame for the stitch. For the standard Spiderweb stitch, it’s vital to use an odd number of “arms & legs” to stitch this star, otherwise the stitch doesn’t work. But for the ribbed version, it really doesn’t matter. The stitch works either way! So I like to use an even number of “arms & legs” for the ribbed version – just because I can!

Bring the needle up through the fabric, in the centre of the stitch, then stitch 8 “arms & legs” clockwise.

Push the needle back through to the front of the fabric, in the centre of the stitch.

[NOTE: In the photographs, I’ve used 2 different colours of thread, to clearly show the difference between the two main stages to stitching this stitch, but it should really be stitched using 1 single colour]

2 Now we can start working on the visible part of this pretty stitch – we’re going to weave the needle through the “arms & legs” of the star frame, with little backwards loops to create the “ribs”.

Let’s break it down:

• push the needle under 2 of the arms
• pull it out
• do a backwards loop around the 2nd of these 2 arms
• push the needle under 2 arms again (the one with the loop + a new one)
• keep going: forwards 2, backwards 1, forwards 2, backwards 1, etc. until the “arms & legs” are fully hidden under the stitch.

Fancy seeing it stitched in action? Here’s a short video:

Fancy trying out your new skills? Here’s a selection of patterns to do just that:

Happy stitching!