Collecting conkers is one of our favourite autumn traditions, but what can you do with them once you get them home?

Conkers can be used in a surprising number of ways, but one of the most popular uses for them is turning them into toys and games for kids.

conker with yellow pipe cleaners and painted on eyes for a blog post on conker spiders

Conker spiders are an easy and fun craft for kids.

This conker spider craft is a really easy and quick craft for children aged 2+. Part of the fun is, of course, collecting the conkers in the first place! But even once you’ve got your conker haul back home, the fun continues.

Toddlers will likely be able to create their own conker spiders with a little help from a grownup. Adults will need to ensure that the pipe cleaners are cut to the right side and help little ones with the double-sided tape.

Children aged 4+ will most likely be able to make conker spiders without help, although they may need to be shown how to intertwine the pipe cleaners to make the conker spider’s legs.

boy holding a conker with orange and white pipe cleaners stuck to the bottom - for a blog post about canker spider crafts.

Conker spiders are great for Halloween.

The spider conker craft is perfect for decorating your home for Halloween and is a very easy DIY Halloween decoration. You can make a few of them and use their legs to attach them to different surfaces, or they look great lined up on the mantle or windowsill. They also make cute autumn themed decorations. Plus, of course, they’re also really fun to play with!

5 from 2 votes

Conker Spiders

An easy craft for toddlers to complete with help from an adult and for older children to try by themselves.

Prep Time2

Active Time5

Total Time7

Yield: 1 Conker Spider

Equipment

Scissors
Double-sided tape

Materials

1 Conker
2 Googly eyes OR white paint & a black marker
2 Pipe cleaners

Instructions

To make conker Spiders, you need to start by peeling the sticky backing off the googly eyes and attaching them onto your conker. If you don't have any googly eyes, you can use white paint to create circles and then add pupil details with a black marker once the paint has dried.
Take two pipe cleaners and cut them in half. Make a plus (+) shape with 2 halves and fold them over each other. Do the same with the other 2 pipe cleaner halves and join the two plus shapes (+) together.
Cut a small square of double-sided tape and peel the backing off. Place one side on the pipe cleaner legs and then attach your conker to the pipe cleaners. Now you have a conker spider!
The pipe cleaners can be positioned so your conker spider can sit, stand, or even climb.

conker spiders hanging upside down from and chair and on top of a chair, for a blog post on conker spider crafts.

Be creative with where you place your spider!

My kids have been creative with their conker spiders and have had them getting up to all sorts of mischief.

They’ve been climbing on the dining table chairs, hanging upside down from them and even climbing up the sofa!

You can decorate doorways, mirrors, other ornaments, mantlepieces, windowsills, photo frames and so many other places with these cute little conker spiders, so get creative.

A conker with painted eyes and pipe cleaner legs in the palm of my hand, my son blurred out in the background. For a blog post about conker spiders.

Safety Notes

Please remember that conkers (horse chestnuts) are not edible and can cause some nasty sickness if ingested. Always keep an eye on smaller children who are prone to exploring with their mouths and make sure that the conkers are also kept out of reach from pets.

Easy conker spider craft for kids in the middle with several images of conkers that have been made into spiders with pipe cleaners.

14 Comments

Claire Lomax

October 1, 2020 at 5:43 pm Reply

This is such a great idea! We have yet to collect any conkers, I normally collect them as they are very handy for getting rid of spiders! I wonder what spiders would make of conker spiders!!