DIY Spider Web Mantle Scarf

Learn how to make a mantle scarf with a spider web theme. The pearls and shiny ribbon look great against the black tulle.

Years back I saw a spider web mantle scarf somewhere online, and I’ve wanted to create my own ever since. I wanted it to be black and white like a spider web, and I wanted it to be classy without being creepy.

I started with a base of black tulle and added a iridescent ribbon, black tassels, and a pearl trim. It turned out so pretty like real spider webs. It makes me happy every time I see it.

I also want to try to see if I can wear it as a spider web cape. Wouldn’t it be so pretty for a witch costume?

What is a mantle scarf?

A mantel scarf is a piece of decorated or embroidered fabric that hangs over the front of the shelf of a fireplace mantel. It’s common for the mantle scarf to be the same width as the shelf and it is more likely to stay up if it is the same depth of the mantle.

Think of a mantle scarf as a “scarf” for a shelf or a mantle.

How to use a mantle scarf?

To use a mantle scarf you lay the undecorated part of it onto the shelf and have the beautiful decorated part hanging over the front. Each mantle scarf is different widths and different lengths hanging down so figure out what works with your specific fireplace.

Do you love to sew? Try one of these sewing projects:

Supplies

3 yards of black tulle
Black tassels
Pearl bead trim – The pearls make the mantle scarf very heavy and I had to be very strategic about making it stay up. Choose a lightweight trim to eliminate this problem.
4-5 yards of 1/2 inch white ribbon
Sewing tools
Sewing machine

Measure your mantle. Fold the tulle so that it’s the width of your measurement and so that there are two or more layers. Leave some fabric so that you can cut a rectangle that is the width of your measurement by the depth of the mantle.

fold tulle into big rectangle with four layers

Fold the tulle so that the center is at a point and you can cut a curve on the other side. This will create a large half circle measuring the width of your mantle.

Open up the half circle so that it’s laying out flat.

Cut the ribbon so that you have a piece going straight across the top and a piece going down and around the half circle curve. Cut multiple lines of ribbon for the web that start in the top of the middle and come down to the curved side.

clip the ribbon onto the circle in an outline and straight web lines

Sew down the center of the ribbon to secure it to the tulle.

Sew the tassels to the curved side of the scarf. I sewed nine tassels on evenly distributed around the curve.

tack tassels onto curved edge of half circle

Cut the pearl trim into pieces that will hang down in progressively larger half circles to cover the entire scarf. I cut four separate pieces.

cut out pearl strands to hang in a half circle

Secure the ends of the pearl trim to the straight edges.

tack pearl trim to the top straight edge

Sew the remaining rectangle to the straight edge of the mantle scarf. I illustrated a picture of this step because I couldn’t fit the whole piece of fabric on my table to take a picture.

sew the rectangle onto the straight edge of the half circle

Hang the mantle scarf over your mantle and enjoy your beautiful work!

If you make something using this sewing project, I’d love to see! Please share it on social media with the hashtag #heatherhandmade and tag me!