This video demonstrates one method of how to make the spider stitch. I used it in my Gemstone Spider Afghan (available at Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/gemstone-spider-afghan ).
I begin work on a row of 19 double crochets. Chain 21, work into 4th chain from hook, then dc across for first row. Note that the "spider" portion uses 9 of the dc in the center.
The video moves along very quickly so if you have trouble following, do pause and rewind if you need to. I assume familiarity with basic crochet stitches - chain, single crochet, double crochet and triple crochet in particular.
There are many variations of this stitch. This is just the way I am doing it for this project.
