Materials
any material worsted weight yarn G hook darning needle buttons, plastic eyes (optional) Gauge 4 sts per 1" on a G hook
Abbreviations
sc: single crochet dc: double crochet rnd: round sc2tog: single crochet 2 stitches together
Finished Size
The one I made is about $4\:1/4"$ $\mathrm{[11~cm)}$ tall, and about $12"$ $\langle30\;\mathrm{cm})$ wide with the tentacles stretched out.
Difficulty
It's a quick and easy project that takes ${\sim}2.4$ hours to complete! This little guy makes a great last-minute gift
Notes
The entire octopus is worked in a spiral, using single crochet stitches. Rnd 4: Sc in the first 2 stitches, 2 sc in the next stitch. Repeat all around. (16 st) Rnd 5: Sc in the first 3 stitches, 2 sc in the next stitch, Repeat all around. (20 st) Rnd 6: Sc in each stitch around. (20 st) Rnd 7: Sc in the first 4 stitches, 2 sc in the next stitch. Repeat all around. (24 st) Rnd 8: Sc in each stitch around. (24 st) Rnd 9: Sc2tog twice, sc in each stitch around. (22 st) Rnd 10: Sc2tog twice, sc in each stitch around. (20 st) Rnd 11: Sc2tog twice, sc in each stitch around. (18 st) Rnd 12: Sc2tog twice, sc in each stitch around. (16 st) These last two rows are to ensure you have room to sew on the tentacles: Rnd 13: Sc2tog in each stitch around. (8 st) Rnd 14: 2 sc in each stitch around. (16 st) Fasten off and stuff lightly
Tentacles (make 8)
The tentacles are worked from base to tip, and can get prety tedious. Make sure you are equipped with a hefty supply of patience. Rnd 1: Chain 8, join together to make a ring Rnd 2-6: sc around Rnd 7: sc2tog, then sc around Repeat rounds 2-7 until there are two or three stitches left. Fasten off and stuff lightly. Now that you have a body and some tentacles, it's time to sew them on. Lay them out around the octopus? body, and you'll notice that there are 16 stitches on the last row--this allows 2 stitches per tentacle. You'll also notice that there's a hole at the very bottom of the body--crochet a circle the same size, and leave a little hole in the center for its mouth.
One way to make your octopus stand out is by using plastic eyes, but you could also use some thread to create pupils. The base for the eyes can be made like so: Rnd 1: Chain 2, work 4 sc into first chain Rnd 2: 2 sc in each stitch (8 st) Rnd 3-4: Sc all around. Fasten off make another eye, and take a contrasting thread/yarn (in my case, white) and sew lite slits. Then sew them onto the body and you're done! $\copyright$ 2010 Nicole Fiori Any questions or comments? Contact me at originalreprint@gmail.com
