When I take my oldest to his extracurriculars I usually make sure I toss a skein of yarn, a hook, and a printed pattern in my bag to keep myself occupied while I wait for him. On one recent day I found myself without a pattern. I don’t keep patterns on my phone or even have any apps to allow me to access the internet because I don’t want to be tempted to hang on my phone all the time, so I was kind of stuck. I was thinking about some upcoming craft events I am interested in participating in and was thinking about how I don’t have any small, fast, and inexpensive items to add to my table. So, I started whipping up a little octopus.
I wanted it to be small, I wanted it to be able to make fast, and since I specialize in baby toys, I wanted it to be able to hold a rattle. I also really dislike sewing so I wanted to keep the sewing exclusively for the face and nothing else.
There’s nothing terribly complicated or unique about this pattern so I’d like to offer it for free. I hope you find enjoyment making yourself one (or many) of these little guys for yourself and others.
No-Sew Octopus
Just like everything else I have done so far, I used #4 medium worsted weight acrylic yarn, a 3.0 mm hook, and have written the pattern using US terms and abbreviations. Guage really does not matter for this pattern and you should use whatever hook size you prefer with whatever yarn weight you prefer.
MR – magic ring
ch – chain
sc – single crochet
inc – increase, 2 sc in the same stitch
dec- decrease, join 2 sc together to make a single stitch
sl st – slip stitch
FO – finish off
We will actually be making this in 2 pieces but they get joined together as you go.
Head
1. 6sc in MR. (6)
2. inc x6. (12)
3. [sc, inc] x6. (18)
4. [2sc, inc] x6. (24)
5. [3sc, inc] x6. (30)
6. [4sc, inc] x6. (36)
7-10. *4 rows* 36sc. (36)
11. [4sc, dec] x6. (30)
12. 30sc. (30)
13. [3sc, dec] x6. (24)
14. 24sc. (24)
FO.
When working the body, if you intend to put a rattle inside, make sure you begin stuffing and insert the rattle before you decrease too much. In my photo you will see how I use little inexpensive containers I find at the 100 yen shop (like a dollar store) to make my own rattle inserts for a fraction of what the craft store rattle inserts cost.
Bottom
1. 6sc in MR. (6)
2. inc x6. (12)
3. [sc, inc] x6. (18)
4. [2sc, inc] x6. (24)
Do NOT FO.
We will continue joining the bottom to the head while adding the tentacles.
Pictures are worth a thousand words so I’m going to do my best to support the joining directions with close-up images.
With your yarn still attached to the bottom, insert your hook through a stitch of the head.
Push your hook through from the wrong side of the bottom piece. You will then do a single crochet stitch to join the 2 pieces together.
Sc in the next stitch of both pieces, joining both the head and bottom with your stitch, and chain 30. Work back down the chain beginning in the second stitch from the hook and work an increase in each chain. When you reach the base you will work a sc in the next 2 stitches and in the third stitch you will once again chain 30 to make a tentacle. Repeat the two sc and building a chain on the third stitch until you have 8 tentacles. You should find yourself with one stitch remaining to hold your final joining sc. FO.
Please remember to add a bit more stuffing in the bottom BEFORE you do the final 8th tentacle while you still have room to get your stuffing in there.
When I’m deciding where I will stitch my face, I count down 9 rows from the top of the head and that’s where the top of the eye sits. There are 5 holes between the eyes. There are 3 or 4 holes between the corners of the mouth. You should be able to count out where to place your stitches by looking at this close-up of the face.
Of course, you can also use your imagination and make any face you see fitting.
Please do not copy, reproduce, translate, or redistribute this pattern in anyway without consent from me, the designer.
Please DO link to this page when sharing.
And DO enjoy making all the little octopuses you can!
