Beginner Octopus - Detailed

 Beginner Octopus 
right handed 

VIDEO TUTORIALS

Notes:

• Round Marker: With each round you will need to mark the beginning of the round
• Stitch marker in the picture is marking the first stitch of the round.  Hook is in the last stitch of the round.  
• 
  You count back from your hook to count the stitches in the round. 
   
• Do not count the loop on your hook as a stitch.  
• Do count the loop the stitch marker is on.  
• If you count the circles from the center you can see that this is round 5 or R5.  
• R5: [sc3, inc] 6 times (30 sts).  Meaning that to make this round you will stitch sc, sc, sc, inc (6 times to finish the round).  Giving you a total of 30 stitches.  
• The V's on the outside of the project are what you count to count your stitches, starting with the V next too the hook, but not the loop on the hook. From this picture the first V looks like a - from this angle. The stitch with the safety pin is stitch 30 when counting your stitches. 

• To move to the next round, remove the safety pin and place it over the loop on the hook.  You will have to remove your hook from the loop to place it on.  The safety pin should be closed.

• 
  
• Place your hook back on the loop and synch it back around the hook.

• Whenever you need to put down your project make sure that you put a stitch marker through your last loop so you don't loose your stitches. 

• Stitch Glossery:
• sc = Single Crochet
• I count this by just saying 1
• sc(x) = Consecutive Single Crochets
• sc2, 3, 4… (for each single crochet in consecutive stitches)
• meaning: sc in stitch, then in the next stitch do another sc, and so forth. 
• Count each sc using numbers: 1, 2, 3, etc...
• inc = Increase Stitches.
• This increases the size of the round by placing 2sc (2 single crochets) in the same stitch
• This is where I count using words: IN (for the first stitch), CREASE (for the second stitch in the same stitch
• I like this so that I don’t confuse myself with the consecutive stitches (numbers) vs increase stitches (words) when stitching.
• dec = Decrease Stitch.
• This decreases the size of the round by making 2 two stitches become one.
• ch = Chain
• sl st = Slip Stitch
• flo = Front Loop Only
• blo = Back Loop Only

Materials

• 4 mm crochet hook (2-3 sizes smaller than yarn suggests) 

• I Love This Cotton Yarn or I Love This Yarn (acrylic) from Hobby Lobby - 30 yards for 1 octopus with corkscrew tentacles 

• 2 bulb Safety Pins

• 2 (7-8 mm) safety eyes

• Large eye yarn needle
• Fiber fill
• Scissors

Pattern - (simplified pattern)

(Magic Ring and R1 has been provided for you if in a class with Barbara Dale) 

Make a magic ring

R1: Ch 1, 6 sc (6 sts)

--------------------------

R2: inc into each st (12 sts) (think IN, CREASE in same stitch, meaning 2 sc in same stitch)

R3: [sc, inc] 6 times (18 sts)

R4: [sc2, inc] 6 times (24 sts)

R5: [sc3, inc] 6 times (30 sts)

R6-8: sc into each st (30 sts) (notice that you are doing 3 rows of 30 stitches of sc)

This is where you need to make sure you are stitching up and not down.  Your Amigurumi should be bowl shaped under your hook with V's on the outside.  It tends to want to curl the wrong direction and sometimes you have to force it to go in the correct direction.

R9: [sc3, dec] 6 times (24 sts)

R10: [sc2, dec] 6 times (18 sts)

R11: [sc5, dec] 2 times, sc4 (16 sts)

You are now moving to R12 which is the tentacle rows.  There are two R12's, front loop only round, then the back loop only round.

R12 (front loop only)

Corkscrew Tentacle: = sc, chain 12, turn (meaning you will be working in the chains you just made), inc into the second ch from hook. inc into each of the next 9 chains (this will give you 20 sc for the tentacle), sl st into last chain that is above the sc you made to start the chains, sc (remember front loop only!) into next st on R12 

or

Popcorn Tentacle: = ch2, 5dc into next st (remember front loop only!) take hook out of working loop, count back the 5 stitches of the dc and reinsert the hook into the first dc top stitch (the v, so both loops), reinsert hook into working loop, you should now have 3 loops on your hook, yarn over and pull through all 3 loops (this part is different from the video), ch2, sc into next st (remember front loop only!). (After 8th tentacle sl st to the one with the safety pin, beginning of the round).  

Repeat Tentacle instructions 7 more times until you have a total of 8 tentacles.

 

Corkscrew Tentacle: = sc, chain 12, turn, inc into the second ch from hook. inc9 (20 st), sl st into last chain, sc into next st (make 8)  

 

or

Popcorn Tentacle: = ch2, 5dc into next st (popcorn close remember to yarn over before closing), ch2, sc into next st (make 8)

(Keep your safety pin in place as you continue to work another round in R12 cont.)

Remove your hook by making the loop a  little larger and place another safety pin in the loop (not over the loop) so that you will not lose your stitches while placing the smile and safety eyes.

Add a smile by cutting a piece of black yarn about 8 inches long.  Thread black string onto a needle.

• Locate the front of your octopus: the safety pins are located in the back, count 4 tentacles to  find the front.  
• Starting 3 rows above the tentacles, from the inside of the octopus, come out the center hole, leaving about 1/3 of the string inside the octopus for tying off.
• Insert the needle one row above and to the right of the hole you came up from, this time going into the octopus from the outside.
• Come up 3 holes to the left.  This should be on the same row.
• Go down through the center hole that already has black thread coming out.
• DO NOT tie off the string, first  put the eyes on to make sure of placement.

Add the eyes by placing them 1 row above & 1 row to the outside of the smile on each side.

• Make sure that the eyes and the smile are in the position you want them to be in.  Make any adjustments to your desire.
• When eyes are placed where you want them, place the backs on the eyes. Make sure that you do not put the backs on too tight or it will make your octopus look like it has angry eyes.  I like to push it on till it just snaps over the initial bump.
• Now tie your smile.  I like to do a square know but just up next to the shape of the octopus so that you do not pull on the smile and distort the octopus.

The next row will be using the back loops of row 11.  Do not move the safety pin for marking the row, leave it where it is.  You will not have to move the round marking safety pin for the rest of the octopus.

Remove the safety pin that is holding your stitches in place.  Replace your hook on the working loop.

R12 cont. (blo): [sc2, dec] 4 times (12 sts)

Stuff the body

• Remove hook from loop and insert safety pin so that you do not lose your stitches. 
• Take some stuffing but make sure not to over fill!  You do not want your stitches to start pulling from stuffing so much that you can see the stuffing.  But you don't want to under stuff your Amigurumi.  It takes practice to stuff correctly.

(Count back 12 stitches so that you know which v to work into for R13.)

R13: [sc, dec] 4 times (8 sts)

Cut about an 8 inch tail, fasten off, weave through flo all 8 sts, synch to close.

Weave in tail, hide tail in Amigurumi.

Adding a Keychain is optional.