Octopus Hat
It all started when I viewed a picture of an octopus hat on Reddit. Sleuth
crocheters discovered that Natalie Allen had created it by viewing her
Pinterest page. Since there was no pattern, I and others took up the
challenge of recreating this amazing hat. Above is my creation. Below is an
amateur-ish and casually written pattern that will, in places, direct you to
another person’s pattern.
The Materials
2 Skeins – “I Love This Yarn!” – Coraline Stonewash(main body)
Less than 1 skein of – “Caron Simply Soft” – Fuschia (inside tentacles)
Less than 1 skein of – “Caron Simply Soft” Brites – Super Duper
Yellow(Eyes and edging)
Tiny bit of “Caron Simply Soft” Black(Pupils)
(I honestly can’t tell you yardage used- I just picked complementary colors
that I had in my stash that matched my main body. Just go with worsted
weight yarn and you won’t go wrong.)
The Hat and Back of Head
Okay, I blatantly used other people patterns to create this piece. The beanie
was made by Oombawka Designs, found here. I did mine in Adult
Medium. It’s a really nice pattern that’s available for free, works up fast,
and is versatile. I suppose I should mention that if you use a smaller size
beanie, adjust the tentacle width accordingly.
The back of the head is another hat that I found on Ravelry, called the Rosy
Shells Hat & Scarf Set. Obviously, I used only the hat portion of the pattern.
Again, it’s a really easy pattern that works up quickly and adds a nice
elegance to your wardrobe. Hats are my weakness but both of these were
perfect.
I simply stitched the Rosy Shells to the back of the beanie, making sure that
the top of it covered the beanie’s starting ring.
The Eyes
The Eyeball
Make 2. Taking color of eyeball(yellow in my case:
1. Sc 6 in magic loop(6)
2. Starting in first sc, 2 sc in each stitch around(12)
3. 2 sc in first stitch, 1 sc in next around (18)
4. 2sc in first stitch, 1 sc in next two stitches around (24)
5. Sc around (24)
6. Sc around (24)
7. Sc around (24)
8. Sc around (24)
9. Dec in first stitch, sc in next two stitches around (18)
10. Dec in first stitch, sc in next stitch around (12).
Stuff at this point. Keep decreasing until you close the hole. I didn’t
worry about making it pretty since both the starting and closing holes
are going to be covered.
Pupil
All I did was just thread a yarn needle with black (or your choice of yarn)
and stitch a rough diamond/slit shape on my eye. Tie off both ends and
pull them through the stuffing of your project, then snip the ends.
Eyelid
Make 2. Taking the color of the main body in hand:
Chain 4. Sc in last ch from hook to form loop.
1. Ch 2(does not count as a stitch). Hdc 6 in loop. Turn!
2. Ch 2. 2 hdc in every stitch (12). Turn.
3. Ch 2. 2 hdc in first stitch, 1 hdc in next across (18). Turn
4. Hdc across (18). Turn.
5. Hdc across (18). Turn.
6. Hdc across (18). Turn.
7. Ch 2. Sc around the straight edge formed by your turning stitches to
make it nice and even. Finish off, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Assemblage
Take the Eye and Eyelid in hand. I started by focusing on attaching the
eyelid to the ball, by sewing along the rounded edge of the eyelid. What I
did was I took my long tail and poked my needle into where I needed my
first stitch. Then I pushed my needle THROUGH the eye, so that it came
out to the opposite side of my first stitch. Then I pushed it back through so
that the needle came up 1 stitch above my first stitch. Continue that way
until you get it firmly attached. Then attach the whole thing to the main
piece.
The Tentacles
Basically, you’re making 16 tentacles, 8 of them one color and 8 of them
another. The inside color has a popcorn stitch for suction cups.
Tentacles #1-8
Using the main body’s color:
1. Ch 8. Sc in second chain from hook. Sc across (7)
2. Sc across for rows 2-25 (7).
26. Ch 1. Dec, sc three times, dec again to finish row (5).
27. Sc across for rows 27-39 (5)
40. Dec, sc, dec to finish row (3)
41. Sc across for rows 41-62. (3).
Finish off.
Tentacles #9-16 (Aka popcorn tentacles)
Using inside tentacles color:
1. Ch 8. Sc in second chain from hook. Sc across. (7)
2. Ch 3. Dc in next stitch. Popcorn (4dc in one stitch. Remove hook and
insert front to back in the top of the first dc. Grab the loop and draw
through.) Dc in next stitch, popcorn. Dc in next two stitches. Turn. (7)
3. Ch 3. Dc across. (7).
4. Repeat row 2
5. Repeat row 3.
6. Repeat row 2
7. Repeat row 3
8. Repeat row 3.
9. Repeat row 3.
10.Repeat row 2.
11.Repeat row 3.
12. Repeat row 2.
13. Slip stitch to the second DC. Ch 3 and DC across(5)
14. Ch 3. Popcorn. DC. Popcorn. DC to finish row (5).
15. Ch 3 and DC across (5)
16. Repeat Row 14
17. Repeat row 15
18. Repeat row 14
19. Slip stitch to second DC. Ch 3. DC across (3)
20. Ch 3. Popcorn in next stitch. DC to finish (3).
21.Ch 3 and DC across (3)
22. Repeat row 20
23. Repeat row 21
24.Repeat row 20
25.Repeat row 21
26.Repeat row 20
27.Repeat row 21.
Finish off. Make 7 more of these.
Assemblage
Take both an inside and outside tentacle in hand. Start by pinning the
tentacles where you want them to go. I used clothespins, but I just had
them on hand. Make sure they’re symmetrical to where the face will be.
Simultaneously sew both sides of the tentacles and the hat together using
the main body’s color of yarn. Just sew starting chains of the tentacles.
Take your edging color and start single crocheting around the tentacles,
attaching front side of tentacle to backside.
Okay! You should be all finished! If you have trouble with the
pattern you can contact me on Ravelry(which I check sometimes)
or on Reddit (which I check often.)
