Crocheted Sixtopus

Rainbow Sixtopus  

Over the years while living in my area, I met few ladies from my birth country, which of course I keep in touch via Facebook. Occasionally, I share my knitted or crocheted items with my friends, but not too much because they do not knit or crochet. For that, I have a separate page on Facebook for people who are interested in these artful projects. One of my friends tagged me in a post recently where one Czech hospital is looking for crocheted Octopuses for prematurely born babies or newborns in intensive care. I did a research and found out that it started in Norway when someone gave a newborn a crocheted octopus toy into a bassinet and the baby started doing better. So nurses in this hospital started giving babies handmade octopuses and realized that all children with octopuses were doing better than children without them. The word spread out, and now many hospitals in EU are accepting donations of handmade octopuses, and one of the hospitals is in my country, where I will be traveling to in a couple of weeks. I will be bringing them some Sixtopuses.

Now, when I was doing a research on these octopuses, I've read someone's comment that US hospitals do not accept these handmade toyes because of babies being vulnerable infections. Supposedly crochet items cannot be adequately cleaned to remove the bacteria. And that made me think: "WHY NOT?" There are UV-C light machines that kill bacteria and diseases by attacking their DNA. And I am sure hospitals have such machines. These toys with tentacles help premature babies to stabilize their heart rate and breathing. So it would be beneficial for babies to have octopuses next to them.

HERE IS A LIST OF HOSPITALS THAT ACCEPT OCTOPUSES

If you are a visual crocheter you can see Sixtopus video for righties HERE and video for lefties HERE. A free written pattern is below. Make a sixtopus for someone's newborn and make them happy - their baby does not have to be prematurely born to sleep with your Sixtopus :-) Do not forget to wash your sixtopus before you give it away to a tiny healthy newborn.

Sixtopus from my YouTube instructional video

Materials (if you shop on-line via my affiliated links below, I would get few pennies, which would help to fund my future projects TXS):
Michaels on line store, OR Hobby Lobby, OR Jo-Ann Fabrics, OR Walmart 

Yarn: leftovers of Loops & Thread, Snuggly Wuggly, light weight #3 yarn, your choice of colors  (these yarns were used in making of the video)
For "Rainbow Sixtopus" (pictured above) I used yarn by Premier, Cotton Fair; 52% Cotton/48% Acrylic; use your choice of colors
Hook - US size E,  3.50 mm
Scissors
Sewing/yarn needle for weaving your ends in

Size:
Length of the sixtopus is ~7" (about 17.50 cm)

Abbreviations:
ch - chain
sc - single crochet
pm - place marker
st(s) - stitch(es)
dc - double crochet
sc2tog - single crochet 2 stitches together (if possible do it invisible way - see my video)

Step-by-Step:

HEAD/BODY:

color #1

Foundation: magic circle

Rnd 1              6 sc into magic circle, connect into circle with sl. st
Rnd 2              *(2 sc in each st )* - 6x; work in a spiral manner, pm (total 12 sts)
Rnd 3              *(1 sc in 1st sts, 2 sc into next st)* - 6x; (total 18 sts), pm
Rnd 4              *(2 sc in 1st stitch, 1 sc in each of next two sts)* - 6x; (total 24 sts), pm
Rnd 5-9          1 sc in each of next 24 sts, pm
Row 10           *(1 sc in each of next two sts, sc2tog)* - 6x; (total 18 sts), pm
Row 11-12      1 sc in each of next 18 sts, pm
Row 13           *(sc2tog, 1 sc in each of next st)* - 6x; (total 12 sts), pm
Row 14-16     1 sc in each of next 12 sts, pm

Finish this with 2 slip stitches to slope down the row. Stuff the head with your preferred toy filling.

PLUG:

Crochet a circle (a plug) to close the head/body part.

Rnd 1              6 sc into magic circle, connect into circle with sl. st
Rnd 2              *(2 sc in each st )* - 6x; work in a spiral manner (total 12 sts)

Do not cut off the yarn. Place the circle (plug) over the opening of the stuffed Head/Body and crochet them together with slip stitches (see my video).

TENTACLES:

Tentacle 1            Either continue with same yarn or start a foundation of 30+ chain stitches with a different color; then on the "way back" toward the head work as such: make 3 dc into 4th st from the hook, *(make 3 dc into each st)* - repeat to end, then slip st into the second st of the circle

Tentacle 2-6        ch30+, 3 dc into 4th st from the hook, *(make 3 dc into each st)* - repeat to end, then slip st into the second st of the circle
Note: you can watch my video - link is above - how to crochet these tentacles

When finished weave in all the ends.

***

DID YOU FIND ERRORS? Let me know on what page of my blog, and in which row by clicking HERE, and I will fix it as soon as I get to it. You can PM me on my FB Page HERE as well. Txs!

Also if you haven't subscribed to my HandmadeRukodelky Channel, you can do it HERE. There are many videos to be seen, too.

*******************************************************************************

Copyright page - click HERE

PLEASE, COMMENT ON YOUTUBE BELOW MY VIDEOS, AND/OR SHARE YOUR IMAGES OF YOUR RECREATED WORKS ON MY FB PAGE HERE :-)

Note: Most of the time I work as fast as I can to keep up with knitting and crocheting requests. I have to videotape, edit videos, then convert them & upload them to my channel. After that often I post on my blog patterns. I answer many questions, which means that often I work up to 16 hours a day. I would tremendously appreciate IF anyone of you who finds an error in the written pattern, so please, let me know - where (what rows) and what may be the problem. Many future knitters & crocheters from our artsy and crafty virtual world will thank you for your good deed, including myself.