18 Free Crochet Octopus Patterns: Amigurumi for Every Level
An octopus is the friendliest first amigurumi you can pick. The head is a sphere worked in a spiral, the tentacles are eight identical tubes, and if one comes out short nobody will notice — real octopuses are lopsided too.
Here are 18 free crochet octopus patterns, each pictured so you can see what you are signing up for. They run from a palm-sized starter you can finish in an evening to a standing piece balanced on a wired spiral base.
18 Free Crochet Octopus Patterns to Make This Week
1. Granny-Motif Patchwork Octopus
Every pastel circle is a two-round motif sewn on after the head is stuffed — a superb scrap-buster. Pin them all before stitching: spaced at random the layout looks accidental, which is the same logic behind patchwork crochet blocks.
2. Rust Realistic Octopus With Bobble Suckers
The suckers are the whole job: tiny white bobbles worked into each arm as you go, not sewn on later. Count them so all eight match — a missing one is the flaw your eye keeps returning to.
3. Cream-and-Mint Ombre Octopus
A colour exercise, not a stitch exercise. The arms fade mint to peach with the join placed mid-tentacle where the curve hides it. Change colour on the last yarn-over of the previous stitch and it reads as a gradient, not a stripe.
4. Self-Striping Rainbow Octopus
One ball of long-repeat variegated yarn does all the work — no ends to weave, no colour planning. Stripes land differently on every arm, so start each tentacle at the same point in the repeat if you want them matched.
5. Colour-Block Flat-Lay Octopus
The head is four blocks of intarsia in the round, so floats run inside — stuff it firmly or they pull the sphere out of shape. The amber eye rings are one round of surface slip stitch, and they carry the face.
6. Metallic Gold Sparkle Octopus
Sparkle thread held with fine cotton gives the shimmer, and it fights you — the metallic strand splits and swallows stitch definition, so count rounds with a marker, not by eye. A mantel piece, not a chew toy.
7. Big Teal Cuddle Octopus
Chunky yarn on a 5 mm hook — the version children actually want. Pin the backstitch smile before sewing: two stitches off centre makes the face look glum. Stuff it as firmly as a crochet lovey blanket so it survives a wash.
8. Lavender Octopus With Contrast Suckers
Purple arms against mustard suckers makes the underside readable across a room. Carry the second colour along the arm as you work rather than embroidering dots after — carried suckers sit flush, sewn-on ones sit proud.
9. Little Lilac Garden Octopus
A tidy small build with an embroidered mouth, so there is nothing a toddler can pull off. Single crochet throughout, no increases past round eight — a magic ring and a decrease are all you need.
10. Blush-Cheek Octopus With Chunky Arms
Thick short arms in variegated yarn against a plain grey head — the contrast in weight gives it character. The cheeks are dry chalk pastel brushed on and set with steam, a doll-maker’s trick that costs nothing.
11. Classic Pink Beginner Octopus
If you have never made an amigurumi, start here: sphere, eight tubes, two safety eyes, no colour changes. Finish it and the rest of this list opens up, as do quick wins like small crochet keychains.
12. Standing Octopus With Spiral Base
The hardest build here. The arms curl outward into a spiral the figure balances on, which only works with floral wire in every tentacle and pellets weighting the base. The crown texture is back-post stitches worked over the finished sphere.
13. Rainbow Bobble-Tip Rattle Octopus
Each arm ends in a stuffed ball and one hides a rattle insert, giving small hands something to grip. Stuff the bobbles firmer than feels right — under-filled ones go floppy within a week.
14. Sage Octopus With Scalloped Underside
The cream front panel is overlapping shell stitch, so the belly reads as scales while the back stays plain single crochet. The most elegant piece here, and the texture transfers straight to crochet shelf decor.
15. Smiley Yellow Octopus With Looping Arms
The arms are long enough to loop back and touch the body, so they arch instead of lying flat. Work ten to fifteen extra rounds per tentacle and let the surplus buckle.
16. Peach Realistic Octopus
Anatomical proportions — small mantle, long tapering arms, sucker dots the full length. Decrease every fourth round instead of every second: it stretches the shaping and stops the arms looking like cones.
17. Blue-and-Gold Statement Octopus
Two-handed size with gold suckers and arms long enough to hold a loop — a wall piece, not a toy. It eats roughly 400 g of cotton, so buy the yarn up front rather than hoping the dye lot is still stocked.
18. Ivory Octopus With Speckled Arms
Speckled sock yarn on a small hook gives flecked arms with no colour work on your part. A tight gauge in fine yarn is slow, but it is the only way to get arms this thin without stuffing showing through.
Yarn, Hooks and Safety Eyes
Amigurumi is worked tighter than garments. Take the hook on the yarn band and drop one or two sizes — worsted cotton calling for 5 mm gets 3.5 mm. The fabric should feel stiff; that stiffness stops fill creeping through and greying the colour.
- Cotton holds stitch definition and shows suckers and scale texture clearly — best for display pieces.
- Acrylic is softer and machine-washable, the right call for anything a child drags around.
- Safety eyes go in before the head is closed and stuffed; after that they are not coming out.
- Embroidered eyes for babies under three — two French knots in black floss read just as well.
- Floral wire or pipe cleaners inside the arms if you want curls that hold their shape.
A stitch marker in the first stitch of every round is not optional. These are worked in a continuous spiral with no join, so there is no seam to count from. New to the round? A few small crochet projects first will make these go faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much yarn does a crochet octopus use?
A palm-sized one takes about 50 g of worsted cotton — a single ball. The two-handed pieces at 17 and 18 need 350 to 450 g. Buy one dye lot; a replacement ball shows as a band across the mantle.
Why do my tentacles curl up on their own?
Single crochet in a spiral biases, so the tube twists. On these patterns that is a feature. For a straight arm, work joined rounds with a chain-one turn, or slip a pipe cleaner inside so you decide the shape.
Are these octopuses safe for babies?
Only if you build them that way: embroider the face instead of using safety eyes, skip bobble tips and anything wired, pick a machine-washable yarn. Charity preemie-octopus programmes set strict rules on arm length and stuffing, so check with the hospital before donating.
Which pattern should I start with?
Number 11, the plain pink one — done in an evening. Then 4 adds self-striping yarn, 8 adds sucker detail, and 12 is what you attempt when the rest feels easy. The same step-up works for other small sea-creature makes.
Make one, then make a second in a different colourway — the second always comes out better. Line up what is next from the crochet flower patterns or the beginner dishcloth patterns.
