Octopus Squish

Octopus Squish Crochet Toy Pattern

What Is Being Made

The Octopus Squish is a cute, cuddly, and highly squishy stuffed toy designed by Tamara Kelly and published by Moogly in 2020. This intermediate-level crochet project creates an addictively huggable plush octopus that works up quickly thanks to the use of super chunky yarn. The finished toy is soft, tactile, and customizable through yarn color choices, button selections, and personalized face embellishment techniques.

Construction and Techniques

This crochet pattern uses fundamental amigurumi construction methods to create a three-dimensional stuffed toy. The design is worked in the round to build the octopus body and tentacles, with shaping techniques that allow the crocheter to form a cohesive plush form. The pattern includes both right-handed and left-handed video tutorials to accommodate crocheters of different preferences, making it accessible to a wider audience.

Customization is a key feature of this project. Crafters can personalize their Octopus Squish through multiple creative choices: selecting different yarn colors, choosing button styles and colors for the eyes, and deciding how to attach facial features. For safety considerations with young children, the pattern allows for embroidered faces and tentacle suckers as an alternative to sewn-on buttons.

Stitches and Crochet Methods

While the PDF excerpt does not detail every specific stitch used, the intermediate difficulty level indicates the pattern employs standard amigurumi stitches and techniques. Typical methods for this type of project include single crochet for dense fabric, increases and decreases for shaping, and working in continuous rounds to build three-dimensional forms. The pattern requires basic sewing skills to attach buttons or embroidered details for the face.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

The Octopus Squish is designed to be worked in super chunky yarn, specifically Bernat Blanket, which contributes to the quick project completion time and exceptionally soft, plush texture. The pattern requires approximately 320 yards of yarn total.

Additional materials include:

• A US-L (7.0 mm) crochet hook
• Two 7/8″ (22mm) black buttons for eyes (La Mode brand, available at JOANN)
• Fiberfill stuffing or a microbead pillow ball for filling (the microbead option is recommended for maximum squishiness)
• Yarn needle for sewing seams and attaching embellishments
• Optional embroidery thread and embroidery needle if choosing to embroider facial features instead of using buttons

Safety Considerations

The pattern includes important safety guidance for crafters making this toy for infants and toddlers. While the Octopus Squish body is too large to present a choking hazard, the buttons used for eyes are not suitable for children under 3 years of age. The pattern has not been tested for safety with very young children. For baby-safe versions, crafters should embroider the face and tentacle suckers rather than attaching buttons. When using the finished toy as a photo prop with babies or toddlers, supervision is essential to prevent unsupervised access to the toy.