Have you seen the adorable preemie crochet octopus or preemie crochet jellyfish. Well here is another adorable pattern to add to your donation collection. The preemie crochet squid!
If you haven’t not heard, these adorable amigurumi critters are actually helpful to hospitals and NICU centers. The spiral tentacles mimic the feel of the umbilical cord and the babies tend to play with the tentacles instead of pulling on their medical tubes.
I wanted to create a fun pattern that could be donated for these tiny little babies. I have a cousin that gave birth to two premature babies and I see the stress that comes with this event. A cute little amigurumi can be a little sigh of ‘oh isn’t that cute’ in the moments that can really tax on a parent.
This squid is not only for preemies. My son and daughter have been stealing my squids and snuggling with them, dragging them by their tentacles and so much more. I think I caught my daughter having a tea party with them.
A Quick Word about Donating your Crochet Squid
Before you donate any handmade item to your local hospital, it is good to give them a call and ask them what type of items the accept. They should also tell you if there is any criteria that the items must meet. My local hospital asked that the squids are not stuffed. This makes sense to me because there are several types of stuffings out there and some may not be safe for the little babies.
It is your responsibility to make sure the item meets there criteria.
Oh look at that yarn!
I spent a lot of time looking for the right yarn for this crochet squid. I wanted to make them multicolored, I wanted the colors to transition smoothly and I wanted the stripes to be small enough that the squid had many different colors.
The perfect yarn for this ended up being Red Heart Super Saver Stripes. They have a color way of cool colors that transition smoothly and quickly. They have another color way of warm colors as well. I just had to pick up both color ways and make squids. Luckily this pattern works up very quickly and all in one piece, so I was able to make several squids.
The best part is you can easily make 2-3 squids per skein and each squid will look different depending on the color you start with.
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Preemie Crochet Squid
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Materials Needed
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1 Skein of Red Heart Super Saver Stripes (for 2-3 squids)
Crochet Hook, Size E, 3.5mm (Only one hook size needed)
Crochet Hook, Size F, 3.75mm
Crochet Hook, Size G, 4.0mm
Yarn Needle
Scissors
Pair of Safety Eyes 6mm (optional)
Locking Stitch Markers
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Stitches and Abbreviations
Ch – Chain
Sc – Single Crochet
Sc2Tog – Single Crochet two Stitches Together
FLO – Front Loop Only
BLO – Back Loop Only
St(s) – Stitches
Slst – Slip Stitch
MC – Magic Circle (Learn a new way to make a MC here!)
Difficulty Level – Easy
Gauge and Finished Size
Gauge
G hook – 5 Sc x 4.5 rows = 1″ x 1″
E hook – 6 Sc x 5 rows = 1″ x 1″
The Squid using a size G hook is 12.5″ long and the squid using the E crochet hook is 10″ long.
Right: Squid made with E hook and shorter center tentacles.
Video Tutorial
Preemie Crochet Squid Pattern
Notes:
Written in US terms.
You will work in continuous rounds. Use a stitch marker to mark the first stitch of each row.
R1: Work 3 Sc into a MC (3)
R2: *Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (6)
R3: *Work a Sc into the next St, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (9)
R4: *Work a Sc into the next 2 Sts, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (12)
R5:*Work a Sc into the next 3 Sts, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (15)
R6: *Work a Sc into the next 4 Sts, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (18)
R7: *Work a Sc into the next 5 Sts, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (21)
R8: *Work a Sc into the next 6 Sts, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (24)
R9: Work a Sc into the next 3 Sts, Sk 6 Sts, Work a Sc into the next 6 Sts, Sk 6 Sts, Work a Sc into the last 3 Sts. (12)
R10: *Work a Sc into the next 3 Sts, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (15)
R11: *Work a Sc into the next 4 Sts, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (18)
R12: *Work a Sc into the next 5 Sts, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (21)
R13: *Work a Sc into the next 6 Sts, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (24)
R14: *Work a Sc into the next 7 Sts, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (27)
R15: *Work a Sc into the next 8 Sts, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (30)
R16: *Work a Sc into the next 4 Sts, Work 2 Sc into the next St* repeat from *to* a total of 6 times. (36)
R17-20: Work a Sc into the next 36 Sts. (36)
R21: *Work a Sc into the next 10 Sts, Sc2Tog* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (33)
R22: *Work a Sc into the next 9 Sts, Sc2Tog* repeat from *to* a total of 3 times. (30)
R23: *Work a Sc into the next 3 Sts, Sc2Tog* repeat from *to* a total of 6 times. (24)
R24: *Work a Sc into the BLO of the next 2 Sts, Sc2Tog in the BLO* repeat from *to* a total of 6 times. (18)
Note: We will be coming back and working into the front loops of row 24 and row 26.
R25: *Work a Sc into the next St, Sc2Tog* repeat from *to* a total of 6 times. (12)
Note: If you are adding safety eyes or embroidering eyes and a mouth this will be the best time to do it. You can also stuff the squid at this time.
R26: *Sc2Tog in the BLO* repeat from *to* a total of 6 times. (6)
From where we ended Row 26 we will begin creating tentacles for the squid.
Long Tentacle 1:
Ch 36, Sc in the second chain from the hook, Work a Hdc into the next St, Work a Dc into the next St, Work a Tr into the next 2 Sts, Work a Dc into the next St, Work a Sc into the next 21 Sts. This completed the first tentacle.
Long Tentacle 2:
Slst to one of the FLO of Row 26. Ch36, Sc in the second chain from the hook, Work a Hdc into the next St, Work a Dc into the next St, Work a Tr into the next 2 Sts, Work a Dc into the next St, Work a Sc into the next 21 Sts. This completed the second tentacle.
From here make a loose Slst to on of the FLO of row 24. Here we will start making the curly tentacles.
*Ch 42, Work a Sc into the second Ch from the hook. Work 2 Sc into the next 40 Sts. Working back into the FLO of row 24, Work a Slst into the FLO of the next 3 Sts* repeat from *to* a total of 8 times. Slst to the first curly tentacle and fasten off.
Weave in your ends, wet the long tentacles and pull them a little bit to make them longer than the curly tentacles.
You will have two holes in your squid from where we skipped stitches in row 9. You can sew these up if you like, but I left mine as they were and did not push stuffing that far up the head of the squid. I have provided you a diagram to show you two ways to sew this area.
You can also go back to Row 26 and sew this small hole close, but again I do not think this was necessary.
Use a little yarn or embroidery thread to sew on a mouth if you want a smiling squid.
Once all your ends are woven in, your crochet squid is complete.
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