When I was pregnant last year we were told that if our child survived the likelihood was that they would be premature. It was around this time that I found out about octopi for prem-babies, and decided to make one in case we needed it. As I have mentioned previously, our daughter didn't make it, but I completed this octopus and have wrapped him away, just in case.
If you are donating to a hospital they ask that the octopi are made from cotton. Since this is a personal octopus I used some Stylecraft DK I had in my stash.
The tendrils must be within certain length limits, but are designed to mimic the feel of an umbilical cord when a baby wraps their fingers around it. I suspect any young baby would appreciate an octopus, not just those born prematurely!
I stitched the outline of a heart to the back of the head. The octopus was made with love and it seemed a nice way of adding extra detail. I'm currently wanting to experiment with cross stitch over crochet thanks to the Scheepjes Hygge crochet-a-long (which I wish I could afford to participate in!), but it wasn't to be on this octopus, as the increases and decreases of the curve made it more difficult.
You can find the pattern I used here.
