Monday, July 12, 2010

Amigurumi small takochu tutorial

NOTE: Edited to fix stitches in R2 and R3!

Yay, thanks for all the birthday wishes guys! To celebrate (and also because I promised to post one a long time ago), I made this special amigurumi crochet pattern; it's based off of those takochu I love so much... so if you haven't gotten a takochu yet, now you can make your own; for free! Note: This pattern uses the "magic ring technique" so if you haven't gotten it down yet, visit this site!

Feel free to make these for your friends and family, but if you are going to sell them I'd really appreciate a shout out that credits me for the design (and maybe even link to my blog!) Also please don't distribute the pattern. Thanks in advance guys!

Abbreviation Guide:
R#= Row Number
sc= single crochet stitch
slip/st= slip stitch
dec= decrease
ch=chain
st= stitch
♥---♥= set of stitches to repeat while crocheting in the round
dc= double crochet stitch

Body:
To begin: Use a magic ring with 6 stitches to start. (Alternately you could Ch 2, sc 6 in the second st from the hook; join ends with a slip/st in the first sc (6 st)
R1: ♥2 sc in each stitch around♥, Repeat 6 times (12 st)
R2: ♥1 sc , then 2 sc in next st♥, Repeat 6 times (18 st)
R3: ♥2 sc, then 2 sc in next st♥, Repeat 6 times (24 st)
R4- R6: sc all the way around (24 st)
R7: ♥dec 1, 2 sc♥, repeat 6 times (18 st)
R8: ♥dec 1, 1 sc♥, repeat 6 times (12 st)
R9: ♥dec 1♥, repeat 6 times (6 st)

Tentacles (they should look like a flower when done):
To begin: Use a magic ring with 8 stitches to start. (Alternately you could Ch 2, sc 8 in the second st from the hook; join ends with a slip/st in the first sc) (8 st)
R1: ♥2 sc in each stitch around♥, Repeat 8 times (16 st)
R2: ♥5 dc in one stitch, skip one stitch, slip/st in the next stitch♥ repeat 5 times

Mouth:
Use the magic ring technique to crochet an "O" mouth. Do not pull the O closed!

Instructions:
Stuff the body with polyfil. Use a tapestry/ yarn needle to close the stuffed body with the tentacles. Sew the mouth "O" to the body. Use a hot glue gun to glue the eyes onto your takochu. Decorate with felt, sequins or other pretty shiny things!

70 comments:

  1. EEEK! LOVE! Thank you so much for sharing this! I'm off to make a set for my daughter!

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  2. Oh my goodness thank you so much! I love all your work so much so it is always such a joy when you share a pattern! Thank you for being so encouraging to crocheting beginners, as I am just learning because I wanted to make kawaii amigurumi similar to yours. Have a wonderful birthday, Holly! <3

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  3. I really like takochu~ this is too cute!Now I have to learn how to make amigurumi (on my long list of things to learn)

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  4. hanks for sharing your pattern, these are so cute! :)

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  5. cute :) and congratulations for being on Super Cute Kawaii the other day!

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  6. you are so generous!!! Happy Birthday! I hope you have as much cuteness and happiness in your life as you have spread with sharing this pattern!!!

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  7. Wow! They are really cute!! Thank you for sharing them!

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  8. Aww, so lovely!!!

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  9. Yay! Time to break open the ol' scrap yarn stash. How awesome of you to share!

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  10. Hi there,

    I am trying to make this, but I am lost on R3. In order to finish the whole round, I have to do more than 6 times. Coz you have 18 st from previous round. Am I doing something wrong?

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  11. Hiya NameThatCandy! Thanks so much for pointing that out to me... that's why you should never write patterns late at night, haha! I've fixed the pattern which was actually completely wrong (sorry if you have to take out a bit of your ami...) For row 2-3 (the problem areas in the pattern you should now follow what is published above.) Please let me know if there is anything else wrong with the pattern that you run into; I'm not used to making patterns for other people, only myself really :D

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    Replies
    1. what size crotchet hook do you use?

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    2. I used a US size E or F crochet hook. Hope this helps!

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  12. hi Holly,

    I didn't see any changes on your pattern, did I miss it??

    And also, you said R4-R6 sc all around, then you said R6 dec......, do you mean R4-R5??

    I added your pattern to Ravelry, so more people can see your pattern. I would love to use your pics, if you have raverly, let me know, I can add your pics there.

    Here is the link:
    http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mini-amigurumi-takochu-octopus


    BTW, I did it my own way, and it turns out really cute.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/namethatcandy/

    Thanks for sharing your pattern.

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  13. Haha, thanks so much namethatcandy... R2 and R3 had some different stitches before, now it should work out that you only have to repeat the set of stitches in the hearts 6 times. Also, thanks so much for letting me know about the numbering... I never was good at ANY type of math, haha! It's super great that you were able to make a takochu anyway; now I'm off to check out your flickr photos and ravelry! Big hugs!

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  14. Love it! Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to try it.

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  15. thnx for sharing! have completed mine, though with green buttons eyes!! Am using it as a pin cushion too!

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  16. This is such a fun little pattern, I've been using it so much the last few days (I learned to crochet about a week ago just for the purpose of being able to make these, haha)

    I dont know if you're interested in seeing the ones people have made, but if you are here's a link to the ones I've created thus far: http://limpet666.livejournal.com/4465.html

    And also, a fun variation that I just HAD to do : http://limpet666.deviantart.com/art/Takopoichu-176108737

    These guys are so fun to make, and the variations are endless :D

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  17. OMG thank you soooo much for sharing this pattern. I'm like addicted to these now lol can't stop making them!!!

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  18. Help...I can't figure out how to do the tentacles. I've just started amigurumi.

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  19. Thanks for the comments guys... Hmmm, Anonymous; can you tell me where you get stuck? If you've already done the body part, then the tentacles are the same up to the part where you start making the "petals." So, you should already have one row of your tentacles before you make the "petals", and that one row should form a little crocheted circle. The next row (R2) is the actual "petals": You are going to build/crochet the "petals" onto the circle... the first petal should start in the same place where you started crocheting the whole piece. You crochet the stitches listed in the pattern for R2 here. In fact, R2 consists of 5 new double crochet stitches in a single stitch of the previous row (For R1 you did 2 new single stitches to 1 single stitch) Once you've done those 5 stitches, instead of crocheting into the next stitch of R1, you skip one. After you've skipped one stitch, you make a slip stitch. Then you repeat the 5 stitches,skip and slip again and again, until you have 5 petals/ tentacles. I hope this helps... I know it's confusing and my explanation probably didn't help much. If you are still having trouble, let me know and I'll see what I can do! big hugs, Holly

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  20. Is there a recommended hook size? Sorry if it's a silly question. >w>

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  21. Nevermind :] I saw that a number of people seemed to prefer 3.75/F hook.

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  22. omg...these things are soooo cuuuute! im gna try to make some....ive been drawing them in skool and my friends have been saying, "oh, you should make some" but i havent been able to make them cause i dont know how...but now i do so...thnx...and i will give you the credit ok? so.....ya ;)

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  23. Thank you so much, you're the best ;)

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  24. hi with row 3 its actually sc, then 2sc to make 24. took me a while to figure that one out. otherwise it should be 36 if your doing it 2sc, then 2sc in next st

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  25. Hmm, I think Row 3 is right they way it has been amended above, here's how I came to my stitch count: (where x is a sc, xx is 2 sc in one st, and [] indicate a set of st to repeat
    Magic Ring: x x x x x x (6)
    R1: [xx] [xx] [xx] [xx] [xx] [xx] (12)
    R2: [x xx] [x xx] [x xx] [x xx] [x xx] [x xx] (18)
    R3: [x x xx] [x x xx] [x x xx] [x x xx] [x x xx] [x x xx] (24)


    ... although I could be wrong because I'm not much of a pattern writer!

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  26. hi i love making these little things, but when i make the tenticals, they are way bigger compared to the body than they should be, and they are not as small as the picture. Instead, i have to do a magic ring with 12 sc, and only do 4 tentacles. What am i doing? I use the same size hook and sometimes smaller. Am i just naturally loose when i crochet or what?

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  27. Hi! I am new to crocheting amigurumi, this is my first one! On row7 you say to dec 1, 2 sc♥, repeat 6 times (18 st, and I assumed you meant decrease by taking in 2 stitches at a time, what do you mean in rows 8&9 when you say dec 1 sc1?? Thanks!!

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  28. Hmmm... the tentacles should come out okay (at least they did with me). You might want to consider the type of yarn you are using? Other than that I'm not sure what's making the tentacles so big. You COULD try crocheting hdc instead of dc... they're shorter so the tentacles should come out smaller... hope this helps!

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  29. Hi Anonymous! When you do a dec (decrease) you stitch two existing stitches (in the previous row together.) A dec is always stitching two existing stitches together. What changes is the amount of sc (single stitches) in between your decreases... the closer you get to closing your amigurumi/ finishing a piece, the less sc in between your dec/ the closer your dec are to one another. Most patterns will have the same number of decreases as increases (increases are crocheting 2 new stitches into an existing stitch in the previous row). So for Row 7, you would Decrease by one (so crochet two stitches together)and then crochet a single stitch in each of the next 2 stitches (you would repeat this set of stitches 6 times). For Row 8, you would Decrease by one (so crochet two stitches together) and then crochet a single stitch in the next 1 stitch.

    I hope that helps to explain it! I'm a self taught crochet-er so sometimes it's hard for me to explain things clearly :D

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  30. Oh gosh thanks so much Holly!!

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  31. so cute!!!!! thanx for posting this. they're adorable I just made a set for my friend's bday!!! :)

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  32. If you make bigger pussy (Octopus) then it would be sooo cute together ;)

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  33. hee hee! You could make a bigger pussy by adding more rows (balancing your increases and decreases of course!)

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  34. thanks a bunch for the pattern, i made a few of them for myself and my friends!!! =]
    so kawaii!!!

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  35. Haha, I suck at reading any crocheting/knitting tutorials (=I cannot read them at all), but the idea was great! And I made one using my intuition and it came out fine. :) Thanks for the idea! These guys are soo cute. =^w^=

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  36. Thank you so much for this! It's really cute, I want to try!

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  37. Thanks a ton for these! I've made a couple for close friends - and suddenly everyone wants one! I'm still debating whether to charge people for them, but either way I've made it super clear where I got the pattern from!
    <3 Neurotic Bunny <3

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  38. Thanks so much for this so kawaii pattern ♥ I made one just to see, and now I have to make a whole army cause they are SO CUTE !

    Please, can I translate the pattern in French for some friends of mine who don't understand English ? I would of course put a link to your fantastic blog =3

    Love you Holly ^o^

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  39. I love this!! Thank you so much for your kind and lovely pattern!!

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  40. how did ya do the tentacles >< i need help i cant get it rite

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  41. Parthenis, I'm so sorry I didn't respond sooner; for some reason I didn't find your comment until now! Please feel free to translate, and thank so much for putting the link! muah!

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  42. babywongwen (and others who are having trouble with the tentacles) I'll try to draw a diagram a little later! Stay tuned!

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  43. >< could u pls make the diagram asap i'm dying to complete my cute takochu soon....or could u make a video on how to make it....thanks

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  44. hi babywongwen, this is the best I can do for now, I'm super slammed at work and with school!

    x=sc
    ^= 2sc in one st./ increase
    8= dc
    _= skip one stitch
    s/s=slipstich in next stitch
    Body:
    magic ring of 6 stitches

    R1: xx xx xx xx xx xx (12)
    R2: x^ x^ x^ x^ x^ x^ (18)
    R3: xx^ xx^ xx^ xx^ xx^ xx^(24)
    R4-R6: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (24)
    R7: vxx vxx vxx vxx vxx vxx(18)
    R8: vx vx vx vx vx vx (12)
    R9: v v v v v v (6)

    Tentacles:
    magic ring of 8 stitches
    R1: xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx (16)
    R2: 88888_s/s 88888_s/s 888888_s/s 88888_s/s 88888_s/s

    Mouth:
    magic ring of 8 stitches

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  45. hi im not getting how the tentacles are made the second round confuses me halp!!!

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  46. My tentacles turned out REALLY big! They don't looks nearly as tiny and cute as yours. Any tips? o.o

    Thanks

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  47. Hmmm... the only thing I can think of Baby Elephant is to keep the tension of your yarn as even (and tight) as you can. You may also want to switch to a smaller crochet hook (I personally use an American size E). Hope this helps!

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  48. OHHHH lol
    I think I was using an H when I tried it.
    Thanks!~ ^^

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  49. can you please make a video of these ?

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  50. These are so much fun to make, and easy. I made a large one, probably two inches in diameter to wear in my hair. Thanks for the pattern, I'm addicted :3

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  51. What kind of beads did you use for your takochu and if I wanted to use safety eyes, what would you recommend? 5 mm eyes or 6 mm eyes?

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  52. I used half bead black eyes (there's no hole... its a flat back) but you definitely could use safety eyes (just don't forget to put them in before you close your ami up)! I think the ones I used were 6mm. Good luck!

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  53. umm.. i made the body and the mouth but i cant get the flower... could u do a how to vid?

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  54. OMG!! How much will you let me have one?

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    Replies
    1. Haha, I'm glad you like them Breeyana, I'll let you know when I have them back in stock!

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  55. I don't understand how you do 5 decreases in 1 stitch? Please HELP!!!! D:

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    1. DC= double crochet stitch, not a decrease. In my pattern I use the abbreviation "DC" for a double crochet stitch and a "dec" for a decrease. If you look at the pattern diagram or the abbreviation guide it might be a little clearer! Good luck!

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  56. These Takochu are absolutely kawaii...I do have a simple question I got both body and legs done..but how do you attach them together exactly?

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  57. I made a bunch of this little octopi. I've had to fight to keep my friends from stealing them when they come over to visit! I can't get the tentacles right, but honestly they're just as cute this way.

    Thanks for the pattern!

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  58. I'm very new to crocheting and I don't understand how to close up the body, help ?

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  59. Anonymous, you can use a tapestry/ yarn needle to close the stuffed body with the tentacles... when you are finished with the stitches there should be a little hole in the bottom. Take the tail of the yarn that's left and put a tapestry/ yarn needle on it; use the needle and yarn to close up the sides of the hole (sew it up), and then thread the yarn through the body of your ami: here's how to put the yarn through: http://berrysprite.blogspot.com/2010/08/finishing-amigurumi-tucking-in-tail.html

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  60. They're so tiny! :0 Can someone show me how to make them a bit larger??

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  61. These are super adorable!!! \^O^/

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  62. You don't know how much you are being helpful! Haaa! Octopus' are the cutest amigurumi ever!

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  63. Replies
    1. Hi Kirsten! I can make some for a custom order if you're interested! FB me or email me :D
      berrysprite@gmail.com
      or https://www.facebook.com/berrysprite.shop

      Delete

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