Husbandface asked me to knit him a sharktopus. Therefore, I am knitting him a sharktopus.

SHARKTOPUS! :D :D :D

I’m making his tentacles based on the Hansi Singh’s Octopus pattern, since I’ve knit these tentacles several times before while making tiny octopuses, and they’ve worked out well.

When making the tentacles on very small needles with sock yarn, it’s best to pull the yarn nice and tight when you sew them up. That causes them to curl just like tentacles! Pipe cleaners are not needed. The tentacles are not poseable, but they are curly.

The head/fin section is entirely improvised.

Yarns used are sock yarn leftovers in white and sparkly blue for the main body, and some leftover dark red for the inside of the mouth.

Basically, the head portion is two short-row heels. Kinda. After joining the tentacles as per Hansi’s Octopus pattern, I worked probably around nine or so rounds plain knit. I think I may have put a couple of symmetrical increases in before dividing for the mouth. (I used the lifted increase technique for all increases to make them as invisible as possible, but whichever way suits you best.)

Then divide for the mouth; but divide unevenly, with more stitches for the top jaw than the bottom. The top and bottom jaw were knit as if I were knitting a short row heel; w&t at the end of every row and slip the first stitch of every row. I added a few symmetrical increases (maybe six or so) in the top portion of the head to make it curved, as I was working the short rows.

Then increased one in the centre quite near the end of the nose to have an odd number so I could do central decreases, and kept doing my short-row heel thing until I had I think three stitches left. I made two central decreases before the end of the nose to make it curve down a tad - ssk, then pass one more stitch from the left needle over the ssk to decrease symmetrically three stitches into one.

Then switched to the dark red and worked the other side of the ‘heel’ flat, without increases or decreases. (This is all rough notes as best as I can remember, since I didn’t write any of it down and knit it all while half asleep…!)

When reaching the wraps, rather than knit them together with the stitch, I picked them up like they were a stitch for the first two rows of red, then upon reaching them again, k2tog the picked up wrap and the next stitch, followed by picking up the next wrap, turn, etc. It’s based loosely on the short row heel for the Knitty socks Ziggy, so if I’m not making much sense go look at her pattern! ;)

The only difference being, I decreased down to three on the top jaw and two on the bottom for my ‘heels’… plus I w&t the very first and very last stitches too, rather than starting one stitch in. So just before Kitchener’ing the mouth together, the first and last stitches on each needle were blue wraps.

And the bottom half of the jaw is just a shorter, thinner short-row heel with fewer increases and no central decreases, switching to red for the inside. I grafted together the top and bottom half of the inside of the mouth with Kitchener stitch, which involved a bit of messing about since there were more stitches on the top needle than the bottom. :P

Then added three fins: cast on 4 using Judy’s Magic Cast on, then k one round even. Then k1, m1, k1 twice, then k1, m1, k2 for one half, k2, m1, k1, then k1, m1, k3 / k3, m1, k1, &tc, keeping the increases at one side of the triangle which makes the fin curve nicely. For the large fin on top, I increased til I had nine on each needle then Kitchener’d the needles together and sewed it on the shark body. For the side fins I increased til I had seven on each and did the same.

Then added some white teeth (just sewed them on loosely) and a couple of black beads for eyes, and voila! Itty bitty sharktopus.

Well, sharktopi, I guess. I made two. One for husbandface, one for one of his coworkers.

I am unreasonably proud of him. Them. :3

Sorry if these notes are a bit obscure or in any way unclear. If you do want to knit him and have any questions about the shark portion, please do message me and ask, I’ll attempt to be a bit more clear! ;)