My love of both knitting and lobsters runs deep. My grandmother once reared her own sheep and knit pretty much everything the family wore, while my poppy was a lobsterman in the shores of Placentia Bay. Back in 2016 on a family visit to Newfoundland my son asked me to knit him a toy lobster. Then a year later while when were living in St. John’s for a stint I wrote up the pattern. I now carry my own emotion support lobster with me everywhere (I often use him as a neck pillow!) and he has been the star of multiple viral Reels and downloaded thousands of times (thank you!). This pattern is an update on the original with some adjustments based on feedback along the way, along with a few additional details that make him a bit more accurate:

• Yarn weight and standardised size: The original version recommended a bulky weight but also said you can use whatever (as the size of a toy isn’t too important!) Now that I am designing more crustacean clothes, the size does matter. So this is written with an aran weight and adjusted stitch count to help standardise the size. Updated instructions: I have edited to be a bit more succinct, clearer on the increases and introduced new step-by-step photography.
• Leg pincer ends: A lot of people found this confusing so I changed the method. I also suggest only having pincers on the first two legs on either side as this is more like a real lobster.
• Tail fin: Now has five panels like a real lobster.
• Crusher claw: additional instructions if you want to make one claw bigger (the crusher).