A few years ago I discovered Projectarian, one of my favorite crochet pattern designers. I found her on Etsy when I purchased her Hubble the Squid crochet pattern. Once I had purchased the Hubble the Squid pattern, I decided to look through the rest of her shop when I came across this pattern. From the moment I first saw Apollo, I knew I had to have the pattern. So, I purchased the Apollo pattern for $10 on Etsy. If you are interested in viewing this pattern or purchasing it yourself, you can find it here.
Now, let’s start by talking about how massive this project is to do. The pattern itself is 40 pages long, which is crazy. The pattern creator also points out that this project is like working on an afghan, which I can confirm from my prior crocheting experience. The part of the project that takes the longest is the tentacles if you decide to add the suckers. The suckers were optional, but I decided to do them because I wanted the full experience of this pattern. The suckers are definitely the most tedious part of the pattern and take forever. Even though the suckers are a lot of work, the end result is totally worth it. You start the pattern by making the eight tentacles, then you complete the whole body, and then you finish with the eyes and eyelids. This is a unique pattern, and I honestly think it is worth the time and money.
Next, let’s discuss the materials you need to complete this project. You need a 5 mm crochet hook for the body and belly, a 4 mm crochet hook for the tentacles and eyelids, a 2 mm thread hook for the eyes and suckers, and a 1.5 mm thread hook for the light reflections. You are also going to need the following basic supplies: scissors, a yarn needle, stuffing, pins, and stitch markers. You’ll need lots and lots of stitch markers. The type of yarn the pattern suggests that you use is a DK lightweight yarn (8ply/11wpi). Instead, I used a skinny Caron Cake for the body and Loops and Thread baby weight yarn for the belly and suckers. I used less than one skein in each color, which was a pleasant surprise.
This pattern states that it is an intermediate pattern. I agree with this assessment, and I would even say it’s more of an advanced-intermediate or advanced pattern. This pattern was constructed with basic crochet skills, but there were parts of this project that even I struggled with. Making the tentacles is pretty straightforward even though the suckers can get a little tricky. Once you finish the tentacles, you move on to connecting them and constructing the body. The awkward way you have to hold the tentacles while working on the body can easily make your stitches very tight and stretched. This can cause the head to be a little smaller, which is what I think happened to my project. The same problem happened when I worked on the belly. So, in my opinion, the construction of the body was the hardest part. Though this pattern is labeled intermediate, any crocheter is capable of doing it if they put in the required time and effort.
Stuffing is another really big and important part of this project. When you create the head of the project, there is a front part that is flatter and a back part that is rounder. I had to restuff the head three times to make sure it looked right. You stuff the tentacles as you crochet the back of them. As you’re doing this, you need to make sure you stuff them firm enough. However, don’t stuff them too firm, or they won’t be floppy. If you do not stuff the individual parts of this octopus correctly, it will not look right. You are going to need a lot of stuffing for this project, so be prepared.
The reason I love Projectarian’s patterns so much is the amount of time and effort she puts into them. Each pattern is written like a book full of beautiful pictures and loaded with so much detail. She makes sure that she communicates exactly how she did the pattern and how it should be done. There are so many tips and directions throughout the pattern that I was not lost once, which is pretty impressive for a 40-page pattern. She also adds a little Apollo to follow you through the pattern with some tips and tricks, which I thought was adorable. She also includes a little booklet in the pattern purchase. This booklet is filled with pictures and instructions on how to do some basic crochet techniques as well as some sewing techniques. I highly recommend looking at her Etsy shop. If you are interested, you can find it here.
I hope you liked this pattern review and found it helpful. If you would like to check out any of my other crochet reviews, you can find them using the link below along with the link for some free patterns designed by me.
More Crochet Reviews -> Crochet Reviews
Free Patterns -> Free Critter Crochet Patterns
Check out my latest YouTube Video -> Apollo The Octopus Pattern Review
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