Crocheted squids for preemies

Reading the local newspaper this morning I came across something that really warmed my heart. I wanted to post about it here instantly, since though it wasn't about quilting, it was about crafting, charity, and caring for small children, which I KNOW so many here do.

The article was about how a Danish man had given his preemie daughter a crocheted squid (octopuss? not sure what the difference is since they are called the same in Swedish lol) and how they discovered that she, and other preemies given the same kind of toy, would stop pulling on their feeding tubes etc and instead hold on to the arms of the squid. Some people got together and organized people who wanted to make these squids and give them to the hospitals all over Denmark. Early this year a group started in Sweden too and the hospital in our town, Örebro University Hospital (where I had both my children), is one of the recipients.

Apart from having the babies leave the important tubes alone to instead hold on to the toy, it seems the toy has a calming effect (according to the article). I don't know how good the science is behind that finding, but I hope it's good. :)

This is a picture from the article so you can see the toys:
Attachment 54329

And look at this beauty, from the blog organizing this in Sweden:
Attachment 54330
She was born after only a little over 31 weeks.

The blog is here: Virka bläckfisk « Babydjungeln
It's in Swedish but if interested, it would probably translate fairly well.

I know a fair few of you are involved with charities for children in hospitals and so you might know - is this something that is done over in the US? Or Britain? Or other places? My crocheting is not at all that good or I would make some too - maybe one day. :)

This is very interesting. Had never heard of this, but it sounds like a very good cause. I'm with you on the crocheting, I've done it, but would have no way of figuring out how to do this.

What a wonderful thing! The picture of the baby holding onto his squid says it all.... Thank you for sharing this sweet story with us.

Sandy

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Originally Posted by Jean Sewing Machine

This is very interesting. Had never heard of this, but it sounds like a very good cause. I'm with you on the crocheting, I've done it, but would have no way of figuring out how to do this.

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There's a pattern at the blog but still... (And it's in Swedish of course.)

This is very interesting indeed! I think they are octopuses...I think. lol Will have to look in my amigurumi books to see if I have a pattern for one. Or use Bing to translate the pattern in the paper.

It would be great to create a matching Octy with a NICU quilt! How great would that be...Oh must go get some yarn today! I need to see if I have any coupons!!!

Thanks for sharing this great article!!! I'm very excited, this is just what I needed to get my mojo flowing again!

Huggers, Ruby

Thank you for this post. If anyone finds the pattern in English, please post as there may be a few of us willing to give it a try. Thanks again.

What a wonderful story - thanks for sharing!

Oh what a great story. I never heard of that before, but would be a great project ,

O this is fabulous... i'm on it.... will figure it out or find it and post what I think is a simple rendition... what a great idea to keep the little hands from effecting the tubes!!!! GB

Hope this comes out right.. I hit the translate button,,, and this is the copied link....For those that crochet.. this is even doable from the pictures alone... what a fabulous idea... thank you Anna!! Lundabo i hjärtat: Tutorial Bläckfiskar I tried it... you will need to look in the upper right hand corner for the word "translate" and click on it... that will change it to English... it did for me anyway!

What a wonderful idea! My oldest son was a premature, born at 30 weeks. He pulled his tubes all the time. Soft toys you buy in stores are way to big or heavy for these little baby's.
It is now 20 years ago that he was born, and I remember that I was looking for something for him to hold, but I couldn't find anything suitable. Wish I had known this then!
I still have some of the tubes he pulled, and his first little sweater :).
He's 20 now, studying at University, getting his driving licence tomorrow. Oh, how time flies.....

GrammaBabs, could you post the English pattern here. My iPad wont do translations.

For those of you that know crochet... this will be fine for a start.. I would make the body wider and a bit deeper... and adjust the sizes of the tentacles accordingly,, but here is a start for those in a rush.. in English!!!! Great link How to Crochet a Baby Octopus

That is so precious! I've never heard of this before but it is great. I have crocheted a couple blankets but it's been awhile. I would love to have the pattern too if anyone finds one.

My son was a preemie but thankfully he wasn't hooked up to a bunch of tubes. He did however have an octopus. It was his Dad's when he was a baby and our little guy loved it.

I can't crochet but I am bringing some microfleece rag bassinet blankets to the local hospital this week.

This is a GREAT response, so happy I could inspire! :D

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Originally Posted by Learner quilter

GrammaBabs, could you post the English pattern here. My iPad wont do translations.

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Not sure if this is going to work, but here is the translation from the blog. It takes a second to translate once you open the link.
Lundabo i hjärtat: Tutorial Bläckfiskar

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Originally Posted by GrammaBabs

For those of you that know crochet... this will be fine for a start.. I would make the body wider and a bit deeper... and adjust the sizes of the tentacles accordingly,, but here is a start for those in a rush.. in English!!!! Great link How to Crochet a Baby Octopus

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That one is too little in body and the legs are too short. :)

I'm still waiting for the translation Link to show in English that Cil posted - will print and scan to post for everyone. It has photos and all for those visual folks. lol Like me!

Ok I have the English PDF file for the Octopus from the Blog. The dilemma - I forgot how to attach a PDF file to a thread.

Sooooo, PM me for the file. :)

What a nice story. I could never get the hang of crochet. One of my dd's is good at it.

I had to laugh a little at the translation. It reminded of Men in Black when K said Cephalopod.

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Originally Posted by Madeforyouinma11

Not sure if this is going to work, but here is the translation from the blog. It takes a second to translate once you open the link.
Lundabo i hjärtat: Tutorial Bläckfiskar

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Yes, it works . Thank you ..

Posted English PDF Instructions in a separate Thread, that way it could be attached. :)

http://forum.missouriquiltco.com/gen...dish-blog.html

Thanks for sharing this heart-warming story.

What an adorable idea! Thanks for sharing Anna, this would be an awesome idea for anyone who crochets :) I am just learning, but I find it much easier to read a standard short-hand pattern than trying to read each step explained in detail. So I looked at their "tutorial" and figured out that LM (Luftmaska) is a chain stitch and FM (Fastmaska) is a single crochet. So I used google translate a little and my new knowledge that LM = ch and FM = sc and typed out the pattern just in case anyone like myself got totally confused trying to read the whole page from start to finish lol I think I may have ADD, because I just can't concentrate enough to understand what in the heck is going on :icon_giggle:

This is the pattern for the little green one, which is slightly different than the one Ruby posted but still turns out quite similar. For any newbies (like me) who don't quite have the acronyms down, ch = chain, sc = single crochet, inc=increase, dc = decrease, sl st = slip stitch. The number of stitches you should have after each step is written in brackets. And if you haven't done a magic ring before, there are a bunch of videos on youtube. SO simple once you get the hang of it!

Instructions:

*Use a G hook (4)*

1: 6 sc in magic ring
2: 2 sc in each stitch (12)
3: 1 sc, 2 sc (inc) in every second stitch (18)
4: 2 sc, 2 sc in every third stitch (24)
5: 3 sc, 2 sc in every fourth stitch (30)
6: 4 sc, 2 sc in every fifth stitch (36)
7-14: 1 sc in each stitch (36)
15: 4 sc, 2 sc together (dc) (30)
16-17: 1 sc in each stitch (30)
18: 3 sc, 2 sc together (dc) (24)
19-20: 1 sc in each stitch (24)
21: 2 sc, 2 sc together (dc) (18)
22: 1 sc in each stitch (18)
23: 7 sc, 2 sc together (16)
24: 1 sc in each stitch (16)
25: Arms:

Start with 1 sc then ch until it measures up to 22cm, taking note of how many chain stitches you have. 2 sc in each ch (starting at second ch from hook), ending with a sc. Check that your tentacle is a maximum of 22cm before continuing. Repeat 7 times so you have eight arms. End with sl st and pull yarn through.
*If you have trouble getting your arms to twist, crochet 3 or 4 sc in each ch instead

**If anyone else got confused at this step, don't worry, I did too. But after watching the video tutorial (which is also in Swedish but can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuDKbMZn7Uc and here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxnmRYm7B_c) I realized that you just keep going as a 25th row. So you basically do a sc, then chain however many (the other tutorial used 40, but however many it takes you to get to 22cm) then make your way back toward the body with those doubled sc stitches, do another sc to attach that arm to the body, then make another arm. **

Bottom:

1: 5 sc in magic ring
2: 2 sc in each stitch (10)
3: 1 sc, double sc (inc) in next stitch (15)
End with sl st and pull yarn through, leaving a long tail for assembly.

Eyes (make two):

1: 4 sc in magic ring
2: 2 sc in each stitch (8)
3: 1 sc, 2 sc (inc) in next stitch (12)
End with sl st and pull yarn through, leaving a long tail. Use black embroidery floss for the pupil

Sew on the eyes, then fill the body and attach the bottom securely so it does not come off in the wash. You can also attach a loop to the top so it can hang in an incubator.

The octopus MUST be washable in hot water and the yarn can't be fuzzy because the fibers may get in their lungs. Acrylic yarn may cause lung inflammation, so we recommend cotton yarn.

Hope this helps someone :icon_wave:

Has anyone else made one of these? I had a hard time finding the 100% cotton yarn---everytime I picked some up that I thought would be cotton it turned out to be acrylic or a mixture. I finally did find some at Joann's. I want to try this so bad but it's been forever since I crocheted so I would need to watch the youtube video on getting started and it would take me a bit to figure out the different stitch types. I'm hoping within the week I'll be able to get started.

I think Sugar'n'Cream is cotton. I can't knit or crochet, but this is an adorable project!

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Originally Posted by bdmsmith

Has anyone else made one of these? I had a hard time finding the 100% cotton yarn---everytime I picked some up that I thought would be cotton it turned out to be acrylic or a mixture. I finally did find some at Joann's. I want to try this so bad but it's been forever since I crocheted so I would need to watch the youtube video on getting started and it would take me a bit to figure out the different stitch types. I'm hoping within the week I'll be able to get started.

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I find my Bernat Handicrafter Cotton at Walmart. It's what I use to make dishcloths (although MIL insists that they're too pretty to be dishcloths so uses them as pot holders instead, but that's a totally different issue lol)

Thanks for sharing such a heart warming story. One of my DGDaughters is a RN who works with preemies and maybe she would like some. Haven't crocheted in years so I better try to make a trial squid to figure out the pattern before saying anything to her.

Here is a link to a pattern for a knitted octopus: mysweetoldetcetera: Octopus. I got that from ravelry.com - lots of crochet and knit patterns for octopi. You have to sign up, but it's a great resource for knitting and crochet.

I'm so happy this thread is still alive! Maybe we'll see some octopusses (octopy?!?) soon? :D