Eight Arms to Love You With: My Daughter’s Halloween Costume

My daughter loves octopuses (or is it octopi?) and is almost never caught without holding one of her 7 stuffed octopuses or wearing one of her growing closet of socks and tees.  When I saw this pattern for an octopus costume there was no contest as to what she wanted to be.  She got so excited and immediately asked that it be made in her favorite colors: purple and “lellow” (yellow) with pink spots.

Crocheting the entire thing would be a feat that would’ve taken more than a month’s planning.  And while I could quilt, the pattern was beyond my skill level.  Thankfully Jackie, our Technical Editor, was an expert seamstress and offered to help out.   Since I love creating new things using yarn, I wanted to add some personal handmade touches.

But I also didn’t want it to be just handmade – I wanted it to sparkle and glitter.

When I first saw the pattern I immediately wanted crocheted medallions for the suckers and the spots.
Vanna’s Glamour fit perfectly with what I wanted, and her mustard gold yarn went well with the deep purple velvet fabric.  Soon I was swept up in a creative moment and started picking out more colors like light gold and pink, which would give the costume a cool, colorful, and textured look.  Even Michala, our Design intern, found it so adorable that she also wanted to assist.  Since I knew she was fast crocheter, I asked if she could make some medallions whenever she had free time.

By the time I looked away, I found a pile of medallions of varying sizes already on the table.  She even had extra time to crochet the eyes and a pink bow too!

Then I saw Martha Stewarts Crafts^TM/MC Glitter Eyelash yarn and it all came together.  The sparkly polka dots, the giant eyes with purple eyelashes, even the pink bow on its head. When I showed my daughter the finished product she couldn’t wait to get it on her.

Michala crocheting away	The growing pile of octopus spots	Sewing it altogether.

The only bad (or good) part will be trying to take it off her once Halloween’s over.