Free Crochet Jellyfish and Octopus Appliques

The Under the Sea Applique Collection has got two new entries: the crochet Jellyfish and Octopus Appliques!

If you are wondering what is this Under the Sea Applique Collection, well, I just made the name up! Lol! But I am definitely envisioning a new collection here, so why not give it a name straight away?

By the way, the founding applique of the Under the Sea collection is the Whale Applique, which I shared a while ago after a longish series of food appliques.

Are you also seeing a trend here? It seems like I start crocheting patterns with a certain theme and create them in a roll. Then, a new trend kicks in and I tend to forget the previous “collection”! I guess that is ok in general, and maybe I’ll start crocheting fruit and food appliques again.

For now, let’s enjoy some summer vibes with these jellyfish and octopus crochet appliques!

A Little Behind the Scenes

The patterns of the jellyfish and the octopus are actually very similar with just minor differences. However, I do think that their look is different enough to make them two separate patterns.

What are the main differences between the crochet jellyfish and octopus appliques?

• The head of the jellyfish is a bit more roundish than the head of the octopus.
• The tentacles are shorter in the octopus pattern.
• However, that’s not the only difference between the tentacles. In jellyfish, the tentacles are crocheted directly after the head by turning the work on the wrong side. In the octopus, you’ll cut the yarn after crocheting the head, and then reattach it to crochet the tentacles on the right side.
• By the way, did you know that jellyfishes have both tentacles and oral arms? So, what I just wrote above should be rephrased to compare the tentacles of the octopus to the oral arms of the jellyfish! (Check the image in the Jellyfish pattern section to understand what I am talking about)

Alright, enough with the talking. Let’s take a look at these two applique patterns further below!

Find more crochet appliques to crochet here on the blog!

• Whale Applique
• Ice Cream Applique
• Anchor Applique

Add this pattern to your Ravelry queue here, or Pin it for later by using this pin!

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Grab the Ad-free PDF Pattern

The pattern of the Jellyfish and Octopus Appliques is available as a printable PDF file from my Ravelry, LoveCrafts, and Etsy stores!

Materials

• 2.5-mm (12 UK) Hook
• A small amount of Cotton. I used a mix of Lammy Yarns Rio and Schachenmayr Catania that I had in my stash, but any Sport (12 wpi) cotton will work fine.
• Tapestry Needle
• Embroidery Floss in Black or Dark Grey, Pink, and a Similar Color to your Main Yarn
• Embroidery Needle

Size

• Jellyfish Applique – 1.77” (4.5 cm) by 1.18” (3 cm)
• Octopus Applique – 1.57” (4 cm) by 1.18” (3 cm)

Gauge

This pattern is too small to accurately determine the gauge.

Yarn Substitutions

You can crochet the jellyfish and octopus appliques with any kind of yarn and the proper hook size.

For example, if you use DK yarn and a 4-mm crochet hook, you would get:

• A jellyfish applique of about 3.15” (8 cm) by 1.77” (4.5 cm)
• An octopus applique of 2.76” (7 cm) by 1.77” (4.5 cm).

Crochet Abbreviations (US Terms)

BLO – Back Loop Only
Ch – Chain
Dc – Double Crochet
FLO – Front Loop Only
Hdc – Half Double Crochet
Inc – Increase
RS – Right Side
Sc – Single Crochet
Sl St – Slip Stitch
St – Stitch
WS – Wrong Side
Yo – Yarn over

Special Stitches

Back and Front Loop Only (BLO and FLO) Stitches
Learn how to crochet in the back loop only and front loop only HERE.

Increase (Inc)
One increase consists of two sts worked into the same indicated st.

Pattern Notes

• If the pattern says “sc 2”, it means that you have to crochet 1 sc in each of the next two sts.
• […] – Crochet the instruction within brackets all in the same stitch.

Jellyfish Applique Pattern

Jellyfish Body

Ch 3.
Round 1. Make 12 dc into the first ch. Join the circle with a sl st into the first dc.
Round 2. Ch 1, [hdc 4] in the first st, [hdc 1, sc 1] into the next st, 6 sc inc, [sc 1, hdc 1], [hdc 4] in the next st, 2 sc inc, join the round with a sl st into the first st.

Jellyfish Oral Arms

Ch 1, turn.

Arm 1. Sl st into the BLO of the next st, ch 6. Sl st 2 into the second ch from your hook, sl st into each of the remaining ch.

Arms 2-3. (Sl st into the BLO of the next st, ch 8. Sl st 2 into the second ch from your hook, sl st into each of the remaining ch) twice.

Arm 4. Sl st into the BLO of the next st, ch 6. Sl st 2 into the second ch from your hook, sl st into each of the remaining ch.
Cut off your yarn and weave in your ends.

Bell Decoration

WS facing, join yarn in a contrasting color in the same st where you joined fastened off Arm 4. Ch 3 and turn.

RS facing, sl st into the FLO of the st where you joined Arm 4 (see picture below).

(Sl st into the next FLO, ch 3, and sl st back into the same FLO) 4 times.

Bind off and weave in all your ends.

Jellyfish Tentacles

Make some fringes using embroidery floss in a similar color to your jellyfish, and attach them in between the oral arms.

Octopus Applique Pattern

Octopus Body

Ch 3.
Round 1. Make 12 dc into the first ch. Join the circle with a sl st into the first dc.
Round 2. Ch 1, 1 sc inc, [hdc 4] in the next st, [hdc 1, sc 1] into the next st, sc 2, 2 sc inc, sc 2, [sc 1, hdc 1], [hdc 4] in the next st, 1 sc inc, join the round with a sl st into the first st.

Do not fasten off.

Octopus Tentacles

Tentacle 3. Ch 5. Sl st 2 into the second ch from your hook, sl st into each of the remaining ch. Sl st into the next st on the body of the octopus.

Tentacle 4. Repeat Tentacle 3 and fasten off.

With the right side facing, join yarn in the first sc of the last sc increase from the body.

Tentacle 1. Ch 5. Sl st 2 into the second ch from your hook, sl st into each of the remaining ch. Sl st into the next st on the body of the octopus.

Tentacle 2. Repeat Tentacle 1.

Fasten off and weave in your ends.

Finishing – Both Jellyfish and Octopus

With your embroidery needle and black floss, embroider the mouth and eyes. Then, make the chicks with the pink embroidery floss, and some spots on the top of the head with the matching color.

Your Jellyfish and Octopus Crochet Appliques are ready!

I hope you enjoyed crocheting this crochet pattern. Please, do not hesitate to contact me if you need any help or support. I am looking forward to seeing all your beautiful makes on Facebook and Instagram!

Find more appliques here on the blog…

• Lemon Appliques – in 2 sizes!
• Poppy Flower Applique
• Little Presents Applique