Craft Review: Lion Brand Crafted Mama Octopus

My daughter asked if she could make a craft after school today. And since she got all her homework done before getting home, we had plenty of time to make an Octopus we found on Pinterest. We mostly followed this Lion Brand (yarn) pattern. We only made the Mama... and we didn't tuck her legs under. Click the link if you'd like to see their photo.

Susie the Octopus

Materials needed: 3 inch craft foam ball (I used Styrofoam), small piece of black felt,
craft glue, clothespins or binder clips, plenty of yarn.  

Cut 84 strands of yarn, each 36 inches long. We used four different colors,
21 strands each. Apply glue to a spot on the ball. This will be the top
of her head. Take 5-6 strands of yarn, fold in half to find the center,
and place the center on your dot of glue. Repeat the step over and over
until the yarn is gone, each time turning the yarn to cover the entire ball,
and placing the glue in the same spot each time.

When all the yarn has been attached, take a strand of yarn and tie tightly
at the base of the ball, making sure the yarn is spread out to completely
cover it. Then take a break and let it dry a bit.

Separate the yarn into 8 "legs" with about 21 strands each and
use the clothespins or binder clips to keep them separated.
I used small bag clips.

Braid each leg and tie at the end with a long
piece of extra yarn.

When we had all eight legs braided, my daughter decided she wanted to keep the legs hanging down. If you follow the Lion Brand instructions, you need to fold each leg under, one at a time, and tie the yarn that you tied at the end of the braid, to the top of the braid. Go back up and click the link to see their photo, and you can understand that instruction a bit better if you see the pictures.

In the materials, I mentioned that you needed a bit of
black felt. That was supposed to be to make the eyes.
But we decided to glue on googly eyes instead.

For the most part, my daughter made this Octopus all by herself, and it was great practice for her braiding skills. She named her Susie, and I'm sure Susie will be having great fun swimming with Barbie Mermaids soon.

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29