Crochet Octopus Keychain Free Pattern

You’re going to love this crochet octopus keychain! It takes very little yarn and doubles as a super cute crochet bag charm.

When I made my first one, it wasn’t just kids who fell in love—every adult who saw it wanted one too! I was truly surprised by how much love it received.

It makes a fantastic crochet gift. Whether you’re a teacher looking to surprise your students or an employee wanting to gift your colleagues, this is a quick and easy small project.

Best of all, it’s a no-sew crochet octopus worked completely in one piece. The arms are crocheted directly onto the body to keep things nice and simple.

I hope you enjoy making it. Just don’t blame me when every friend and family member asks for their own! Now, let’s get making!

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Crochet Octopus Keychain

You can work from the free pattern below or purchase an ad-free PDF for $3.99 here. You will receive a download link once you make payment and click “Return to Merchant”.

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Materials

1. DK Weight size 3 cotton yarn in colors of your choice. I used OMoiut Milk cotton yarn from Amazon, and it came with a free 3mm hook.

2. 3mm crochet hook

3. A pair of 6mm safety eyes.

4. Key Ring with Chain. I joined 2 chains using a pair of pliers to make them longer.

5. Locking stitch markers to keep track of the rounds

6. Fiber Fill

7. Tapestry needle to weave in the tails.

Finished size

Approximately 2″ wide and 1-1/2″ tall

Yardage

Approximately 30 yards.

Stitch Abbreviations

The pattern is written in US terms.

st: stitch

ch: chain

sc: single crochet

YO: yarn over

Stitch Explanations

sc2tog: Pull up a loop in the next 2 sts, YO, and pull through all 3 loops on your hook to complete a sc2tog.

Hooks inserted under front or back loops only — 1. Shows how to work in the front or back loops only

BLO (Back loop only): See pic 1 above. Your stitch has 2 loops, a front loop close to you and a back loop. The loop at the back is abbreviated as BLO. To place a marker in the BLO, go under that loop and leave the front loop free.

FLO (front loop only): When the pattern states to crochet “In FLO”, work the stitches in the front loop only.

More free crochet keychain patterns:

Whale Crochet Keychain

Honey Bee Crochet Keychain

Crochet Octopus Keychain Free Pattern

Pattern Notes

1. Overview: The body is crocheted first as a squished ball, leaving one round of unused loops at the base of Round 9. The arms are then crocheted into these free loops to complete the octopus. The bottom is then cinched shut, and the yarn tails are woven in to finish your octopus.

2. Every time you work into the marked stitch, move the marker up into the first stitch you worked into the marked stitch. This will help you keep track of the rounds.

3. You do not turn at the end of the rounds.

4. The number given in parentheses ( ) at the end indicates the stitch count at the end of the round.

Head

Round 1: 1 sc in magic ring, place a marker in this st, 7 more sc in the magic ring. Pull tail to close your ring. (8 sc)

Round 2: 2 sc in the marked st, 2 sc in the next 7 sts. (16 sc)

Round 3: *(2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next st), repeat from * to the end of the round. (24 sc)

Round 4: *(2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next 2 sts), repeat from * to the end of the round. (32 sc)

Rounds 5 and 6: 1 sc in next st and each st across to end. (32 sc)

Round 7: *(1 sc in next 2 sts, sc2tog across next 2 sts), repeat from * to end. (24 sc)

Add eyes at this stage. Add them between the 5th and 6th rounds from the top, 3 stitches apart.

Round 8: *(1 sc in next st, sc2tog across next 2 sts), repeat from * to end. (16 sc)

Stuff the octopus head lightly now.

Yarn needle inserted into a small loop at the bottom opening of the stuffed crochet octopus head. — 2. Shows the tiny loop left under the marked st

Round 9: (sc2tog in BLO) 8 times. This will leave 16 free loops at the base of this round. The first loop under the marked st will be tiny ( see pic 2 above). Fasten off with a 12-inch tail for cinching later. (8 sts)

Adding the Arms

Yarn needle passed through two loops around the bottom opening of the crochet octopus head. — 3. Needle showing how to insert the hook to make sl st for starting the arms

First Arm: Identify the first and last free loop left while working the last round. Insert your hook into the tiny loop under the marked st and the 16th loop at once (see pic 3 above), pull yarn through both the loops and make a sl st, *ch 7, 1 sl st in 2nd ch from hook, 1 sc in next 5 chs, sl st to next 2 free loops on the head.—1 arm completed

Repeat from * and after you have completed 8 arms, sl st to the last loop left on the head, sl st to the base of the first arm, and fasten off with a 12-inch tail. See pic 4 below.

Four-step collage showing how to crochet the eight curled octopus arms around the bottom of the stuffed head. — 4. Make a chain and work back into the chain to make arms

Cinching the Hole

First, add more stuffing through the bottom opening until the body is full and shaped to your liking. Using the yarn tail left earlier, whip stitch through the front loops of each stitch around. Pull tight to close the hole, and use the remaining tail to close any tiny holes through which stuffing is showing by making tiny stitches. Hide the remaining tail inside the head.

Adding the Mouth

With black yarn, make a mouth under the eyes. Use fabric glue or a small stitch to hold the mouth in a curved shape, if desired.

Finishing

Bring the tail left at the base of the arms up to the head and use it to sew a keyring to the top of the crochet octopus. Hide the remaining tail inside the head.

Your cute little creation is now ready to use as a crochet keychain or a fun bag charm!