Vampire Squid Blanket Pattern

I’m an Oceanographer, and although I don’t study squid, I do love them very much. The vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) is one of my favorite sea creatures. Maybe it says something about me, but when I saw people making mermaid tail blankets, my first thought was “I want that, but as a weird deep sea cephalopod instead of a mermaid!”

Since I may be unique in the universe for wanting this, I had to make up a pattern myself from scratch. Just in case I am not unique in the universe for wanting this, I have saved the pattern here for you.

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Materials: 

• Worsted weight yarn:
  • Bright red (8 x 364 yd skeins) 
  • Dark red (3 x 364 yd skeins) 
  • Royal Blue (~120 yd) 
  • Off-White  ~150 yd) 
• Crochet hooks: 
  • US K (6.5 mm) 
  • US G (4.0 mm)  
• Tapestry needle 
• polyfill/stuffing 
• scissors

I used:

• Red Heart Super Saver, Cherry Red (8 skeins)
• Red Heart Super Saver, Burgundy (3 skeins)
• Loops & Threads Impeccable, Royal (1 skein)
• Red Heart Super Saver, Aran (1 skein)

All instructions are in US crochet terms.

SC – single crochet

DC – double crochet

HDC – half-double crochet

DEC – single crochet decrease

HDCDEC – half-double crochet decrease

Ch – chain

Instructions between *   *  should be repeated until the end of the round/row unless otherwise stated.

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General Comments:

This pattern is adjustable. You can easily alter the number of DC rows on the body to fit a taller or shorter person.

Making 8 arms with full spines is a lot of work! If you want to save yourself some headaches, skip the spines on the arms that will get attached to the underside of the squid (where the main body splits in the back). If you want even less headaches, just make 6 arms. You will end up with webbing attached only on one side at the back of the blanket. This has the advantage of not having bulky arms on the part of the blanket where you will be sitting.

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Body:

Bright Red

K (6.5 mm) hook

Row 1: 10 DC in magic circle

Row 2: DC in each (10)

Row 3: *2 DC in next st, DC* (15)

Row 4: DC in each (15)

Row 5: 2 DC in each (30)

Row 6 – 7: DC in each (30)

Row 8: *2 DC in next st, 2 DC* (40)

Row 9 – 10: DC in each (40)

Row 11: *2 DC in next st, 3 DC* (50)

Row 12 – 13: DC in each (50)

Row 14: *2 DC in next st, 4 DC* (60)

Row 15 – 16: DC in each (60)

Row 17: *2 DC in next st, 5 DC*  (70)

Row 18 – 19: DC in each (70)

Row 20: *2 DC in next st, 6 DC* (80)

Row 21 – 22: DC in each (80)

Row 23: *2 DC in next st, 7 DC* (90)

Row 24: DC in each (90)

Row 25: *2 DC in next st, 8 DC* (100)

Row 26: DC in each (100)

Row 27: *2 DC in next st, 9 DC* (110)

Row 28: DC in each (110)

Row 29: *2 DC in next st, 10 DC* (120)

Row 30: DC in each (120)

Row 31: *2 DC in next st, 11 DC* (130)

Row 32: DC in each (130)

Row 33: DC in each, then ch 7. turn

Row 34: 4 DC in the chain; *2 DC in next, 12 DC*, ch 7 turn

Row 35: DC in each, turn

Row 36: *2 DC in next st, 13 DC*, 2 DC in last st, turn

Row 37 – 38: DC in each, turn

Row 39: *2 DC in next st, 14 DC*, turn

Row 40 – 51: DC in each, turn

Row 52: *12 DC, DEC*, turn

Row 53 – 58: DC in each, turn (~144 st)

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Note: Length designed for a 5’2″ tall adult. If necessary, repeat row 58 until desired length. Keep in mind the webbing will add another ~16” when complete.  

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Fins (x2):

Bright Red

K (6.5 mm) hook

Chain 23. Leave long tail for sewing onto body

Row 1: 22 SC

Row 2: SC in each (22)

Row 3: DEC, 20 SC (21)

Row 4: 19 SC, DEC (20)

Row 5: DEC, 16 SC, DEC (18)

Row 6: 18 SC (18)

Row 7: DEC, 16 SC (17)

Row 8: DEC, 11 SC, DEC, DEC (14)

Row 9: DEC, 12 SC (13)

Row 10 – 12: 13 SC (13)

Row 13: DEC, 11 SC (12)

Row 14 – 16: 12 SC (12)

Row 17: DEC, 8 SC, DEC (10)

Row 18: 10 SC (10)

Row 19: DEC, 6 SC, DEC (8)

Row 20: 8 SC (8)

Row 21: DEC, 4 SC, DEC (6)

Row 22: 2 SC, DEC, 2 SC (5)

Row 23: DEC, SC, DEC (3)

Row 24: SC, DEC (2)

Fasten off

For cleaner edges, SC around the edge, sides and top of fins only.

Attaching Fins:

Lay out the body with the opening centered in the back. Position fins as shown, with skinny end pointing toward the open end of the blanket. The attachment point at the top of the fins should be at row 15, with ~ 15 stitches between them. The bottoms of the fins should be at about row 28, with ~26 stitches between them. Pin or attach with stitch markers until layout is as desired. Sew fins onto the body using yarn tails.

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Eyes (x2):

Outer Eye (make 2):

Bright Red

K (6.5 mm) hook

Row 1: 7 SC in magic circle (7) leave long tail

Row 2: 2 HDC in each stitch (14)

Row 3: *2 HDC in first stitch, 1 HDC* (21)

Row 4: *2 HDC in first stitch, 2 HDC* (28)

Row 5: *2 HDC in first stitch, 3 HDC* (35)

Row 6: *2 HDC in first stitch, 4 HDC* (42)

Row 7: *2 HDC in first stitch, 5 HDC* (49)

Row 8: *2 HDC in first stitch, 6 HDC* (56)

Row 9: *2 HDC in first stitch, 7 HDC* (63)

Row 10: *2 HDC in first stitch, 8 HDC* (70)

Row 11: *2 HDC in first stitch, 9 HDC* (77)

Row 12: HDC in each (77)  mark this row

Row 13: HDC in each (77)

Row 14: *HDCDEC, 9 HDC* (70)

Row 15: *HDCDEC, 8 HDC* (63)

Row 16: *DEC, 7 SC* (56)

Row 17: *DEC, 6 SC* (49)

Row 18: *DEC, 5 SC* (42)

Row 19: *DEC, 4 SC* (35) stuff loosely

Row 20: *DEC, 3 SC* (28)

Row 21: *DEC, 2 SC* (21)

Row 22: *DEC, 1 SC* (14)

Row 23: DEC around (7)

Row 24: DEC 3 times, then sew together

Use tail from magic circle to sew top to bottom to form a dimple in the center.

Inner Eye (make 2):

Royal Blue

G (4.0 mm) hook *note different hook size*

Row 1: 7 SC in magic circle (7)

Row 2: 2 HDC in each (14)

Row 3: *2 HDC in first stitch, 1 HDC* (21)

Row 4: *2 HDC in first stitch, 2 HDC* (28)

Row 5: *2 HDC in first stitch, 3 HDC* (35)

Row 6 – 9: HDC in each (35)

Row 10: *HDCDEC, 3 HDC* (28)

Row 11: *HDCDEC, 2 HDC* (21)

Row 12: *HDCDEC, HDC* (14)

stuff gently with polyfill

Row 13: HDCDEC in each (7)

Row 14: DEC 3 times, then sew together

Sew Inner Eye to Outer Eye. Row 9 on the Inner Eye should attach to approx. row 5 on Outer Eye.

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Arms (x8) :

Bright Red

K (6.5 mm) hook

Note: Keep gauge tight as if for amigurumi. 

Row 1: 3 SC in magic circle (3)

Row 2: 2 SC in each (6)

Row 3: *2 SC in next stitch, 1 SC* (9)

Row 4: *2 SC in next stitch, 2 SC* (12)

Row 5: SC in each (12)

Row 6: *2 SC in next stitch, 3 SC* (15)

Row 7 – 8: SC in each (15)

Row 9: *2 SC in next stitch, 4 SC* (18)

Row 10 – 12: SC in each (18)

Row 13: *2 SC in next st, 5 SC* (21)

Row 14 – 68: SC in each (21)     Arm should be ~15.5” long

Row 69: *2 SC in next st, 6 SC* (24)

Row 70: SC in each (24)

Row 71: *2 SC in next st, 7 SC* (27)

Row 72: SC in each (27)

Row 73: *2 SC in next st, 8 SC* (30)

Row 74: SC in each (30)

Row 75: *2 SC in next st, 9 SC* (33)

Row 76: SC in each (33)

Row 77: *2 SC in next st, 10  SC* (36)

Row 78: SC in each (36)

Row 79: *2 SC in next st, 11 SC* (39)

Row 80: SC in each (39)

Row 81: *2 SC in next st, 12 SC* (42)

Row 82: SC in each (42)

For stiffer arms, stuff lightly. Otherwise leave empty. (I left mine empty because I wanted the blanket to fold easily.) 

Fold base of arm in half. SC the two halves together to close. Leave long tail (at least 4x the width of the base of the arm) for attaching to the body.

Make 8.

Spines (optional):

Real vampire squid have scary-looking yet harmless spines on their arms. On the blanket they will be on the inside and can only be seen when you have the webbing folded back. I wanted to add them for accuracy since they add to the coolness/weirdness of this creature, but you can feel free to skip them!

Off-White

K (6.5 mm) hook

Chain 6

Row 1: SC in 2nd ch from hook, 2 SC in next, 1 SC in next, 1SC and 1 DC in next, 1 DC in next (5 SC and 2 DC total)

Fasten off. Leave long tail for sewing. Weave in the shorter end.

Make 64 (8 per arm)

Sew 8 spines to each arm in pairs as shown. The base of the first row should be at about row 25 of the arm. The spines should curl inward, toward each other. Leave ~10 rows of arm between each pair of spines. Secure ends and pull through the arm before cutting, leaving the yarn tail hidden inside the arm.

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Webbing (x7):

Dark Red

K (6.5 mm) hook

Note: For the Webbing, all turning chains count as stitches (and should be worked). Leave a longer than usual tail at the start of your work for attaching to the body.

Chain 5, turn

Row 1: HDC in 2nd ch from hook, HDC in each remaining ch, turn (4)

Row 2: Ch 2, DC in same st, DC in next 3 st, turn (5)

Row 3: Ch 2, DC in same st, DC across, turn (6)

Row 4: Ch 2, DC in same st, DC across, DC again in last st, turn (8)

Row 5: Ch 2, DC in same st, DC across, DC again in last st, turn (10)

Row 6: Ch 2, DC in same st, 3 DC, 2 DC in next st, 4 DC, 2 DC in next st, turn (13)

Row 7: Ch 2, DC in same st, 5 DC, 2 DC in next st, 5 DC, 2 DC in next st, turn (16)

Row 8 – 25: Ch2, DC in same st, DC across, turn (34)

Fasten off

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Finishing:

The arms and webbing will be attached to the body using single crochet. Then the webbing will be sewn to the arms and the eyes will be sewn to the body. I recommend starting with the two arms and the webbing piece at the front center of the body and working your way outward. 

Attaching arms:

Use stitch markers to plan arm attachment points on the top edge of the body. If your squid body section has 144 stitches at the edge, the arm positions should be 16 stitches across with 2 stitches space between. Leave 1 stitch open on each side of the back (split) edge of the body.

Position arms based on your markers, and single crochet across through arm and body to attach using the yarn tail.

Repeat for all 8 arms

 Attaching Webbing:

Align webbing between 2 arms. Pin or use stitch markers to test positioning of attachment to arms. The top of the webbing should attach 2 – 3” below the tip of the arms.

Single crochet to attach the bottom 4 stitches of the webbing to the body using the tail from the starting chain.

Using the yarn tail from the top of the webbing and additional Dark Red yarn as needed, sew webbing to arms on each side. 

Optional Edging: 

If you desire a more finished-looking edge for the split at the back of the blanket you can use a border of your choosing. For a single crochet border as shown, place the blanket with the back facing you. Join bright red yarn to the left edge of the arm on the right side of the split. SC along the edge until you reach the arm on the other side. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Attaching Eyes:

Using bright red yarn, attach eyes to body. Placement should align with the middle of the second arm on each side (counting inward from the split in the bottom). The eyes should take up a space from around row 2 to row 16 of the body, counting from the edge where the arms attach.  It may be helpful to have a friend get into the blanket or stuff the blanket with a few pillows to help make sure you are happy with them. I also found it helpful to use stitch markers to hold the eyes in place while positioning and stitching.

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If you made it this far I salute you. I’m stupidly proud of making up this pattern because it is huge and weird and perfectly *me*. I’m curious if anyone else likes these strange sea creatures enough to make one too. I would love to see your finished blankets! You can link photos in the comments on my blog (www.dailycreativething.wordpress.com) or share with me on Ravelry or Twitter (I’m @DiscGrace). You may sell finished blankets made from this pattern but please credit my design.

Enjoy!

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