Help with knitted Octopus tentacles pattern

Hi, I got a “Mini Robyn Octopus” knitting set for Christmas and I’ve been really struggling to make the tentacles.

Here’s a snip from the pattern:

Yarn B; cast on 57
Row 1: Knit to end
Row 2: K36, W&T
Row 3: Knit to end
Row 4 (RS): K3, [k2, mb] 18 times
Row 5: Knit to end
Row 6: Yarn A; knit to end
Row 7: Knit to end
Row 8: K50, W&T

Now, if I follow these instructions I end up with my colour change showing on the right side:

When I’ve looked at others’ reviews of the set on Etsy it looks like most people don’t have this issue. I did see one review talking about how she had to edit the pattern to avoid this white line appearing in the blue, but she didn’t say how.

I’ve tried removing Row 5 but then all the shaping came out wrong. I’ve tried swapping Row 5 and Row 6 but then I had a problem with the second colour change:

Row 13: Knit to end
Row 14: K50, W&T
Row 15: Knit to end
Row 16: Yarn B; knit to end
Row 17: Knit to end
Row 18: K3, [k2, mb] 18 times

I think I’m right to say that the colour change rows need to begin on an odd row number (opposite to the bobble rows) so if I go ahead with swapping Row 5 and Row 6, I expect I also need to swap Row 15 and Row 16, but that would mean changing colour at the end of the W&T and I’m not sure I know how to do that.

It takes me forever to do the bobble rows and I’ve un-done these damn tentacles and re-done them in different ways enough times, I didn’t have the heart to try the above and fail again. I thought I’d post a question here and hope that someone (a) understands my problem and (b) has a solution!

I will patiently await an answer :upside_down_face:
Thanks,
Annie

2 Likes


I think you’ve hit on the soluntion, make the color change on row 5 and then again on row 15. That should put the dashed white line to the back. I’ll have to try the w&t with the color change on the needles to be sure that it works for that row and the next. The other possibility is to make the color change on row 17.
A couple of years ago I was searching for an octopus pattern for a friend and had trouble finding one. This one looks perfect.

3 Likes

Thanks for the response. I’ll get going on another attempt at a tenticle! Any tips on W&T into a colour change? I tried having a quick flick through YouTube but I couldn’t really find anything. Maybe I have to be brave and just try it!

Try it out on some scrap yarns if you want to spare your good yarns.
I’ve not tried that but I’d think you wrap with the current yarn, move the stitch back to the left needle then turn and start working with the new color. You are forging new ground here!

Just to update: doing the colour change on row 15 didn’t really work. I was left with a small white line on the right side at the end of the tentacle and it wasn’t really symmetrical. So I went with the colour changes on row 5 and row 17; that way the colour changes were immediately after/before the bobble rows. Phew!

1 Like

Oh, yay! Well done for persisting. You are now our cephalopod expert. We’d love to see a photo when you finish.

This is really useful. I am having trouble picking up the tentacles and casting on the two stitches between the tentacles. Once I have picked up and knitted the six stitches, I seem to be in the wrong direction to pick up the next tentacle. Also, how do you cast on the two new stitches between each tentacle with only one strand of wool? Thank you.

Welcome to the forum!
Are you picking up with the right hand needle and working right to left as you pick up?
If you’d like you can quote a row or two of the pattern in this area. Don’t post a large portion of the pattern please due to designer copyright.

1 Like

Hi, yes, I was picking up with the right hand and then working to pick up towards the left. However, when I knit the six stitches, I end up with the WS of the tentacle facing me and then I’m not sure how to cast on with a single strand and start picking up the next tentacle. That would be really useful if you are able to point me in the right direction. Thank you/.

Just guess but could this be a “pick up and knit” confusion? If your pattern says pick up and knit it doesn’t mean to turn the work and knit the stitches, this will leave you in the wrong place to continue picking up. Some pattern say pick up stitches, some say pick up and knit, often these two things mean the same (they do mean different things but are often used interchangeably, rightly or wrongly).

1 Like

It might also help if you post a photo of your work. Use the landscape icon at the top, center of the Reply box.

1 Like

Thank you. This is really helpful. I was picking the stitches up and knitting them and ending up back to front. This makes sense now. Thanks for your help.

1 Like

You can add stitches with the backwards loop cast-on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojOU7Bco4dM&ab_channel=VeryPinkKnits

2 Likes

Thanks, this was very useful.

1 Like

You can also cast on by temporarily turning the work to do a knitted cast on, then turning back. You should still, be in position to pick up the next lot of stitches.

1 Like