I had never picked up a crochet hook in my life before attempting this kit. I thought it looked super cute and just a fun way to learn. The videos they have on their channel going over the tutorials were very slow, and easy to follow and really helped me understand how to do it all. Slowing them down by 25% helped me a lot too, so I could keep up in the beginning!

Overall, I am very happy I took a chance on trying this kit, and have since made both axolotl, and their snake kit as well. I highly recommend!

Reviewing Crochetta's octopus family… First of all, my previous crochet experience was decades ago and consisted of a scarce handful of unfinished granny squares and some hats. I knew three stitches: chain, single crochet, and double crochet. Level: Beginner.

Five stars, and here's why:

1. What you get. You get two small skeins of each color except for the light blue and yellow, for which you get one medium skein each. The weight/gauge isn't marked, nor is any other product information. You also get a package of stuffing (looks to be polyfill), a 2.5mm ergonomic hook, a 4mm ergonomic hook, one set of large safety eyes, two sets of small safety eyes, one plastic yarn needle, one metal yarn needle, five locking stitch markers (I lost one), and a pair of capped scissors. If you look at the attached pictures, you'll see that I made one large octopus and eleven smaller octopuses - plus three not pictured because I gave them away - and still have a pile of yarn to make more. NOTE: in order to make all of the extra octopuses, I had to buy additional polyfill and safety eyes. The ergonomic hooks were surprisingly comfortable to work with.

2. Instructions. The kit came with two pamphlets. One contains an easy introduction to crochet terminology and shorthand, demonstrates several stitches, and includes QR links to instructional videos. Not only do they have the videos, they included an additional bundle of white yarn - otherwise not necessary to complete the kit as pictured in the box - specifically for practicing. This includes directions on how to easily start rows and spirals depending on what your pattern calls for. The second pamphlet is specific to the kit with instructions and QR codes unique to the rainbow octopus and the two babies.

What's not included. Nothing in this kit is pre-started. You can follow the directions as written, or use the videos, or both, to learn how to start and finish each section of each octopus.

3. Learning curve. Start on the small octopuses. You will not run out of yarn. The ball of the small octopus is extremely easy and, after some fussing with the legs, those wound up going pretty fast, too. The first small octopus (the larger of the two yellows) took me three days to make with maybe an hour spent each day. After practicing and getting creative with the pattern (which I could afford to do with all that extra yarn), the smaller octopuses now only take me about an hour to make.

4. Dual crochet! Two hooks means that two people can crochet at the same time. This would be a fantastic activity for friends or family, especially if one has slightly more experience than the other.

5. ADHD much? I tend to quit projects without finishing them because many are "learn this one trick and do it 9000 times." With these toys, though, each round or row is unique and it's easy to go back and fix mistakes, so there was never really a sense of all-consuming repetition or disaster if I missed a stitch - so I didn't get bored or discouraged. I started a project to make three octopuses and wound up finishing all three *and* an additional nine for myself and another three for friends who wanted them because they're so cute.

There were a couple things that didn't make sense at first that *could* have driven down a star, but were insignificant in the long run.

A. You use the 2.5mm hook for the small octopuses, so I couldn't figure out what the use of the 4mm hook was until I saw a "pro tip" in the margins of the large octopus's pattern and checked out the video - to find out that the reason for having two skeins of each color was to make it easier to crochet with double yarn using the 4mm hook, making the larger octopus more plush and not requiring an exponentially larger number of stitches.

B. There were two of every color except the light blue, yellow, and white. The white doesn't count because it's the bonus practice/learning yarn. The instructions don't mention it, but you have to partition out half of the light blue and yellow into separate skeins or balls in order to make the double yarn crocheting work. It was a bit obnoxious, but seriously, there's *so* much yarn.

C. Closing up the big octopus body was VERY confusing, because at first it's kind of like you're making a mushroom and then it has you push the stem inside and make a hollow in the bottom of it and I had no idea why until a friend asked if I was "making one of those sets where the babies fit inside the mommy" and yes, that is this pattern. I can fit two small octopuses comfortably inside the larger one.

D. Attaching the legs to the big octopus body was annoying because I tried to go all in without blocking out the spacing and I almost wound up only fitting seven legs. I had to completely remove and relocate one leg and several of them are quite squished together - but it looks good in the end and I know better now that if I had to do it again, I'd get it right.

E. Could definitely have used more stuffing. There is no good guide included on how much stuffing to use for each piece and I was constantly afraid I would run out before finishing. I did not run out of stuffing for making the first two little ones and the big one, but I wish I'd used more stuffing in the body of the big one. I eventually bought more stuffing to make all of the extras and I've since decided to measure out stuffing the same way I do garlic - eyeball it with your heart and then test it to see if it makes you happy. If not, add more.

Conclusion and aftermath: This kit is fantastic and I have been recommending it ever since I finished my first couple octopuses. I learned enough to start getting creative and now have my own no-sew tiny octopus pattern. I've been hounding the internet for free patterns and have now finished a pair of toddler mittens and a baby dragon amigurumi and am working on another. If you are looking for a creative activity that is easy to pick up and put down and is forgiving of mistakes - then this is an excellent investment. New Level: Beginner-Intermediate. Skill high enough to take risks.

Easy to follow directions. The crochet donuts came out so cute. My daughter was happy with they end results.

I have just started making the flowerpot & soil. I’m an experienced crocheter & I have found errors in the instructions that will probably cause a beginner to pull out their hair wondering why pattern is not working up correctly. RND 6 of the flowerpot should be 1 ch ( 4sc, inc, 4sc) *8 times, as = 48sts

RND 9 of the flowerpot should be 1ch (12sc, inc, 12sc) *4 times as = 56sts

RND 17 of the flowerpot should be 1ch (12sc, dec, 12sc) * 4 times as =52sts

The soil pattern goes wonky on round 6

RND 6 should be 1ch (4sc, inc, 4sc) *4 times, as = 52sts

That is as far as I have gotten so far. If I find any more discrepancies I will post them. However it’s looking like these are going to make up very cute.

I would say this pattern is pretty easy to follow, I’m a beginner and was able to make the big octopus! I haven’t made the small ones yet. The yarn isn’t the best quality though it pills a bit and splits when trying to crochet. The kit is cool that it comes with everything you need! I would say it’s def worth the money and a fun project! My 2 year old loves the octopus!

I thought these were for beginners so I was like, cool I’m not a beginner so this should be easy. WRONG. The way the pattern is written for some parts is so confusing. They just don’t even explain what you’re supposed to be doing, it just lists stitches with no direction. Sure, I could have followed the video the whole time but 1. I rarely have quiet in my house to actually hear what’s being said, 2. I found the videos really annoying to follow along with. Either they were over explaining something I didn’t need to know or they were moving too fast and I would have to pause a bunch. It was not the relaxing, fun project I thought it would be during my long surgery recovery. Some parts were fine and didn’t drive me crazy but most of it did lol it’s for sure not a beginner level project. Heck, I’m a novice and I struggled. They turned out cute, but very flawed somehow. I’m sure it’s because of the difficult readability of the patterns. The value seems to be decent. The yarn was kind of annoying to work with. It separated a lot while working with it. Or tangled during a stitch when better yarn wouldn’t have. I did love the little scissor tool that came with it but they only actually made a cut 50% of the time. I liked that it came with two hooks, since I’m known to lose things. Basically all of the little tools and accessories it came with were nice to have.

It seemed like a really really cute kit, I just wish it was easier/better to use. I think if they improved the pattern and explanations, it would be a lot better. I would have been completely content with this kit if it wasn’t so difficult to understand what to do. Frustration was not what I needed after 2 spinal surgeries and awaiting a third. I was too stubborn to quit once I started but it definitely was stressful to do at times.

I had never crocheted before getting this kit. It came with everything I needed and the instructions were clear and easy to follow. You can definitely see my improvement as I made each donut, but even my first attempt turned out cute :) now my kids love playing with the completed set! Would definitely recommend this set for anyone who enjoys crocheting at any skill level, even total novice.

Super cute and easy to follow along

Got for my mom for mother's day so she has something to do with her hands in the evenings while her and my dad watch tv

Absolutely worth the month and seems great quality for cost and exactly as pictured and described

This was an amazing first project and came with everything you would need

I ordered this for a 8th Birthday present and it arrived today looking like this. The box was open and the sides ripped. The presentation and packaging of this item are really poor. It’s embarassing to offer this as a present as it looks used.

Great item, fast shipping, AAA+++

I bought this because I wanted to learn how to crochet but it’s way harder than beginners especially if you have zero knowledge before hand.

I had to learn patterns,needle sizes, and terminology after attempting the octopus for a few days because it’s not as simple just watching the provided links.

After a while of practicing the pattern I was able to understand better but I definitely do not give full credit to this box as YouTube helped way more.

Also because the material used it’s braided and really thin it’s harder to see if you’re doing something wrong right away.

I think if you have a solid understanding of crochet this would work great