Pacific Sea Nettle (R3)

This jellyfish design is based on the Pacific Sea Nettle. At least I think it is. Your average jellyfish photograph is not well labelled on the internet. This version was designed to be hung so you might want to leave out some making up steps if you will be using it as a toy.

A printable version of this pattern is available.

You will need:

white, yellow and red yarn (dk weight)
thin gauge wire
small piece of stiff card
black thread
4 x double ended needles (3mm)
tapestry needle
scissors

Pattern:

(A list of abbreviations is available.)

Hood

Using the yellow yarn cast on 5 sts and join into the round.

Round 1 and all odd rounds: k –
Round 2: [inc, k1] x 5 (10)
Round 4: [inc, k1] x 10 (20)
Round 6: [k2, inc, k2] x 5 (25)
Round 8: [k4, inc, k1] x 5 (30)
Round 10: [k3, inc, k1, inc, k2] x 5 (40)
Round 12: [k4, inc, k1, inc, k3] x 5 (50)
Round 14: [k5, inc, k1, inc, k4] x 5 (60)
Round 16: k –
Round 18: [k2tog, k2] x 15 (45)
Round 20: k –
Round 22: [yfwd, k2tog, k1] x 15 (45)
Rounds 24 to 28: k –

At this point we stop and add the tentacles.

Cut fifteen x 60cm lengths of red yarn.

Thread each piece of yarn through a hole and under over a handful of stitches above. Tie off the length on the inside. It doesn’t have to be neat, it will be hidden.

Begin knitting again when all the tentacles are attached.

Round 30: [k3, k2tog, k2tog, k2] x 5 (35)
Round 32: [k2, k2tog, k2tog, k1] x 5 (25)
Round 34: [k1, k2tog, k2tog] x 5 (15)

Knit the final odd round and cast off.

Arms

Using white yarn cast on 120 sts.

Row 1: [k2, p2] x 30

To cast off k2tog, if there is a previous stitch on the RH-needle pass it over the top, p2tog, pass over the previous stitch. Repeat to end. When there is one stitch left thread yarn through remaining stitch.

Make five arms total.

Arms can be longer or shorter depending on your personal taste in jellyfish design.

Hanger

Cast on 5sts in white and join into the round.

Round 1 and all odd rounds: k –
Round 2: [inc, k1] x 5 (10)
Round 4: [inc, k1] x 10 (20)
Round 6: [k2, inc, k2] x 5 (25)
Round 8: k –
Round 10: [k1, k2tog, k2tog] x 5 (15)

Knit the final odd round and cast off.

Making Up:

Press the ends of the hood together so that they form a hemisphere. Sew in the (yellow) loose ends trapping the knotted ends of the tentacles inside the double thickness of knitting.

To make the hanger cut a small disk of rigid card approximately 3cm in diameter (it will need to fit snugly inside the knitted hanger piece later). Make a hole in the centre of the card.

Cut a short piece of wire and twist to form a small neat loop in the middle. Stab the prongs through the top of the jellyfish and through the hole in the centre of the card. Bend them in opposite directions to fix in place and trim so they don’t stick past the edge of the card disk.

Cover the card disk with the knitted hanger piece and fix into place. Attach one end of each knitted arm to the hanger and hide all remaining loose ends.

Trim the tentacles so they are closer in length to that of the knitted arms.

Add a loop of black cotton or fishing line through the metal loop and hang up your finished jellyfish.

Notes:

Needle/Yarn Size

As with most ODDknit patterns the yarn and needle sizes in the "you will need" section are just a guide. Feel free to improvise with whatever needles and yarn you have lying around - that's half the fun!