sea anemone
Here is the pattern for the sea anemone I made for the crochet coral reef. It was inspired by this picture; I wanted to make something that would try to capture how the tentacles were moving in the water.
Of the three creatures I made for the coral reef, this was my favourite. Not just because it is pretty but also because it is very tactile. The tentacles can be open or shut. They can sway around or close in on their prey. Fun anemone fact - their mouth is also their bottom - something my son was fascinated to find out!
Yarn and Hook Size
The anemone was made with Stylecraft Special DK yarn, in eight different shades. For the 'flower' part - lime, apricot and cream. And then five shades of greeny-blue for the gradations of colour on the 'trunk' - sherbet, spearmint, sage, storm blue, and petrol. I used a 3.25 mm hook.
Stitches
The pattern is written in US terms.
The abbreviations are as follows:
CH – chain;
SL ST – slip stitch;
SC - single crochet;
INC - 2 SC in the same stitch;
DEC - SC decrease. I use the invisible SC decrease (insert hook into front loop only of next two stitches, draw up a loop through both stitches (two loops on hook), draw a loop through both loops on hook);
FLO - work into the front loop only;
BLO - work into the back loop only.
Notes
The anemone is worked in continuous rounds, except where the pattern specifically states to join the end of a round. It is made in two parts, with a separate base which is sewn on after stuffing the main piece.
This pattern uses the invisible join. If you haven't used this before, have a look at my quick guide here.
The anemone starts with a magic circle. My guide to crocheting a magic circle is here.
I wanted to have an ombre effect for the 'trunk' of the anemone and used five different shades of bluey green to achieve this. If you don't want so many (or any!) colour changes, don't cut the yarn, instead just continue straight to the next row. For ease of use, I have written out this pattern again for a version without the ombre effect here.
Pattern
Use Lime yarn, and 3.25 mm hook.
Start with a magic circle.
Row 1: 6 SC into magic circle, join with a slip stitch and ch 1 (6)
Row 2: [SC, INC] around (9)
Row 3: SC around (9)
Row 4: SC around (9)
Row 5: FLO [2 SC, INC] around (12)
Row 6: [SC, INC] around (18)
Row 7: [2 SC, INC] around (24)
Cut yarn, and finish with an invisible join.
Change colour to Apricot:
Row 8: Join the new yarn with a SL ST into the FLO of the first stitch in row 7, then - [ch 9, skip first ch, then SL ST back along ch (8 SL ST), SL ST into FLO of next two stitches] repeat the steps in [ ] 11 more times (12 petals), join with SL ST into first ch of first petal and ch 1
Row 9: (work these stitches into the BLO of row 7) [3 SC, INC] around (30)
Row 10: repeat Row 8, to make 15 petals
Row 11: (work these stitches into the BLO of row 9) [4 SC, INC] around (36)
Row 12: repeat Row 8, with ch of 10, to make 18 petals
Cut yarn, and finish with an invisible join into the first ch of the first petal.
Change colour to Cream:
Row 13: (work these stitches into the BLO of row 11) [5 SC, INC]
around (42)
Row 14: repeat Row 8, with ch of 11, to make 21 petals
Cut yarn, and finish with an invisible join into the first ch of the first
petal.
Change colour to Sherbet:
Row 15: BLO [5 SC, DEC] around (36)
Row 16: [4 SC, DEC] around (30)
Row 17: SC around (30)
Cut yarn, and finish with an invisible join.
Change colour to Spearmint:
Row 18: SC around (30)
Row 19: SC around (30)
Cut yarn, and finish with an invisible join.
Change colour to Sage:
Row 20: SC around (30)
Row 21: [4 SC, INC] around (36)
Cut yarn, and finish with an invisible join.
Change colour to Storm Blue:
Row 22: SC around (36)
Row 23: SC around (36)
Row 24: [5 SC, INC] around (42)
Cut yarn, and finish with an invisible join.
Change colour to Petrol:
Row 25: FLO [SC around] (42)
Row 26: 2 SC, then [2 INC, 2 SC] 10 times (62)
Cut yarn, and finish with an invisible join.
To make the base, use Petrol, and a 3.25 mm hook:
Start with a magic circle.
Row 1: 6 SC into magic circle, join with a slip stitch and ch 1 (6)
Row 2: INC around (12)
Row 3: [SC, INC] around (18)
Row 4: [2 SC, INC] around (24)
Row 5: [3 SC, INC] around (30
Row 6: [4 SC, INC] around (36)
Cut yarn, and finish with an invisible join.
Stuff the main piece, then sew the base to the BLO of row 24. Sew every 6th stitch of the base to two stitches of row 24.
I'd love to see any sea anemones you make. Tag me on Instagram @fat_cat_crochet or try the pin on Pinterest.
You are welcome to sell any anemones you make from this pattern but please credit me as the designer, and link back here if selling online. Please do not copy or sell the pattern itself.
Happy making!
