The Danish Octo Project
The Octo Project started in Denmark in February of 2013. We are a group of volunteers who use premium cotton to crochet colorful Octos for premature babies. The tentacles of Octo resemble the umbilical cord and remind the babies of their time in the womb. Our project donates Octos to families with preemies in 16 of the neonatal departments in Denmark and at Dronning Louises Hospital in Nuuk, Greenland.
Since the inception of The Octo Project, we have received numerous inquiries from all over the world. We have helped volunteers get the project off the ground in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, The Faroe Islands, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxemburg, France, Italy, Turkey, Croatia, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Australia and in both California and Florida in the United States.
If you would like to make a difference in the lives of preemies and their families, you can get started right away. You can even choose which department you would like to donate to. Find your Octo ambassador at https://www.spruttegruppen.dk/#ambassadors (site in Danish only)
If you’re interested in an English version of the crochet pattern for the Octo, you can download them in both U.K. and U.S. pattern here .
Please note that the pattern is for private use only and that selling the pattern or the crocheted products is prohibited. That said, there are many varieties of crocheted Octos and we don’t own the copyright to the pattern and have no legal grounds for preventing anyone from making a profit on crocheted Octos.
Are you interested in starting an Octo Project in your country?
We would love to hear from you if you are interested in starting an Octo Project in your country. You do not need our permission to start an Octo Project of your own, but we believe there is strength in numbers. To that end we try to coordinate the actions abroad by keeping a database with all the information of the countries we have heard from. This is a very useful tool as we would like to help other countries as much as possible, so that even more preemies and their families all over the world can benefit from the project.
Please send your inquiry to danishoctos@spruttegruppen.dk and we will do our very best to help you get started. There might be a delay in our response as all of us are volunteers, but we promise to get back to you as soon as possible.