Octopush
Octopush (or Octocube) is a mathematical knitting project from Woolly Thoughts.
This clever toy is a cube made up of 8 smaller cubes. You join the smaller cubes in such a way that it folds and turns upon itself. The aim is to have the same color on the faces of the smaller cubes coming together at each juncture.
It was a challenging project and I was determined to be successful!
First, choose 12 colors. I used the leftover cotton from my Frida’s Flowers blanket. I put each color in a separate bag with a number and color label.
The pattern is comprised of 8 ‘T’ shapes of 6 color blocks each. Blocks are 7 stitches wide and 14 rows long. You do a border of black in between each color block, then pick up stitches to do the black border around the outside.
You also need 8 foam cubes. I got an off-cut from Clark Rubber for $2 which my husband cut up with an electric knife.
You stitch the completed ‘T’ shapes around the foam cubes… and then comes the hard part.
Lay out the blocks so that you can connect the cubes to turn it into an Octopush. Use safety pins to temporarily hold them together.
Turn them over to check that you’ve got the correct color combo happening. Realise it doesn’t work, scratch your head and try 16 more times. Abandon the tangled mess and go and have a cup of tea.
Finally get it to work – Yay!
With only a few simple connections, like magic, these 8 cubes turn into a mesmerising toy which endlessly folds and folds.
