Making the Tentacles
Plan on making six tentacles. You can save yourself a little effort by counting your arms as the seventh and eighth tentacles. Keep that in mind while gathering materials.
Choose colorful tights or long cotton socks. If you can only find white socks, paint them to match the rest of your costume. Purple, orange, red, or blue are all good options for an octopus. If using tights, cut each leg into three sections, making six "tentacles" total. Close one end of each section using hot glue or needle and thread.
Stuff the tentacles. You may use any compressible material, including cotton batting, newspaper, plastic bags, or tissue paper. Stuff each tentacle until it's firm enough to keep its shape.
Slide a wire through each tentacle. Cut a length of sturdy wire and slip it through the center of each tentacle. Glue it into place. Now you can adjust the pose of the tentacles by bending the wire. You can disassemble wire coat hangers instead of purchasing a whole spool of wire.
Seal the stuffing in. Sew the opening closed, or glue the edges together.
Attach bottlecap suckers. Gather plastic bottle caps and paint them white if they aren't already. Glue three bottle caps in a line at the tip of each tentacle.
Making the Body and Head
Find a colorful top. Choose a sweatshirt or turtleneck the same color as your tentacles. You will be sewing the tentacles onto this, so pick an old one or buy one secondhand. A hood makes it easy to attach the eyes, but it is not mandatory.
Secure tentacles to the sides of the sweatshirt. Sew them on starting from the inside of the shirt, so the stitches don't show. Use sturdy thread that can support the tentacles' weight, and keep sewing until the tentacles are well secured. You'll want three tentacles on each side, below your arms. Bend the wires on the tentacles to change their position. For greater comfort, offset the tentacles a little forward, so your actual arms can hang at your side.
Choose a cap. If your sweatshirt doesn't have a hood, find a knit hat close to the same color as your shirt. If you can't find one and have extra tights fabric left over from earlier, you can glue or stitch the edges together to make a cap.
Make octopus eyes. To mimic the bulging eyes of an octopus, cut a ping pong ball in half. Draw a rectangular pupil onto each half using a permanent marker or black paint. Googly eyes are another option.
Attach the eyes to the side of your head. Glue the eyes onto the hood or cap of your costume. Place them as symmetrically as you can, with the pupils in the same position.
Finishing Touches
Wear matching sweats, tights, or skirt. If you can, make your whole costume the same color.
Cut strips of fake kelp. A black plastic garbage bag makes convincing seaweed when cut into strips. Drape it over your tentacles or stick it in your belt to hang around you.
Make a comfortable backup costume (optional). If you like, cut a secondhand skirt into eight pointed strips to further mimic tentacles. This is a less striking but more comfortable costume you can change into if the larger tentacles start to annoy you.
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