DETROIT – More than 175 handmade crochet octopi were delivered to the neonatal intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital of Michigan at DMC Hutzel Women’s Hospital in Detroit.
The small, stuffed yarn creatures, known as amigurumi octopi, give premature infants something to grasp so they do not tug at feeding tubes and other lines, reducing the risk of dislodging critical equipment.
The effort began when Joelle Haley, whose 8-week-old son Kieran was born at DMC Hutzel Women’s Hospital two days after Christmas 2025 at 24 weeks, two days of gestation, heard a nurse mention the NICU’s need for octopi.
Haley, an avid crocheter who lives in West Bloomfield and grew up in Holly, posted the pattern and a call to action in a local Holly residents’ Facebook group.
More than 100 volunteers from southeast Michigan and beyond responded.
Haley collected, organized, and delivered more than 175 octopuses she made and those made by other volunteers to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan NICU on Thursday, Feb. 26.
The NICU at DMC Hutzel Women’s Hospital recently became part of the Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
The Detroit Medical Center invested about $1.9 million to update the NICU with new equipment and finishes, and paired that work with a nearly $5 million refresh of the 21-bed postpartum unit and a new obstetrics emergency room unveiled in December.
Design services were provided by Stucky Vitale Architects, and Comdec Inc. carried out the renovations.
Ronald McDonald House donated support for the parent rooms, the hospital said.
Community groups joined the effort.
The Rochester Adams High School Crochet Club and a craft group that meets at Boho Aesthetics/Boho Little Yarn Boutique in Holly began producing octopi for the NICU.