I was just admiring the rag doll that Elisa is making, and realized that I should make a post about my current doll in progress. I'm crocheting a mermaid for my five-year-old niece. I've never made a mermaid before, so am just making it up as I go. At the same time, I'm trying to use up yarn from my stash rather than buying something new, and so my choice of colours is limited.
Using a 4 mm (F) hook and worsted weight acrylic yarn, I'm crocheting the doll in the round. The shaping of the body is accomplished by simply decreasing and increasing the number of stitches in each round. Spacing these decreases and increases evenly gives the doll a nice rounded shape.
I'm stuffing the doll as I go, so that I can be sure to fill in all the parts before narrowing openings make it difficult to do. The stuffing is polyester fibrefill, and it's best to use small quantities and add more -- putting too large a chunk in will make the doll lumpy and uneven.
The arms were made separately, stuffed, and sewn in place. And the hair is simply strands of yarn, looped over stitches on the head and knotted in place. the strands are extra long now; when the doll is nearly complete, I'll give her a hair cut once I'm sure there's enough hair and that it hangs nicely. I'll also sew the facial features on later, using embroidery thread.
I want to give this doll to my niece in just a few days, so will be finishing it soon. Check back soon to see how the mermaid turns out!
