Crochet Mermaid Costume
Pattern By, Robin Lyman
This year I really wanted to crochet my girls their costumes, especially my youngest daughter who badly wanted to go as Ariel. I didn't like any of the store bought costumes, none of them seemed right to me, but my favorite princess was always Ariel too, so of course none of those costumes would seem right, haha. Anyways, I found a few patterns for mermaid tails, but finally decided on just creating my own. So here it is:
First off, there are two special stitches you will need to know: the Crocodile Stitch and the Shell Stitch. Both are fairly easy, and with the crocodile stitch, if you can front post double crochet, then you can crocodile stitch. This lady gives the best tutorial and it is how I learned how to do it:
Ok, so moving on, here is the pattern for the mermaid tail. (This is for a child of about 4-5 years old. If you want to go smaller, deduct 6 stitches off of your base chain for every 2 years and add 6 stitches to your base chain for every two years. You could also just make your chain, wrap it around your child's waist to get a more exact measurement, just make sure your chain ends in a multiple of 6 (meaning your chain can be divided by 6 evenly, I hope that makes sense.))
Chain 72, then sl st into the first chain to create a circle, make sure you do not twist your chain. (This is a technique that took me a few tries to master, but once you get it, it is very easy to duplicate again and again. Try laying your chain on a flat surface and put the two ends together to help you make sure that you did not twist it while sl st together.)
Ch 2, DC in same stitch, *skip 2 stitches, chain 2, 2 DC after the 2 skipped stitches, continue from the * until you get back to the chain 2 and sl st into the top of the chain 2. Now this is where you will want to watch the video I posted about, she explains it so much better than I ever could. I know her base is different than mine, but I found that the 2 DC's in between each crocodile stitch was easier to crochet into than the 1 DC.
Continue to crocodile stitch until you reach your desired length, for my daughter I went just below her knee, almost mid calf. You should have 12 scales in each row and 1 less for each size down and 1 more scale for each size up. Once you have reached the length you want, move on to the next step.
Chain 1, *HDC in the same stitch, sk st, chain 1, HDC, continue from the * until you get back to the chain 1, sl st into the chain 1. Fasten off. This top row that you just created is for the draw string belt to help keep the tail from falling off your child's cute little hips.
Now, attach your yarn at the bottom, chain 1, HDC in the same stitch as the chain 1, sk st, chain 1, HDC. Do this all the way around and then sl st into the initial chain 1. Fasten off, sew in ends. This row at the bottom has just created your spaces to tie in the tulle at the bottom.
Here is a great video on how to tie the tulle, you will want the tulle to be twice the length of the actual length that you want.
Once your done tying in your tulle, run your fingers through the tulle like you are combing it, and your done!
For the draw string belt: chain 150, turn your work around, DC into 3rd chain from the hook, DC all the way to the end, fasten off, sew in ends.
Now, let's move on to the mermaid top.
Ch 85, sl st into the first chain, being careful once again not to twist the chain. (Again, I did this based of of my own daughters specifications. You can tailor it to your own child's measurements as well, just make sure you do the final chain length in multiples of 7, meaning that the total chain stitches are divisible by 7.)
Round 1: Chain 2. 4 DC into the same stitch as the chain 2. *sk 2 st, SC, sk 2 st, 5 DC, continue from the * until you get back to the Chain 2, sl st into the top of the chain 2.
Round 2: Sl st into the next 2 stitches, this should put you right at the center stitch of the first shell that you made, Chain 1, *SC into that middle stitch. 5 DC into the SC of the previous round between the two shells made. Continue from * until you get back to those first two slip stitches, sl st into the first of those two sl st.
Round 3-6: repeat rounds 1 & 2 until you complete round 6, or as tall as you would like it to be. Fasten off.
Round 7: (This is where I changed to the ivory colored yarn, a color than matched my daughter's skin pretty closely.) Attach yarn to the bottom of your shell bra, Chain 1, SC all the way around, you should have 85 stitches or the same amount of stitches that you started with on your bra.
Round 8-32: *Chain 1, HDC around, sl st into the chain 1. Repeat from the * until you reach the desired length of the top. Fasten off, sew in ends. I wanted to be able to tuck my daughter's top inside the tail, so that's what I based my length off of. Oh and here's a tip, slide the top onto your daughter from the feet up instead of over the head like a normal shirt, this will make it easier to put on and create less stretching.
For the bra strap AND for the head band, you will once again be doing the shell stitch.
Make your chain in multiples of 7, I don't remember how many chains I did because I made the length to fit around my daughter's neck and be able to button inside the mermaid top. Which reminds me, after you have made the bra strap, you will want to sew on two buttons to the INSIDE of the top front of the mermaid top. You will want the button to be about the middle of the front of each shoulder on your child.
Ok, so now that you've made your chain, continue on as follows:
DC in the 3rd chain from the hook, 3 more DC's in the same stitch, making 5 DC's including the chain 2 you created by DC-ing into the 3rd chain. *Sk 2 st, SC, sk 2 st, 5 DC. Repeat from the * until the end of the chain, once you reach the end, continue this pattern down the other side. Fasten off, sew in ends. Make two of these, one for the bra strap, once for the head band. On the headband, attach a button to the beginning & last shells you made.
Now for the final finishing touch, the sea star for the headband:
Chain 3, sl st into first chain, making a magic circle.
Round 1: Chain 2, 2 HDC, ch 1 into the middle of the magic circle. *3 HDC, ch 1, repeat from the * until you get back to the chain 2, you should have 20 stitches at the end of this round.
Round 2: *Ch 8, sl st into the 2 chain from the hook, SC in the next 2 stitches of the chain 8, HDC in the next, DC in the next, TR into the next 2 stitches, sl st into the chain 1 space of the previous round. Repeat from * until you have your five point star. Fasten off, sew in ends. Attach to button on the headband.
Congratulations! You survived my pattern! Haha, please forgive me for over explaining or if I didn't explain well enough. I'm still a beginner in the crochet world. If something doesn't make sense to you or you see an error in my pattern please let me know so that I can correct it! Please feel free to make as many of these items as you like and feel free to share this FREE pattern, I just ask that please link back to my blog! Thank you!