Skipper Mermaid

I bought some Red Heart Unforgettable Gossamer for a different doll project but it turned out to be too dark. I eventually found the color suggested in the pattern and will be trying that soon. However, that left me with a supply of yarn to use. While this was not the right fit for my other project I really liked the color stripes for Skipper.

While I love the look of this yarn it is a bit unforgiving. I find it can be hard to frog and this was challenging as I had to experiment with hook size to figure out what would work with this yarn and Skipper.

The suggested hook size for this yarn is J and that did work with my other doll project despite not being a good color fit. I had previously used an E hook with the Caron Simply soft. Thankfully, I was able to save most of my experiments but I did lose some of the chains as they knotted and wouldn't release when I needed to start again with a smaller hook.

You can find the free Mermaid pattern here.

Notes:

I dug out my new Tulip Etimo 2.5mm hook for this project.

Some of my old Bates Bamboo hooks are starting to wear out. I broke a B hook not long ago and decided not only did I need to replace my smaller ergonomic hooks but I wanted to have some of the in between sizes so I could experiment not only with changing fiber but fine adjustments in hook size. Sometimes I do find myself needing something just a little bigger or smaller than what I have on hand.

I started with a 2.0 and jumped to the 2.5mm to get the fit I wanted. I didn't have that option with my Bates Bamboo hooks.

As with my Stacie Mermaid I chose not to make this a pull on top as this yarn was not going to accomadate that kind of stress. I added an additional row to the bottom which let me connect my finished sides without having to do each side stop and do the other. This allowed me more space to add the snaps.

I followed the directions for the tail and fin adjusting for length as this yarn is a bit thinner than the Caron so I had to play a bit more with rows to get it long enough.