Mermai d

1/ 3

Sof t i epat t er nbyLi l y bet tandBoy

Arm x4

(cutx2t hi sdi rect i on t hen f l i pand cutx2)

Body/ t ai l cutx2

Pat t er nf ornonc ommer c i al / not f or pr of i tpur pos esonl y

2/ 3

Head

(cutx1f rom s ki n col ourf abri c and x1f rom hai rcol ourf el t )

Hai r

( c hoos eahai r s t y l eand c utx 1i nhai rc ol ourf el t )

You coul d al s ocraf t yourown hai rs t yl e bycut t i ng and addi ng ext ra pi eces

Pat t er nf ornonc ommer c i al / not f or pr of i tpur pos esonl y

You’ll need:     

Cut pattern pieces Fabric and felt in colours/patterns of your choosing Thread to match/contrast your chosen fabric Filler/stuffing Sewing implements

Instructions: 1. Choose your fabric: I chose scale-like fabric for the body/tail; a white on white pattern for the skin head and arms; and blue and green felt for the hair. It’s a mermaid – there aren’t any rules about colour or pattern. 2. Cut your pieces: x2 body pieces; x4 arms (x2 of which should be cut back-tofront or with the pattern piece turned over); x1 head in skin colour; x1 head in hair colour felt; and x1 hairstyle in hair colour felt. If you want a different hairstyle than the two given, use the base head pattern as a guide – just don’t forget to mirror image the new style for the felt piece that forms the back of the head. You can also use the base hairstyle but add a separate cut-and-stitched pony tail insert on the side. 3. Sew your pieces in the following stages:  Arms – pair up the pieces with pattern-side in and stitch around each arm leaving the straight edge open. Turn them inside out (a chopstick helps here) and then stuff with your chosen filler  Face – line up the skin colour head piece with the hairstyle felt and stitch in place.  Face – stitch in facial features (small felt circles work well for the eyes if you aren’t a fan of embroidery)  Face and body – line up the necks with pattern-side in and stitch a straight line across.  Hair and body – line up the necks with pattern-side in (be careful aligning the hair if you’ve chosen to add extras) and stitch a straight line across.  Front and back pieces with arms – pin or roughly stitch arms in place (they need to stitched to the pattern-side pointing into the centre of the body – this makes them sit right when you turn everything the right way round). Pin the back and front pieces with pattern-side and the arms tucked in, then stitch around the mermaid shape leaving a 7-8cm gap either at the top of the head or on the side of the tail. 4. Turn your mermaid inside out (or the right way round): Gentle pull the arms through the hole you’ve left and then pull the rest of the fabric. You can use a chopstick or the like to help push out the tail. 5. Stuff the tail and head with your chosen filler. Make sure the filler goes right into the points at the bottom of the tail. 6. Stitch the gap using an ‘invisible’ closing stitch or ladder stitch. And you’re done!

3/3