Simple Mermaid Throw

The Simple Mermaid Throw is so warm & fuzzy that every Little Mermaid will love it. It’s cute, fun, and totally cozy.

And it’s surprisingly easy to crochet.

This project is a greatly simplified variation of the Mermaid Tail Throw by Mary Maxim, Pattern #98999N.

The craft kit is available from https://www.marymaxim.com/catalog/product/view/id...

On sale at $28.99, the original craft kit includes the necessary three colors of yarn: 18 ounces of wisteria, and 12 ounces each of blue and green.

It is a project that requires at least "intermediate" skill.

The Simple Mermaid Throw is an improved version that is also much easier to crochet.

For this Instructable, I simplified the Mermaid Tail Throw by using only two colors of yarn. One is called Wildflower. It’s variegated with soft hues of blue, green, pale yellow, and teal. The other is a solid color called Dark Violet. Both yarns are available from Walmart. I used 18 ounces of each color.

I chose the colors from yarn I already had on hand. Any pair of colors can be used that go together well.

The variegated yarn substitutes nicely for two different yarn colors and makes an attractively subtle pattern that looks pleasantly aquatic. Having two strands of yarn rather than with three makes the Simple Mermaid Throw faster and easier to crochet.

To make it even easier I changed the pattern of Rows into modules: two-Row modules for the flipper and four-Row modules for the body. The modular system is very easy to understand and keep track of.

In addition, I modified the stitches to make the Rows simpler, so the throw is easier to crochet overall.

The stitch originally used in the body looks very nice, but I found the instructions rather difficult to decipher, and the stitch itself hard to maintain. The original Mermaid Tail Throw is not an easy project.

I made another major change by making the flipper out of two identical fin shapes, stacked and edged together, rather than from just one layer.

The original single-layer flipper had was decorative, but had no practical function. It was “floppy/droopy” and attached to the bottom of the body with a heavy gathered seam. The two-layer flipper is much more substantial and attaches smoothly. It’s also hollow, which not only provides a perfect cozy pocket for Little Mermaid feet but makes the flipper amazingly expressive.

I was delightfully surprised the first time my Little Mermaid said hello by flapping her flipper at me. It was very lifelike. She has since developed an interesting collection of flips, flaps, and flumps to convey fine nuances of feeling—and keep me laughing.

The Simple Mermaid Throw is made from two easy pieces: the body, which has a rectangular upper portion and a tapered lower portion, and the flipper, which is made from two identical fin shapes that stack and are edged together.

I made the flipper first.

I used a size H-8 (5.0 mm) hook for the fin shapes and a size I-9 (5.5 mm) hook for the body. I used a small pair of scissors to cut the yarn as needed. I also used four size 2 (1.5”) safety pins to pin the fin shapes together as I edged them, and to pin the flipper to the body as they were being edged together.

The smaller stitches from the H-8 hook make the flipper extra warm and comfortable for Little Mermaid feet.

This project is a snap for someone who already knows how to do basic crochet. If you can chain, make rows, make the basic stitches, increase, decrease, and back-loop, you’re pretty much good to go.

Four basic stitches are used in this project, in addition to the usual starting chain:

SC means Single Crochet

DC means Double Crochet

HDC means Half Double Crochet

TC means Triple Crochet.

Always turn the piece over (TO) at the end of each Row to continue.

You’ll be alternating colors every two Rows, but you won’t need to cut the yarn each time. Just let each color dangle and then pick it back up when you need it again—which will always be exactly two Rows later.

All of the short bare lengths of yarn along the outside edges of the piece will be neatly covered over by the edging when the Simple Mermaid Throw is finished.

Always cut and tie off the yarn as you finish with each color, and don't forget to bury the tails.

The fin shapes use two-Row modules throughout that always alternate in color.

Start with a chain of 40 stitches in Dark Violet. The fin shape is made sideways with the starting chain at the top.

The chain runs from the left upper point of the fin to the flat edge at the right that will eventually be joined to the bottom of the body. Don’t worry about shape at this point. As the Rows progress, they will automatically give the pieces their proper finny shape.

The first two-Row module is done in Dark Violet. The Rows are designated F1 and F2. Each Row back-loops into the Row that precedes it. This being the first two-Row module, the F1 Row back-loops into the starting chain.

Back-looping gives the flipper an interesting texture.

Row F1 is a sequence of 10 SC, 10 HDC, and 20 DC.

Row F2 is a full-length Row of DC back-looped in each stitch of Row F1.

That completes the first flipper module. The color of each flipper module alternates, so switch to Wildflower for the second flipper module.

Starting with the second flipper module, each F1 Row decreases by one stitch at the left end. The F2 Rows are always the same length as the F1 Rows that precede them. This decrease is what curves the fin shape in on the top half of left end.

Continue the decreasing flipper modules until you have completed 10 two-Row modules.

The last decreasing flipper module will be done in Wildflower.

From there, stop decreasing and make 2 more two-Row modules. That makes the center strip of the fin shape.

After the center strip, start increasing the two-Row modules.

Each F1 Row is increased one stitch at the left end. This increase is what curves the fin shape out on the bottom half of the left end.

Each F2 Row is always the same length as the F1 Row that precedes it.

Make a total of 10 increasing two-Row modules. That will make the piece nicely symmetrical. It will be about 12” wide at the right end.

The last increasing flipper module will be done in Dark Violet.

That finishes the first fin shape.

Make two identical fin shapes, then stack them with their back sides together.

Use the safety pins to hold them in alignment, then stitch the curved sides of the fin shapes together with one Row of SC edging done in Dark Violet, removing the pins as you go.

Leave the straight side open.

That completes the flipper.

Working from top to bottom, start with Dark Violet and make a chain of stitches 42” long. That establishes the width of the Simple Mermaid Throw.

The body uses a series of four-Row modules.

The 1st and 2nd Rows are full widths of SC. They are all done in Dark Violet.

The 3rd and 4th Rows are all done in Wildflower.

The 3rd Row is a repeating 18-stitch pattern. It starts with 3 SC, followed by 3 HDC, 3 DC, 3 TC, 3 DC, and 3 HDC. Repeat this pattern of stitches to the end of the preceding Row.

In the 4th Row, every SC gets a TC, every HDC gets a DC, every DC gets a HDC, and every TC gets a SC.

Make 8 four-Row modules for the rectangular upper portion of the body. It will be about 14” in length.

From there, start tapering the body down toward the tail.

Continue the modules as before, but taper each module by decreasing one stitch at each end of each Row 2. That’s the only change you need to make.

Continue decreasing the modules until you have 28 four-Row modules. The tapered part of the body will then be about 38" long and about 2 ft. wide at the bottom end.

After the last tapered module, lay the body out flat with the back side up.

Fold the two bottom corners together and edge the tapered sides together for a distance of 9” with one Row of SC done in Dark Violet. This will make a short tube with that will match up perfectly with the open end of the flipper.

Continue the edging all the way around the body and back to the short tube to complete the body of the Simple Mermaid Throw.

Align the seam in the body tube with the middle of one center strip of the flipper.

Use the safety pins to hold the pieces in alignment, then stitch them together with one Row of SC edging done in Dark Violet, removing the pins as you go.

Then it's ALL FINISHED!

The body of the Simple Mermaid Throw is warm and cozy cover that’s easy to snuggle into, and the hollow flipper is a perfect pocket for keeping Little Mermaid footsies warm.

The Simple Mermaid Throw is a fun project that goes together pretty fast, especially when you put on the video and start singing along with The Little Mermaid.