FREE PATTERN – Guppy Fish

This week has been nothing but craziness trying to get this finished and edited and formatted. But I did it! It is really finished and I am so excited to share this with you all!

Since it is MerMay I figured it would be appropriate for my first pattern to be Mermaid inspired, or rather, what inspired the Mermaid! A cute little fish is a mermaid’s best friend, and we all could use a few extra loyal fiends in out lives, even if they do live under the sea.

The first time I made my little Guppy Fish was as a Birthday/Thank you gift for my friend who takes my dolls to the parks since I live so far away now. It was pretty tiny and cute, but I knew that I wanted to make a larger version as well. I got an order for a Guppy Fish and decided that since someone was actually PAYING for this one that I was gonna do a full size, or at least a similar size to my other dolls. This finished fish measures to be about 4.5 inches nose to tail and 3 inches belly to fin. If that doesn’t mean much to you (doesn’t mean squat to me), he fits well on a standard coaster.

To make your very own Guppy you will need:

Yarn: Yellow, Blue (I use the brand Yarn Bee Soft & Sleek, weight 4)

2 Safety Eyes, 10mm

Crochet hook size 3.5 (E/4)

Scissors

Yarn Needle

Stuffing

Pins are optional, I don’t use them but you may want them for the stripes.

Camera for taking adorable photos

PATIENCE, lots and lots of patience

So let’s get started!

**Abbreviation Key**

CHAIN(S) – ch(s)         SINGLE CROCHET – sc        STITCHES – sts        DECREASE – dec

 

BODY:

Row1: Chain 2, single crochet 6 into second chain from hook (or magic loop and single crochet 6 into loop)

R2: sc 2 into each sc (12 sts)

R3: *sc 1, sc 2 into next sc* repeat x6 (18 sts)

R4: *sc 2, sc 2 into next sc* repeat x6 (24 sts)

R5: *sc 3, sc 2 into next sc* repeat x6 (30 sts)

R6: *sc 4, sc 2 into next sc* repeat x6 (36 sts)

R7-9: sc into each sc (36 sts)

R10: *sc 4, dec* repeat x6 (30 sts)

R11: sc into each sc (30 sts)

R12: *sc 3, dec* repeat x6 (24 sts)

R13: sc into each sc (24 sts)

R14: *sc 2, dec* repeat x6 (18 sts)

R15: sc into each sc (18 sts)

R16: *sc, dec* repeat x6 (12 sts)

R17: sc into each scc (12 sts)

–Now at this point I cut a long tail off so I could make the nose and place it and the eyes before I stuffed the body–

 

NOSE:

R1: Chain 2, single crochet 5 into second chain from hook (or magic loop and single crochet 5 into loop)

R2: sc 2 into each sc (10 sts)

R3: *sc 1, sc 2 into next sc* repeat x5 (15 sts)

R4: *sc 2, sc 2 into next sc* repeat x5 (20 sts)

R5: sc in each sc (20 sts)

R6: *sc 2, dec* repeat x5 (15 sts)

R7: *sc, dec* repeat x5 (10 sts)

Tie off. Sew to the lower half of the flat front of the body (you will want to add stuffing into the nose once it is 3/4 of the way sewn on). Insert safety eyes just above the nose. Stuff the body to medium firmness.

(Body) R18: dec repeat x6 (6 sts)

Tie off, but do not close the hole so you can insert the point of the tail into the back of the body. Leave a decently long tail to sew the blue tail onto the body.

 

TOP FIN:

R1: Ch 6

R2: Connect the ch to create a loop and sc in each ch (6 sts)

R3: *sc 1, sc 2 into next sc* repeat x3 (9 sts)

R4: sc in each sc (9 sts)

R5: *sc 1, dec* repeat x3 (6 sts)

R6: sc in each sc (6 sts)

R7: dec repeat x3 (3 sts)

Tie off leaving a long enough tail at the end to sew the fin to the body

 

BIG TOP FIN add on

R1: Ch 9

R2: Starting in the second ch from the hook, sc in each ch (8 sts)

Tie off, leaving a long enough tail to sew to body

 

LITTLE TOP FIN add on

R1: Ch 7

R2: Starting in the second ch from the hook, sc in each ch (6 sts)

Tie off, leaving a long enough tail to sew to body

(I know they seem long, they will be folded in half before being sewed onto the body)

 

SIDE FIN (Arms kind of?) —Make 2—

R1: Chain 2, sc 5 into second ch from hook (or magic loop)

R2: sc 2 in each sc (10sts)

R3-5: sc in each sc (10 sts)

R6: Dec x5 (5sts)

Tie off leaving a long enough tail to use to sew to the body.

 

TAIL FIN:

R1: Chain 2, single crochet 6 into second chain from hook (or magic loop and single crochet 6 into loop)

R2: Sc in each sc (6 sts)

R3: sc 2 into each sc (12 sts)

R4: Sc in each sc (12 sts)

R5: *sc 1, sc 2 into next sc* repeat x6 (18 sts)

R6: Sc in each sc (18 sts)

R7: *sc 2, sc 2 into next sc* repeat x6 (24 sts)

R8: Sc in each sc (24 sts)

R9: *sc 3, sc 2 into next sc* repeat x6 (30 sts)

Option 1 Row 10 : Smash fin flat and sc into the two sides to close up the tail. Tie off.

Option 2 Tie off. Smash the cone flat to look like a fin and use the tail of yarn to sew the fin shut.

 

STRIPES:

STRIPE 1 —make 2–

R1: ch 5

R2: starting in second chain from hook, sc in each ch

Tie off.

STRIPE 2 —make 2–

R1: ch 4

R2: starting in second chain from hook, sc in each ch

Tie off.

STRIPE 3 —make 2–

R1: ch 3

R2: starting in second chain from hook, sc in each ch

Tie off.

SEW TOGETHER:

At this point you should already have the nose attached to the body.

First you are going to sew on the back fin. Start by inserting the small end of the triangle into the hole you should have left open on the back of the body. There is not a ton of space, but the yarn will hold it secure once it is attached. Using the yellow tail yarn from the body, attach the fin, making sure it is perpendicular to the line of the eyes.

Next you will want to attach the arm fins. Smash them flat and using the tail yarn from the fins, sew on the two sides of the body. I put them so that when he is on the table, they are also resting on the table balancing him.

Next attach the big top fin. Using the yarn tail at the beginning of the tube-ish shape, sew the opening shut so the fin is flat. Using the blue tail yarn from the end of the fin, sew it on so the big side is towards his nose and the little side towards his back fin and is in the middle of the back when looking at him from the front. The back of my fin was 3 rows from the end of the yellow body.

Next attach the two smaller top fins. You need to fold each fin in half sew the ends together before sewing them to the body. The larger of the two should be closest to the big top fin (and if the bend a bit, make sure they are bending towards his nose not his back). The smallest should be in the front.

Finally, attach the stripes. The stripes will go biggest to smallest. I kept at least one row of the body between them. I am not even going to attempt to describe their locations, here are some pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there you have it! Your very own guppy fish! Please send me pictures of your finished product, I love to see other people’s versions of the patterns. You can tag me on Instagram or Facebook! Have trouble using the pattern? Did my instructions baffle you more than guide you? Send me a message! I can totally help! Honestly it is probably my own typo so please reach out!

Have fun making! And Happy MerMay!

 

This pattern is an original design by Jaclyn Bartelt of The Crochet Queen Designs. Please do not claim this pattern as your own. If you wish to share this pattern, you may share the link to this pattern but please do not reprint it on your site or sell paper copies. You may keep a copy for your own personal use but please DO NOT sell the pattern or distribute it.  

You may sell products made from this pattern, but please clearly credit the design to me, Jaclyn Bartelt of The Crochet Queen Designs , and provide a link to my blog www.thecrochetqueendesigns.com and/or Instagram page.  Permission is NOT granted for mass production or factory manufacturing of any kind.  Thank you for being respectful and for your understanding!