Crochet Mermaid Blanket

This is not a pattern. I do not have a pattern for this yet. I do have other patterns available on Etsy, Ravelry, Knit Picks & Craftsy. 

I wanted to make a mermaid blanket as a gift for a little girl turning 5. I have never made a mermaid blanket and have had no desire to make one. A little history: I get discouraged when a project takes too long. I'm very content with making hats and scarfs/cowls. I've had several big projects that I've never completed and some I did actually finish pushing myself not to give up. 

This blanket wasn't too bad. I pretty much spent every free time I had at home working on it. I doubled up on worsted weight yarn and used a 9mm hook. I went to my ever-growing stash and picked a few colors I thought would work and that I had enough colors of. 

I went straight to Pinterest and found several free patterns but I knew that following a pattern would only slow me down because i'd want it to be perfect and follow the pattern exactly. So after looking at a few, I decided to go with easy stitches and just wing it. 

Since I only have so much of each of the skein of colors I found in my stash, I had to make this a two two tone blanket. While searching for a pattern, I noticed that some blankets were completely covered all the way to the top while some were only closed in the back part way up. I thought if I were using it, I wouldn't want to fight with getting into an enclosed blanket while curled up on the couch. I'd want to be able to stick my feet in and just cover the rest of me. So that's what I did!

After making the body, I went back to the top and added a different color in shell stitches.

I kept worrying that it was too small so I kept going and going.... It ended up being a little big but hey, that means she can grow into it right? 

I completed the tail last. Most everything (not including the shell stitches) are worked into the back loops only giving it a nice ribbing texture.