Act out the story of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid with this set of two topsy-turvy dolls. One doll features the Little Mermaid herself, in both mermaid and human forms. The other doll features the Sea Witch and the Prince. Make an extra mermaid/girl doll with different coloring to represent the mermaid’s rival and one of her sisters!

The bodies are started with a provisional cast-on, then worked in the round from the waistline up to form a two-headed torso. The water skirts and girl skirt are worked separately in the round. The prince’s landscape skirt uses the intarsia technique and is worked flat, then seamed at the back.

The Little Mermaid’s water skirt includes her friends: a tropical fish, a colorful starfish, and a generous oyster. The Sea Witch’s water skirt features her pet manta ray. The prince’s landscape skirt features his ship, waiting in the harbor to begin the fateful journey that will bring him to the mermaid’s care. The mermaids’ tails, the prince’s legs, and all companions are worked flat, then sewn to each skirt. Final touches include embroidered facial features, yarn hair, and a pearl necklace and tiara.

Techniques used include:
• Cast-ons: Cable, Long-Tail, Provisional
• Decreases (k2tog, k3tog, ssk, s1k2togp)
• Embroidery: outline stitch, satin stitch, duplicate stitch
• Knit, knit through the back loop
• Knitting in the round
• Increases (M1L, M1R, kf&b, kfbf, pf&b, sk2p2, yo)
• Intarsia
• Picot Bind-off
• Purl, purl through the back loop
• Short rows (wrap & turn)
• Slip stitch

Yarn:
The listed yarns are only suggestions. This is a great stashbuster project. Many of the pieces require only small amounts of yarn, so you may already have a lot of it on hand. The skirts require the most yardage at approximately 180 yds (165 m) or less. All other yarns are 100 yds (92 m) or less. In addition to the yarns listed above, small amounts (5–10 yds/5-9 m) of fingering/sock weight yarn in various colors are also needed.

Notions:
Tapestry needle, sewing needle, beading needle, embroidery needle, dollmaking needle
Row counter, locking stitch marker, round stitch marker Approximately 2 oz 55 g good quality stuffing per doll Approximately 3 x 4 inch 8 x 10 cm remnant of heavyweight nonwoven non-fusible interfacing per doll
Embroidery floss or DMC Coton Perlé, 1 skein each in Blanc, 310 (black), and desired iris and lip colors. Shown in 796 (blue) and 899 (coral pink) for Mermaid and 415 (gray), 938 (brown), and (818) (pink) for Sea Witch/Prince
Embroidery floss in desired colors for eyebrows and eyelashes
White sewing thread
For Mermaid: cardboard approximately 8 x 9 inch 20 x 23 cm, approximately 65 small pearl beads, 4 larger pearl beads (optional) Note: if doll is being given to a young child, omit pearl beads, as they are a choking hazard.
For Sea Witch: cardboard approximately 8 x 9 inches 20 x 23 cm
For Prince: cardboard approximately 8 x 4 inches 20 x 10 cm

Pattern includes written instructions and charts, so you may choose which type to follow. Also included are hyperlinks to technique references and photo tutorials on my blog.

This pattern has been tech edited and test knit.