Here, fishy, fishy...

So what do you make for the outdoorsman who has everything?  Why not make the fish of all fish stories?! This one is bound to stay on the line!

I had a blast planning out and making this fish.  I used the scraps from the leftover hat and mittens sweater upcycle I worked on earlier today.  If you don't want to make your own...let me give a shout out to the creator of this awesome idea, MimiKirchner.  You can visit her Etsy shop and buy one of your very own!

Let's get started.

1.  Cut the body of the fish - I used the neckline of the sweater to add a little more detail to the head area.  I don't really like how it turned out since the neck is not as stretchy or mold-able as the rest of the fish. (You'll see in the finished product.)

 2.  If you have a cuff left, use that to create the tail.  I used the bottom of the sweater and just folded it in half and sewed up the side.  I also sewed across the top.

3.  Make a box pleat by taking the center of the two sides and tacking them together in the middle, then laying the two flaps flat again.

4.  Next make the fins.  You'll want a long one on the top, a boxy one towards the back on the bottom, and two smaller triangle shapes towards the front where the gills would be.  I stitched between each valley to create more dimension on the fish.

5.  Because I wanted to keep the neckline showing I sewed the 'gill' fins right to the outside of the sweater instead of where the head and body meet.  

6.  I forgot to take a picture but sew the head and body together on each piece, keeping right sides together as you sew. (Do as I say on this tutorial.  Again, because I wanted the neckline detail to show, I sewed the head on behind the body fabric.)

 7.  I hate pinning, so I sewed the tail, top and bottom fins onto one side of the fish.  You can pin and sew them all together if you'd like.  Next, sew the two pieces right sides together, leaving a space large enough for the fish to be turned right side out.

8. Next, make sure all the strings are cut off and the pieces are sewed completely.  I had to hand stitch a few areas that the sewing machine couldn't get through.

9.  Stuff your fish and add eyes and a mouth.  Then close him up and shape him!  

As you can see, the neckline is a little stiff, but I think he looks quite dapper in his argyle sweater!  This took about 2.5 hours to make, but it was a lot of fun seeing him come together and take on a personality.  Well, I'm off to bed.  Currently working on a blanket, finishing a book, and job searching...  Until next time, happy crafting!