Leah the Little Mermaid

I have been really enjoying finding patterns for and making newborn photography props lately. This one I was especially excited about. I loved everything from the yarn, to the crocodile stitch patterned tail. And the sweet baby girl modeling it for me just topped it off.

(Photos of baby Leah are courtesy of my wonderful friend Leslie--Leah's
momma, and our friend Brigid who does amazing photography.)

The pattern is "Mermaid Princess" from Caleigh's Clips' Cuddle Critter Cape Sets (try saying that ten times fast!). If you are a crocheter and haven't checked out Caliegh's Clips, you need to. She has some incredibly original and creative patterns and they're all very well written and easy to understand. She even has video instructions for the more difficult techniques. It's just an awesome shop.

I've never attempted a crocodile stitch before, but I've seen several projects, mostly on Pinterest, that use it and I always think to myself how neat it looks. Once I found this pattern I knew it was the one I wanted to try out the crocodile stitch with. Luckily the pattern is written so well that it was a piece of cake to pick up the technique. Within a few crocodile stitches I was hardly thinking about it anymore. If you can double crochet, you can do the crocodile stitch.

I also loved the yarn the tail uses. It's Lion Brand "Tweed Stripes", and I was able to find it at our Walmart for under $5/skein. This specific colorway, "Lakeside", was even on clearance for $2.50! (I bought up all the skeins both of my nearest Walmarts had, lol.) I just finished up another set using the "Prism" colorway which I love just as much. I can't wait to try out the "Luau" colorway next, and maybe one of the primarily green colorways after that. I'm pretty sure I'll end up making lots of these sets just because I enjoyed the pattern and yarn so much.

For the shell top I got a little fancy and went with Red Heart "Shimmer" in "Lime". I wasn't sure if it would end up being too much with all the colors and patterns of the tail, but I absolutely love the way it came out. I think the subtle sparkle in the top looks really cute, and adds just the perfect special touch.

The pattern comes with the crown, but I thought it might be cuter with a little flower headband instead, so I went ahead and made both for Leah to try on. I love little crocheted flowers and I think the flower headband looks perfect with this set. I just love the way it all turned out and am so glad Leslie let me make it for sweet little Leah. I couldn't have asked for a cuter little model!