Charisma Yarn and Azel Pullover Pattern Review

About a year ago, I was given some Charisma yarn as a gift. It was soft and gorgeous and I had no idea what I was going to do with it. There it sat, waiting for the perfect idea to inspire. There it continued to sit while mermaid tails took over my life. Then, I was asked if I could make something for a silent auction, and suddenly, new life was found within these threads!

The silent auction is for my friend Jamie's dad. He has Multiple Myeloma and has had a very long road, and continues to face challenges ahead. You can read a bit more about Jon and the Mulitple Myeloma here.

I had purchased the Azel Pullover from The Velvet Acorn on Etsy a few months ago after a friend asked if it was something I could make. I decided to put it in my stash of patterns, and I am so glad I did! I had about a week to make something for the auction and I was looking for something both sweet, versitile, and would work up quickly.

Let me just say that between this pattern and that yarn, I had found the perfect match! The Charisma yarn is so soft and warm, and my favorite part....it doesn't split when you are working with it. I have worked with soft yarns that are so fuzzy and nice, but when you insert the hook, it's hard to tell where you inserted it, and the yarn tends to split. Charisma, on the other hand, stays together very well!

I had just enough to make a child's sized 5/6. I was able to work it up in a few hours. The pattern was incerdibly simple to follow, I found some fun buttons to add to it, and suddenly, I had an adorable poncho style pullover that will make some little girl happy and warm this winter. If you have a chance to work with Charisma yarn or to use a pattern from The Velvet Acorn, you really should!!

Mermaid Tails

Since the start of my crochet business, my inspiration has come from friends and family who have enough faith in my work to say "hey, you think you can make this?" I never back down from a challenge! That is where the mermaid tails came into play. Earlier this year, I had a friend contact me asking if I could make one. I found a pattern and set to work. The patter was free, and the person who wrote it put a lot of work and love into it, but it just wasn't what I was looking for. The cocoon started at the ankle, and the tail seemed small for the blanket. I decided to start making them my own. I rewrote the pattern for myself, and I am now going to share that love with you!

Please keep in mind, that, like the other, this is a free pattern. One I have never really shared before because it makes sense to me, but may not make sense to you. If that is the case, please let me know, and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. This pattern is for the child sized tail, which measures 33-36 inches long (without the tail part) depending on how many rounds you create. More about that below. 

Materials needed:

2 skeins light colored yarn (I used red heart soft)

2 skeins darker color

2 skeins verigated yarn to bring the light and dark colors together (I use many different brands depending on the color of my blanket. Some companies have smaller skeins, so I always pick up 2 just in case).

Size J hook

Darning Needle

As for how you set up your color scheme, that is up to you. I tend to decide as I go. Once I see the colors coming together, I decide on which color I will use for the tail.

To start:

Chain 153, then DC in third chain from the hook. DC in each chain across. DC's.

Row 2: Chain 1 and turn. SC in first DC. 

*Skip 2 DC , then 5 DC , skip 2 DC thenSC*

Repeat ** to the end of the row. You will end with 3 DC's in the last SC. It should look like this:

Row 3:At each new row from here on out, change colors. 

Chain 3, and *shell stitch in SC

SC in 3rd DC of shell*

Repeat ** until the end of the row.

Repeat Row 4-36 Repeat Row 3

At row 37 you are going to join the ends of your blanket to start forming a cocoon. Row 37 should be a row that starts with a SC. If it is not for any reason, create one more row so that you start on a SC.  When you reach the end of the row 7, rather than DC 3 times. DC 5 times to create a full shell stitch in the last SC of the previous round (whereas before, you were only DC 3 times in the last SC). Bring the blanket ends together, and ST into the SC to create a round. It should look like this:

Your blanket will be open in the back, then it will come together near the hips

Next, you will continue working in rounds.
Row 38: CH 3, then 2 DC in the same stitch as the join. The CH 3 counts as 1 DC. Continue to shell stitch around to the end. Then, 2 DC  in the same place as the CH3 and 2DC. Then slip to join at the top of the CH 3 See photos below for the start and end of this round.

CH3 and 2 DC in same same stitch as the join

2 DC in the same stitch as the CH 3 and 2 DC

Join with a slip at the top of teh CH 3

Row 39: Ch 1 and SC in the same place at the join.Continue with the shell stitch, then when you reach the end, slip ino the SC to join the round:

 

Rows 40-42, Repeate row 39.
Row 43: This will be your first of 2 decrease rounds. This round should start with a SC. If you do not have a SC at the start, then do one more round so that you start with a SC.
Contine on with your shell stitch until you have 4 SC. Shell one more time, and on the next (this will be sc number 5 in this round) decrease. To decrease, Insert hook in to the 3rd DC of the previous round, YO and pull up a loop. Then Insert hook in the 3rd DC of the next shell. YO and pull up a loop. You should now have 3 loops on your hook. YO and pull through all 3 loops.

Continue working the decrease on every 5th SC. In the end, you may have 2 or 3 shells left. Continue working these as normal. You should only have decreased 3 times.
Row 44-51 continue working the shell stitch as normal. Do not decrease
Row 52 Repeat row 43 and decrease this round
Row 53-69 shell stitch as normal. Do not decrease, then finish off to end.

**This is where the number of rows may vary. You will want to end on the same color you choose to do your tail. If you need to add a couple more rows to accomplish this, it won't hurt anything.

Now you are ready for the tail. You are going to be working in rows. The first half of the tail you will be decreasing, and the second half, you will increase. To start the tail, join with a slip into 2 rows of the last round:

Row 1: CH 65, then DC in the second CH from the hook, then continue to DC all the way across. CH 2 and Turn
Row 2: DC across, and DC decrease in the last 2 DC's from the previous row
Row 3: CH 2 and DC decrease over the first 2 stitches from the previous row, then DC across to the end.

Repeat Rows 2-3 until you reach 25 stitches. In the next row, DC across to the last 4 DC's, then DC decrease twice for a total of 23 DC's.
Next, you are going to CH 2, then turn, then 2 DC increase over the first 2 DC's (which would be the 2 decrease you just created in the previous row)
Continue to work an increas of 1 at the end of the tail until you reach 63 stitches.
Next, you will CH 1, then turn and SC all the way around, and finish off. You are going to have what looks like 2 large triangles.

Next, you are going to attahc your yarn at the top, and work a SC decrease in each stitch across. When you reach the end, CH 1m then turn and SC decrease across a second time.

When you are done, you are going to line your tail up with your blanket. You may have to scrunch your tail a bit to fit the blanket. This is the fun part! This is where it starts to look like a mermaid!

From here, you are going to sew the tail on, and you want to make sure you are going through both sides of the blanket. Stitch all the way across, then stitch back again to reinforce the first set of stitches,

Then, finish off, and admire your tail! You are going to have a lot of ends to weave in, but it will be very worth the work in the end. You will have a great blanket for a beautiful mermaid. 

I would love to see the tails you make or have made! Feel free to visit my facebook page and share with me! 

I have these blankets available in my etsy shop and would be happy to make one for you if you wish.