Really?

How has it been a week since I posted?  What did I do all week?  I did finish up these mermaid blankets!

Sized for a three year old and her junior American Girl doll.  The girl is a cousin to the girl that got the first mermaid blanket and wanted it to be similar.  I said I wouldn't do as many colours as in that one, ever again, LOL.  That was fine, three colours would do.  But what do I do?  I create a pattern ABAC which meant the A yarn (purple) was never at the side I needed it to be.  I had worked for a little ways and was already annoyed by how many ends there were going to be, so I decided to not cut them, and just leave the last stitch waiting, go back to the start of the row, and work the next colour.  So, I would have several right side rows, one after another.  Double crochets are not identical on their right and wrong sides, but I just call that "textural interest". 

I wasn't sure how long to make it.  The girl is three, but that's all I knew.  I thought and thought and then thought maybe the length for a floor length skirt would work.  So I worked to that length.  Then realized I hadn't shaped the bottom at all, so had to rip a bit out.

While I was working on it, the mom asked for an American Girl doll blanket.  I somehow missed the part saying it was a junior sized one, 14-15".  I searched around for measurements, and found blankets were 17" wide by 21" long.  I worked that length, then realized that AG dolls are only 18" long.  I found a chart for doll clothes, and waist to ankle on an AG is 9 3/4".  Ooops.  So I ripped back.  Which made the blanket seem really wide for it's length.  I mentioned this to the mom who replied that it's a junior sized doll, only 14-15" tall!  I really didn't want to rip all the blanket out because I thought she was on a deadline for a present.  I re-worked the lower half, changing from 5DC shells to 3DC shells as a way to narrow it down.  It's cute.  I just downsized the tail by eyeballing, figuring a too big tail is not an issue with a doll.

It's all made with Loops & Thread "Impeccable" (the bright pink is Impeccable Brights).  Weight for doll blanket is 85gr and big mermaid is 303gr, for a total of 388gr.  I'm going to round up a bit because I had so many ends, so 390gr.

I'm also going to record the Briggs & Little kit I got from Grand River Yarns.  It was 540gr (some of the balls were only 47-49gr, but one was 51gr) for only $28.40. I've made one pair of itty mitts!

Yarn In:  540gr + 1046gr = 1586gr
Yarn Out: 390gr + 3168gr = 3558gr
Balance:  1972gr more USED than bought
Costs:  $28.40 + $46.47 = $74.87/60days = $1.25/day